The Dalton Gang's failed 1892 double bank robbery in Coffeyville, Kansas resulted in the deaths of four gang members and effectively ended the outlaw group.
Key Facts
- Active years
- 1890–1892
- Gang members killed at Coffeyville
- 4
- Emmett Dalton prison sentence served
- 14 years
- Robbery type
- Double bank robbery attempted simultaneously
- Operating regions
- California, Kansas, Oklahoma Territory, Indian Territory
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Brothers Bob, Grat, and Emmett Dalton began their criminal careers after working as lawmen for the federal court at Fort Smith, Arkansas and the Osage Nation. Seeking greater income, they turned to horse theft and then fled the region, forming an outlaw gang that robbed trains and banks across the American West between 1890 and 1892.
On October 5, 1892, the Dalton Gang attempted to rob two Coffeyville, Kansas banks simultaneously. Local citizens, forewarned of the plan, armed themselves and confronted the gang. In the ensuing gunfight, Bob and Grat Dalton and two other gang members were killed. Emmett Dalton was captured after surviving serious wounds and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The Coffeyville raid destroyed the Dalton Gang. Emmett Dalton served 14 years in prison before receiving parole. Surviving brother Bill Dalton subsequently formed a new outlaw group with Bill Doolin, known as the Wild Bunch or Dalton-Doolin Gang, continuing criminal activity in the region.
Political Outcome
The gang was effectively destroyed at the Coffeyville raid; four members killed, one captured and imprisoned for 14 years.
Dalton Gang active, conducting train and bank robberies across multiple territories
Gang dissolved; Bill Dalton formed successor Dalton-Doolin Gang with Bill Doolin