| Texas Jack Vermillion |
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John Wilson "Texas Jack" Vermillion (1843-1900?). Gunfighter of the Old West known for his participation in the Earp Vendetta Ride . He was born 1843 in Virginia. He was a Confederate civil war veteran (see photo at right). He may have been a lawman in Texas (hence his nickname). He went to Tombstone, Arizona (Arizona Territory), from Dodge City , where he possibly previously knew the Earps. He was listed by Virgil Earp as special policeman (i.e. deputy city policeman) June 22, 1881 (this was a week before Virgil was formally appointed city marshal). In the unpublished 1926 John H. Flood Manuscript of Wyatt Earp's biography, Vermillion is mentioned several times as not a close friend of the Earps, but rather a relative stranger. This fact caused Wyatt some chagrin in memory, since Vermillion stayed by him at Iron Springs when the other four men, including his brother Warren, fled under fire. Vermillion did not not accompany Virgil Earp as a member of the protective squad which escorted him to Tucson March 20, 1882. Vermillion joined the vendetta posse March 21, 1882 in Tombstone a day after the killing of Stilwell in Tucson, and he was not indicted for Stilwell's killing. He presumably did participate in the killing of Florentino Cruz on March 22, and he had his horse shot out from under him during the fight at Iron Springs (March 24), in which Curly Bill Brocius was killed. Vermillion was himself not hit in that fight, but he had to be picked up by Doc Holliday after exposing himself to fire from the cow-boys, while trying to retrieve the rifle wedged under his fallen horse. This episode, combined with Wyatt's memory in the Flood manuscript, suggests that Vermillion may have been more an associate or friend of Holliday, who was also a Methodist and fellow southerner, and who also had spent time in Dodge City and Deadwood . Note that Holliday's father had also served as a Confederate soldier. After the Earp Vendetta , Vermillion eventually returned to Virginia, settling at Big Stone Gap and working as a Methodist preacher. He is said in various sources (including Flood, who may be the primary source) to have drowned in Lake Michigan near Chicago about 1900. Young (cite below) states that Vermillion's body was returned to Virginia for burial, but Young does not cite his source. If so, information is lacking as to the location of Vermillion's gravesite there. Additional information is sought. FILM REPRESENTATIONS Vermillion appears as a minor character in most Wyatt Earp films. In the 1967 film Hour Of The Gun , he is played by actor Wiliam Windom . Texas Jack is played by Peter Sherakyo in the film Tombstone CITATION |
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