Frank Stilwell | |
|---|---|
 Frank Stilwell (date uncertain) | |
| Born | 1856[1] |
| Died | March 20, 1882 (aged 25–26) Tucson, Arizona Territory, United States |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Occupation(s) | Cochise County Deputy Sheriff; livery owner; miner; outlaw |
| Years active | 1877–1882 |
| Opponents | |
| Parent(s) | William "Henry" Stilwell and Charlotte B. "Sarah" Winfrey |
| O.K. Corral gunfight |
|---|
| Principal events |
| Lawmen |
| Outlaw Cowboys |
Frank C. Stilwell (1856 – March 20, 1882) was an outlaw Cowboy who killed at least two men in Cochise County during 1877–82. Both killings were considered to have been self-defense. For four months he was a deputy sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona Territory for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan. Stilwell owned interests in several mines and various businesses, including a saloon, a wholesale liquor business, a stage line, and at his death livery stables in Charleston and Bisbee. He was also a partner in a Bisbee-area saloon with ex-Texas Ranger Pete Spence.[2]
He was closely involved in the events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881, and was suspected in the murder of Morgan Earp on March 18, 1882. Two days after Morgan's death, Frank Stilwell was killed by Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp in a Tucson train yard. Arrest warrants were issued for Earp and four others in his gang suspected of murdering Stilwell. Murder indictments were issued at Pima County for Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Warren Earp, Sherman McMaster and John Johnson. Earp agreed to turn himself in but instead fled the Arizona Territory for Colorado. Wyatt Earp admitted late in his life to killing Stilwell at close range with a shotgun.[citation needed]