On May 26, 1874, former Texas Ranger and Brown County Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb was shot and killed by outlaw John Wesley Hardin outside a saloon in the town of Comanche. Born May 2, 1848, in Harrison County Kentucky, Webb was just 26 years old when he was killed in the line of duty. While I was reading about this event, I was struck by several things that just don’t seem right to me about this story.

Hardin was not your typical romantic Robin Hood type outlaw. This man was genuinely unhinged, in my opinion, and seemed to enjoy killing people just for the sake of doing it. There are songs (even an entire album) and films about this person. Most people have heard his name. There are no songs or films about Charlie Webb. Hardin’s background and life have been discussed in depth for over a century, and even generate a good deal of interest today, while almost no one has heard of Charlie Webb. I think that’s backwards.

Webb served San Saba and Brown Counties as a Texas Ranger, and was subsequently appointed deputy sheriff of Brown County in 1874. Webb was instructed to apprehend Hardin, who was wanted for the murder of another lawman, Sheriff Jack Helm, among many other crimes that were attributed to him. No doubt Webb knew exactly what he was getting into when he tracked Hardin down in Comanche that day.

Hardin’s murdering streak across Texas, culminating ultimately with some 40+ alleged victims, was run with relative impunity from the law, until he killed Charlie Webb. The event is described on a historical marker located in Brown County, which reads in part: “On May 26, 1874, Charlie Webb and John Wesley Hardin were both in Comanche. Having a good day and winning money, cattle, wagons and horses, Hardin was celebrating in local saloons. Outside of Jack Wright’s saloon, Hardin shot and killed Webb. Witnesses stated that Hardin was the first to draw. Hardin fled Texas with his wife and child and was on the run for three years. Texas Rangers and the Pinkerton men captured Hardin in Florida, and he was extradited back to Texas to stand trial. Hardin was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to twenty-five years in the state penitentiary in Huntsville.”

I could not find a photo of Charlie Webb, although Hardin’s face shows up everywhere when you search for Webb. I came across only a few brief mentions of his life, nothing definite about a wife or children, if he had any. He’s basically been forgotten.

It’s not unlike what happens today. Someone does something evil, and their name and face goes all over the world. Often there’s hardly a mention of the victims. I guess part of it is human nature, people love a sensational story, but maybe it’s time to stop with the tendency to immortalize criminals and start memorializing their victims instead.

Just like Webb in the early days of Texas, today victims of cruel acts committed by unstable people are frequently law enforcement personnel. It’s popular at the moment to complain about officers being violent or unfair, to pick out examples of bad behavior, while ignoring the courage of everyday workers at a dangerous job who never get mentioned. These men and women put themselves in harm’s way to stop bad people from abusing innocent and helpless people, just like Charlie Webb did. I’d like to see streets and buildings named after people like this instead of just politicians and rich men.

Charlie Webb is buried in the Masonic section of Brownwood’s historic Greenleaf Cemetery. It is said he was the second person buried at this site.I wanted to stand there by his grave and thank him, and all the other unsung heroes who oppose dangerous and deranged people daily, so that the rest of us do not have to live in fear. Their names and stories should be remembered.

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Diane Adams is a local journalist whose columns appear Thursdays on BrownwoodNews.com