Before discussing the Glanton Gang, I must confess that I’ve never read Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. So, what I know about the fictionalized version of the gang and its members comes from reviews I’ve read online. I don’t think this fact will matter for the contents of this article, but I wanted to be upfront. Also, I have no intention of reading the book. McCarthy is a bit too depressing for me.
So now that we understand that I don’t read Cormac McCarthy, let’s move on to the topic at hand. In the book I did not read, the Glanton Gang is a group of bloodthirsty killers scalping Native Americans for profit. In real life, well, it is probably the same story, but it is not easy to verify. The fact is there is not a lot of information about the Glanton Gang. The only real member who is genuinely historically verifiable is John Joel Glanton. His second in command, Judge Holden, is only referenced in Samuel Chamberlain’s memoirs, and I’ve written about how incredibly insane those memoirs can sometimes appear.
For Glanton, I used two wonderful sources for this article. There is a book by John Sepich titled Notes on Blood Meridian that covers the historical sources for Glanton. There is also a great article on the Texas Historical Associate’s website by Ralph A. Smith. On the other hand, all I have for Judge Holden is Chamberlain, so I am writing based on one account from a guy who seems to exaggerate—a lot.
Key Players
Before going forward, let me cover who the main three characters are in this story.
Samuel Chamberlain (1829-1908)
Samuel Chamberlain spent many years on the American western frontier, first as a member of the army during the Mexican-American War and later taking odd jobs. It was during this period he briefly joined the Glanton Gang.[1] After his exploits out West, he became a Brigadier General for the Union in the American Civil War.[2] His memoirs are the backbone of this story. I encourage you to read my article about them. They’re hilarious.
John Joel Glanton (1819-1850)
John Joel Glanton’s life appeared to be one wild ride. At the age of 16, Lipan Apaches abducted, scalped, and killed Glanton’s fiancée. Glanton, reeling from the loss, joined the Texas Rangers during the Texas Revolution. After the war, he traveled around, getting into trouble. My best guess is that he was never very popular in any community where he lived.
He served again during the Mexican-American War, acting as a scout. His time serving during the war can only be described as a mixed bag. He had to leave one unit because he killed an unarmed Mexican, abandoned a second, and finally, was a hero in the third. When reading about Glanton, it becomes apparent that his emotions controlled him.
Eventually, Glanton decided to do what all smart men did in the 1800s. He sought his fortune from gold. He left his wife and daughter and went to California to become rich. So now Glanton is stranded in Mexico. I don’t know how this happened either- it just did. Glanton finds himself needing money, so he turns to bounty work. The Chihuahua government in Mexico sought someone to help them with local Apache Natives. Glanton did well for himself, killing and capturing his bounty targets. However, there were never enough targets, so he began targeting peaceful Natives. When this wasn’t still enough, he turned to scalping. Trading scalps with whoever would buy for money. Chamberlain reports that Glanton received $50 per scalp. Scalping does not make you many friends, and soon, Glanton found himself with his own bounty. Worse yet for Glanton, he had made enemies of the typically peaceful Yuma.[3]
Right around this time, Samuel Chamberlain joined up with the gang. It is also right before Glanton’s death. So before I describe these final days, I want to introduce Judge Holden.
Judge Holden (?-?)
The only source that Judge Holden was a person who existed is Samuel Chamberlain’s book. Chamberlain did not know where Holden was from, his ancestry, or his past. Rumors in the camp persisted that Holden had an evil reputation in a past life. Chamberlain did not think much of Holden in his current life as well. He described Holden as a villain and flat-out stated he did not like the man. Chamberlain tells us that Holden was nearly 6 feet tall and deadly accurate with any gun. Worst of all, Chamberlain states that a dead little girl was found in a chapel, having been abused. Chamberlain leads the reader to believe it was Holden. Chamberlain did note that Holden was highly educated. Holden could speak multiple languages and knew about geology. It almost seems at odds with his other rough character. This information is all we know of Judge Holden.[4]
Chamberlain Rides with the Glanton Gang
Chamberlain’s introduction to Glanton provides proper insight into the group. The first time Chamberlain met Glanton, Glanton grabbed Chamberlain’s nose and twisted it about. Chamberlain responded with violence, knocking Glanton down. Far from being mad, this pleased Glanton since Chamberlain had passed some crazy test. Chamberlain never mentions if he found out what happens to those who fail the test.
Chamberlain tells us that Glanton left on a scalping expedition with some of the men soon after. This expedition was deemed a failure because they found no Apaches. However, they did find some Mexican people. They killed the elderly and kidnapped two young Mexican girls. Glanton’s men then abused these girls for the next several days. However, another local group of men mistook Glanton’s group for Apaches and attacked them. The two girls were killed.
The next tale Chamberlain tells us is that Glanton got drunk with the gang one night and decided to give a speech. After the speech, he began shooting at the men. One of them was wounded in the leg. It took Judge Holden grabbing Glanton and soothing him to end the event. What a guy. Good times like this could not last. As the gang traveled, they were attacked by Apaches. They managed to escape, but many of their group were severely wounded. Four men were unable to travel further. Chamberlain tells us that Glanton had a rule about leaving wounded men to fend for themselves. Instead of abandoning them to be found by the Apaches, you kill them. The four men were beaten to death by their comrades armed with clubs.
The gang continued to travel the lands. Chamberlain claims they were the first white men ever to see the Grand Canyon. I’m not saying he is wrong, but I’m pretty sure he is wrong. Also, Chamberlain loved to sing his own praises.
The gang eventually winds up at the Yuma crossing. This river crossing was the home of the Yuma tribe, traditionally peaceful, friendly people. Glanton takes advantage of this generosity by stealing several tribes’ boats and kidnapping nine girls. Initial attempts to reclaim the girls left several Yuma dead. The gang settled in the spot, creating what they called Fort Defiance. They spent the next several weeks strengthening their camp at the crossing and ferrying Mexicans over the river. What great businessmen!
Chamberlain describes one night as a disgusting orgy but thankfully does not go into detail. He stated that the actions of the rest of the gang left him and three comrades so appalled that they vowed to leave on the first chance. This decision appears to be based on the gang’s cumulative actions, not just the one night. Two days later they made their escape.
The fleeing men could not have timed it better. Chamberlain reports that the Yuma attacked the same morning that the men fled. However, seeing Judge Holden in trouble, Chamberlain decided to save him by firing at the Yumas surrounding Holden. I guess he didn’t hate him that much. Holden repaid Chamberlain by stealing his horse and threatening to go to settlements, denouncing the fleeing men as the true villains. Holden fell off the horse. Chamberlain and his compatriots tied Holden and left him for dead. Chamberlain once again decided to save the man he hated and went back to untie him. Freeing Holden left Chamberlain to travel for several days alone to catch up to the other men. Shockingly, two days after Chamberlain reached the other men, Holden showed up at the campfire. He had killed one of their mules and was eating it. They kicked him out and ate the rest of the food.[5]
Chamberlain’s memoirs end here. We have no idea how he got out of trouble for his actions. Holden’s life after that campfire remains a mystery. So I know you’re asking, “What about John Glanton?”
John Glanton’s Death
There are many different reports on Glanton’s death. John Sepich covers them, so I encourage anyone interested to read his work. There seems to be agreement among the reports except for what actually killed Glanton. Some reports have him clubbed to death, while others have him killed with a hatchet.[6] I’m not sure it matters in the end. William Carr was a gang member who gave a deposition about the event in 1850. He states that the Yuma came feigning friendship and cooperation, and they struck when the gang let its guard down. Carr says that he saw Glanton’s body tied to dogs and burned.[7]
There are a couple of interesting things to note about Carr’s deposition. First, as John Sepich points out, Carr’s story is that he and two others were cutting poles midday when the event occurred. This activity is exactly what Chamberlain’s compatriots were doing before they escaped.[8] There are three options presented based on this information:
- One of them is lying.
- Glanton needed a lot of poles.
- Carr was a member of Chamberlain’s group but lied about his name.
There is no way of knowing the truth about that discrepancy. The second thing to note about Carr’s deposition is that he has the Yuma feigning friendship. In Chamberlain’s story, the Yuma were angry at Glanton for kidnapping their girls. I’m not sure why Glanton would suddenly believe in friendship. I guess it is possible. I’m more inclined to think Carr wanted to be a victim in this scenario. Better to pretend the Yuma were traitorous rather than responding to the gang’s actions.
So that ends the Glanton Gang. They were not great people. There is a reason they were perfect for McCarthy’s book. When you went to their camp, you could never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Hope you enjoyed this read!
[1] All information about Samuel Chamberlain and his life is taken from his personal memoir My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue.
[2] John H. Eicher, and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002), 742.
[3] Information from this section was taken from the Texas State Historical Association website, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/glanton-john-joel. It features an article by Ralph A. Smith from 1952 that was revised by Sloan Rodgers on December 9, 2015.
[4] As stated, all information on Holden comes from Samuel Chamberlain’s book My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue.
[5] This section is from Samuel Chamberlain’s My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue.
[6] John Sepich, Notes on Blood Meridian: Revised and Expanded Edition (Austin, Tex: University of Texas Press, 2008), 22-28.
[7] William Carr et al., “Depredations by the Yumas,” Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California and of the Pioneers of Los Angeles County 6, no. 1 (1903): 52-54, https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/41169609.
[8] Sepich, 25.
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