Category:McCastle Gang

The McCastle Gang was a lesser-known 19th-century gang of American outlaws that revolved around five sons (by various women) of Robert "Papa" McCastle. The gang was originally based in the state of Kentucky, the home of most of the members, but gradually fled westward into the Four Corners region to escape justice. Membership fluctuated from robbery to robbery, as the outlaws' raids were usually separated by many months. The McCastle Gang had its origins in a group of Confederate bushwhackers that participated in the bitter partisan fighting that wracked Kentucky during the American Civil War. After the war, the men continued to plunder and murder, though the motive shifted to personal profit rather than in the name of the Confederacy.

In the early years, the group was led by Papa McCastle, who began to take a less active role in their depredations as old age and injuries, sustained both in and after the war, took their inevitable toll. The group had begun to settle down in southwestern Colorado when, in late-1876, Papa McCastle was shot while resisting arrest by the marshal of Babylon, [TBD]. Papa would later die from his injuries at the family home. His sons all swore bloody revenge on the marshal and his town. Now led by an as-yet unidentified sixth member, the gang embarked on a "terror campaign" lasting many months.