Luke Short: The Gambler Who Started a War in Dodge City

Luke Short was ordered out of Dodge City and told never to return. He came back with Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and some of the most dangerous gunmen in the West. In 1883, Short owned an interest in the Long Branch Saloon, one of Dodge City’s most profitable gambling houses. When reform politicians began targeting saloons and dance halls, authorities arrested Short, closed his business and forced him onto a departing train. But Short refused to surrender his share of the town without a fight. From exile, he called on the men he trusted. Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Charlie Bassett and other armed allies arrived in Dodge City as newspapers warned that a war was about to begin. Businesses closed, gunmen filled the streets and state officials rushed to prevent a confrontation. The conflict became known as the Dodge City War—even though political pressure ended it before either side opened fire. Short reclaimed the Long Branch, but his most famous gunfight was still ahead. Four years later, former marshal Jim Courtright confronted him outside the White Elephant Saloon in Fort Worth. Seconds later, Courtright was dead. This is the full story of Luke Short: the gambler driven out of Dodge City, the gunfighters who returned to defend him, the bloodless war that humiliated the city government and the final showdown that proved Short was more than a man behind a card table. Further Reading and Sources Jack DeMattos, The Notorious Luke Short: Sporting Man of the Wild West Robert K. DeArment, Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend Robert K. DeArment, Deadly Dozen: Twelve Forgotten Gunfighters of the Old West Ford County Historical Society, “The Dodge City War” Ford County Government, “The Dodge City Peace Commission” Kansas Historical Society archival collections Dodge City Times, reporting from April–June 1883 Dodge City Globe, historical reporting on Luke Short Fort Worth Daily Gazette, reporting on the Courtright gunfight Tarrant County coroner and court records Every script on this channel is written and researched using historical scholarship, contemporary newspapers, court documents and surviving eyewitness accounts. When legend exaggerates what happened, we separate the documented record from the story that came later. Our purpose is to preserve the real history behind the American frontier’s most famous confrontations.