The most feared gunslinger of the Old West may not have been Billy the Kid or Jesse James. By his own account, Bill Longley claimed responsibility for 32 deaths, though historians have only confirmed his involvement in seven fatal encounters. Many of those claims disintegrate under scrutiny, yet his reputation as one of the frontier’s most coldblooded killers has endured for nearly 150 years. William Preston Longley was born on October 6, 1851, near Mill Creek in Austin County, Texas.
He was the sixth of ten children born to Campbell and Sarah Longley. When he was two, the family moved to a farm near Old Evergreen in what is now Lincoln Lee County, where he grew up learning to handle firearms, a common skill in frontier communities. After the Civil War ended, the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 placed Texas under military authority, a period marked by deep social and political tension that shaped the restless young man Longley was becoming. In December 1868, three formerly enslaved men passed through the community of Evergreen.
Longley and companions confronted them and directed them into a dry creek bed. When Green Evans attempted to leave, Longley fired multiple shots, killing him. Prior Evans and another man named Ned escaped unharmed. Longley later claimed others also fired their weapons and he should not bear the blame alone.
Some accounts suggest Evans may have been affiliated with the Texas State Police, but that detail is uncertain since the organization was not formally established until two years later. By 1869, Longley had partnered with his brother-in-law, John Wilson. The pair traveled through southern Texas and became involved in unlawful activities targeting local settlers, including the killing of a freedman named Paul Bryce in Bastrop County. In March 1870, a $1,000 reward was issued for their capture.
Longley later claimed Wilson was killed by outlaws in 1870, but historical records suggest Wilson may have actually died four years later in Falls County, a discrepancy that highlights how Longley’s stories were often altered over time. Seeking to escape mounting legal trouble, Longley headed north and enlisted in the US Army on June 22, 1870. He joined Company B of the Second Cavalry Regiment at Camp Stambaugh in Wyoming Territory but deserted within two weeks. He was captured, court-martialed, and sentenced to hard labor, though he was released after just four months.
Despite his difficulties with military discipline, his skill with firearms earned him assignments on hunting parties that supplied the post with fresh game. In May 1872, he deserted a second time. Little is known about Longley’s whereabouts for the rest of 1872. By February 1873, he had returned to Texas and was again accused in connection with the death of a freedman in Bastrop County.
He sought refuge with family in Bell County, but Sheriff J. J. Finney of Mason County arrested him during the summer of 1873 and transported him to Austin to claim a federal reward. When state officials refused to honor the payment, Finney released him.
Some accounts suggest Longley’s uncle may have facilitated his freedom. On March 31, 1875, Longley killed Wilson Anderson, a boyhood friend. The act was reportedly prompted by a long-standing family grievance. According to some sources, one of Longley’s uncles, Caleb B.
Longley, believed Anderson was responsible for the death of his own son and urged Bill to take matters into his own hands. Longley fled north with his brother James, who was arrested and tried but later acquitted. In November 1875, Longley was on the run following the death of George Thomas, a hunting companion who died after a heated argument and physical altercation. In January 1876, Longley was involved in another deadly encounter in Ovaldi County, this time with Lou Shroyer.
What began as an attempted ambush turned into an armed standoff. Shroyer managed to shoot Longley’s horse, but Longley prevailed. Notably, this was the only documented instance where someone he targeted fought back. After fleeing, Longley secured work as a sharecropper under a local preacher named William Arley.
That peace was short-lived. Longley found himself in a rivalry with Arley’s nephew over the attention of the same young woman. Longley allegedly assaulted his romantic competitor and was jailed but soon escaped. He blamed the preacher for his incarceration.
On June 13, 1876, Longley returned to the preacher’s farm and confronted him while he was tending to chores. The confrontation ended in the preacher’s death, believed to be the final person killed by Longley. Longley reportedly later helped two acquaintances escape from a Grayson County prison, disarming Deputy Matt Shelton during the jailbreak. Nearly a year later, Shelton confirmed the encounter, lending credibility to the story.
Longley then fled to Louisiana. On June 6, 1877, law officers located Longley living under the assumed name Bill Jackson in Dotto Parish, Louisiana. Navarro County Sheriff Milt Moss and two deputies apprehended him without resistance. He was taken back to Texas, where he stood trial in Lee County for the death of Wilson Anderson.
The court found him guilty and sentenced him to death. His appeal was denied in March 1878. On October 11, 1878, the sentence was carried out in Giddings, Texas, not far from Evergreen where Longley had spent his childhood. He is buried in Giddings City Cemetery, where a historical marker recognizes his life.
Years after the execution, Longley’s father publicly claimed the hanging had been staged and that his son had escaped punishment. The claim drew attention for decades. In 2000, researchers exhumed the grave in Giddings, and the remains were transferred to the Smithsonian Institution for scientific analysis. DNA testing and facial reconstruction were performed.
In June 2001, it was officially announced that the remains were indeed those of Bill Longley, settling the long-standing rumors. Many stories about Longley cannot be confirmed by period records. A significant number originate from accounts he shared himself while incarcerated in 1877. Some are likely exaggerated or entirely untrue.
His tendency to embellish seemed driven by a wish to match or surpass the notoriety of John Wesley Hardin, another well-known Old West figure. Longley reportedly reacted with anger upon learning of his death sentence, while Hardin received a 25-year prison term rather than capital punishment. One of the most clearly disproven tales involved Longley being captured and lynched in 1869 alongside a member of Cullen Baker’s outlaw group. According to Longley, he survived after a fortunate shot cut the rope during his hanging.
However, Baker had already died and his group had disbanded by that time, so the story cannot be accurate. There is also no contemporary evidence supporting claims that Longley killed a Black militia member in 1866 or shot eight Black individuals in Lexington in 1867. He would have been only 14 and 15 years old at the time. These stories reflect the deeply ingrained racial attitudes Longley expressed, as he himself admitted he was taught to believe such views were true.
Longley is traditionally believed to have carried a pair of Dance . 44 revolvers, Texas-made copies modeled after Colt Dragoon pistols. However, for the two confirmed killings of Wilson Anderson and William Arley, he used a shotgun. These are the only cases where the specific weapon involved is clearly documented.
Longley’s legacy has been carried into popular culture through novels, television, and film. He appears in Louis L’Amour’s 1959 novel The First Fast Draw, in James Carlos Blake’s 1995 novel Pistolero, and was portrayed by Douglas Kennedy in a 1954 episode of Stories of the Century. Steve McQueen played Longley in a 1958 episode of Tales of Wells Fargo, and Rory Calhoun starred as the title character in the CBS series The Texan, which depicted him as a noble wanderer, a far more romanticized version of his story.
