George Coe

Frontier Fighter

Just thought I’d share this new-to-me photo of George Coe.

If you’re unfamiliar, George and his cousin Frank were Lincoln County Regulators. As such, they were at Blazer’s Mill in 1878 when Billy the Kid and the others took on the grizzled Buckshot Roberts.

George Coe

Looking closer at the image above, you’ll notice that George is missing a finger on his right hand. That’s on account of Roberts shooting it off. Before it was all said and done, the former buffalo hunter managed to kill Regulator leader Dick Brewer, put a bullet in John Middleton’s chest, shoot Coe’s finger off, and likewise injure both Doc Scurlock AND Billy the Kid.

Not bad for one man with a bum arm facing off with a dozen of Lincoln County’s finest.

George Coe

Here’s another photo of George showing off his stump decades after the fight. Unlike many of his peers, George lived a very long life, eventually passing away on November 12, 1941, at 85.

But who exactly was that Buckshot Roberts guy?

And how in the heck did he cause so much damage in such a lopsided gunfight?

Unfortunately, little is known about the real-life Andrew “Buckshot” Roberts. Fortunately, I recently compiled everything I could find about the man in the most recent episode of The Wild West Extravaganza.

Also discussed are Billy the Kid, James Dolan, Doc Scurlock, Dick Brewer, and a dentist by the name of Joseph Hoy Blazer. I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. - This episode will not be available on YouTube until 6:45 PM central. I’m experiencing some technical issues, but I hope to have it resolved by this evening.

In the meantime, enjoy this cool photo of Blazer’s Mill.

Blazer’s Mill