Charlie Bowdre (1848-1880) - Find a Grave Memorial

Outlaw. Likely born in Wilkes County, Georgia although at times he also claimed Mississippi and Tennessee as his birthplace. Raised on his parents' farm, much of his youth remains a mystery. Records indicated that he traveled west in 1874, meeting Doc Scurlock in Arizona, and then moving on to New Mexico. The pair were hired by John Tunstall of Lincoln County and joined William Bonney - later known as Billy the Kid - as original members of the Lincoln County Regulators, participating in the Lincoln County Range War. With their faction's loss, he moved on to Fort Sumner with Bonney where he took on work as a ranch hand, marrying Scurlock's sister-in-law. Wanted for murder in the Lincoln County War death of Buckshot Roberts at Blazer's Mills, he met with Pat Garrett to work out the terms of a surrender, but the negotiation failed, and he continued his association with Bonney. Fleeing from Garrett's posse, the men hid out in a shelter at Stinking Springs, where they were surrounded during the night, and in the early morning when Bowdre emerged to tend the stock, he was shot to death. His remains were returned to his wife at Fort Sumner for burial.

Bio by: Iola