Who were the Dalton Bandits and how they tried to rob two banks in one fell swoop

The Dalton Bandits managed to pull off many robberies in the Wild West, but their success came to a head only on October 5, 1892, when they attempted to rob two banks at the same time in Coffeyville, Kansas, in full day

The history of the Wild West is full of bullets and bloody battles. Outlaws like Jesse James, Billy the Kid and Johnny Ringo left their mark on American history, and the Daltons were no exception.

While other outlaws of the Wild West are known for their successful highway robberies, the Dalton gang is famous for allegedly attacking banks. In 1892, they tried to rob two banks in broad daylight, but the account at home didn’t quite match the one at the fair.

The Dalton brothers weren’t evil to begin with

The Dalton Gang consisted primarily of brothers Bob, Grat, Bill and Emmett Dalton.

Born to parents James Lewis Dalton and Adeline Lee Younger, whose grandchildren included outlaw Cole Younger, the Daltons spent their childhood in the Wild West.

Their family began life in Missouri before moving to Oklahoma and spending some time near the small town of Coffeyville, Kansas. And while many of the Dalton brothers eventually made a name for themselves as outlaws, they started out, at the very top, on the “right side of the law.”

As the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture notes, their older brother, Frank, served as a deputy marshal of the Federal District Court for Western Arkansas in Fort Smith beginning in 1884.

When he was shot and killed by “horse thieves and whiskey peddlers” in 1887, Grat and Bob Dalton followed in his footsteps and became deputy US marshals.

However, the Dalton brothers showed some outlaw tendencies even from that time. In Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, Bob killed a lot of people. Rumor has it that a man ended up with a bullet in his skull for trying to seduce his girlfriend.

In 1890, both Bob and Grat were in trouble with the law. Bob was accused of selling whiskey to the Osage Nation, while Grat allegedly stole horses.

From there, Grat, Bob, and Emmett Dalton headed to California, where they met up with their brother, Bill. It didn’t take long for their first strike.

The beginnings of a criminal life

The Dalton Gang’s life of crime allegedly began on February 6, 1891, when four masked men robbed a Southern Pacific train at Alila, California.

According to Legends of America, one man, believed to be Bill, shot over the heads of the passengers while the others forced the conductor to lead them to the money car. In the ensuing commotion, the robbers shot and killed him, but the man guarding the money made the robbers retreat.

Bob and Emmett escaped, but Grat and Bill were arrested and charged. While Bill was acquitted, Grat was found guilty in July 1891 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

However, Grat would soon make a daring escape. In September, he somehow stole the key to the handcuffs while being transported to jail and jumped from a moving train into the San Joaquin River. Then he would return to Oklahoma, where he would rejoin the Dalton gang.

Evidently, before Grat got to them, Emmett and Bob had been busy robbing trains in Indian Territory. With Grat back in their midst, the outlaws continued their crimes, making off with $17,000 from a train they robbed at Pryor Creek in July 1892.

The Dalton gang also avoided arrest after deciding not to rob a particular train, which they later learned was well guarded.

Each member of the Dalton gang had a $5,000 bounty on their head, and U.S. marshals were racing to catch them.

According to the National Park Service, Bob Dalton wanted to leave his mark on the Wild West. He stated that the gang would “surpass anything Jesse James ever did, which is to rob two banks at once in broad daylight.”

To make matters even more risky, he attempted to rob the CM Condon & Company Bank and the First National Bank in Coffeyville, their hometown.

“The City Stopped the Dalton Brothers”

On October 5, 1892, the Dalton gang, consisting of Bob, Grat and Emmett, as well as two outlaws named Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers, boldly executed their plans, but did not count on the possibility of failure.

After the gang entered town, Legends of America reports that a local Coffeyville resident named Aleck McKenna recognized the Dalton brothers. As the gang broke up, Bob and Emmett Dalton were heading to the First National Bank, and Grat Dalton, Broadwell, and Powers were heading to the Condon Bank, and McKenna yelled, “The bank is being robbed!”

As the Dalton gang began their double heist at the bank, word began to spread throughout the city. At the Condon Bank, a teller lied and told Grat and his accomplices that the vault was locked, meaning it would not open for ten minutes.

At the First National Bank, armed townspeople lay in wait at the bank entrance while Bob and Emmett Dalton stuffed the money into grain sacks.

When Bob and Emmett tried to run, they were met by a hail of bullets. They turned and went out the back door of the bank, only to find themselves trapped in an alley.

Meanwhile, Grat, Broadwell and Powers confronted the armed locals. They ran down the alley in turn and were quickly surrounded by the angry people of Coffeyville on either side.

“The Dalton Gang is no more, and travelers passing through Indian Territory can breathe a sigh of relief,” the Coffeyville Journal triumphantly wrote on October 7, according to the National Park Service. “The country, and especially the railroads and express companies, can breathe easier now that the Daltons are dead,” the article also stated.

In 1893, Bill Dalton joined forces with his old friend Bill Doolin, forming the Doolin-Dalton Gang, also known as the Wild Bunch. He continued to terrorize the Wild West until he was shot on June 8, 1894.

Meanwhile, Emmett Dalton, who survived the botched Coffeyville bank robbery, was pardoned from his life sentence in 1907.

As a result, he changed his course one hundred percent and ended up in Hollywood, working as an author and screenwriter. He died at the age of 66.