San Patricio, Page 1
The small village of San Patricio was frequently visited by the Regulators during the Lincoln County War. At the time, the entire town was Hispanic and had between fifteen and twenty buildings. Regulator Jose Chavez y Chavez was a constable in San Patricio. The Hispanics who lived here all sympathized with the Regulators. Most of the Hispanic Regulators that joined the Regulators towards the end of the war were from San Patricio. On June 27, 1878, a small gunfight erupted between the Regulators and a group of six Murphy-Dolan-Riley gunmen, led by John Long. No one on either side was hurt or killed, except Long's horse was killed. On July 3, 1878, another, larger group of Murphy-Dolan-Riley gunmen (led by John Kinney) raided San Patricio. They shot windows full of holes, threatened men, burned buildings, terrorized women, looted homes, and just basically sacked the small town. All this happened because the citizens of San Patricio were partisan to the McSween side. The Regulators returned here after the war, and Billy made frequent return trips here.
The Town of San Patricio
This is a photo taken from the highway above San Patricio. The town has grown much since 1878.
The Town of San Patricio
This photo was taken to the right of the buildings in the first photo.
