Battle of the Cimarron

The Battle of Cimarron tells the story of a famous gunfight between the people of Cimarron, Kansas, and a group of lawmen led by Bill Tilghman. The gunfight occurred on January 12, 1889, when Tilghman and his invaders attempted to take the county records from the Old Gray County Courthouse back to Ingalls. The story told from a first-person perspective. The Battle of Cimmaron is broken out into five chapters of audio files including background sound effects bring the story to life.

Chapter one sets the scene for the Battle of Cimarron when introducing the main culprit of the conflict, Mr. Asa T. Soule. Soule has a purpose in mind, and that will be not to allow Cimarron to become the County Seat.

The second chapter entitled “The County Seat War” gives an overview of the County Seat wars and the legacy of Asa T. Soule, who was the prime instigator of the conflict between the towns of Ingalls and Cimarron Kansas. Section one also provides information on Soule and the construction of the Soule Canal.

The chapter entitled, “Finding the Right Deputies,” tells how Bill Tilghman becomes appointed sheriff of Gray County and awarded the task of taking the county records from Cimarron back to Ingalls.

The taking of the records leads to the fourth chapter entitled, “Raid on the Courthouse,” describing in detail, the gunfight between Bill Tilghman, his deputies, and the citizens of Cimarron. After the conflict erupts entitled, “Citizens Approaching,” (Chapter Five), Tilghman and his men find themselves surrounded and outgunned.

The description of their retreat is from the courthouse is outlined in chapter six entitled “Retreat to Canal.” Chapter seven gives the accounts of the after effect of the withdrawal as Tilghman left three of his deputies surrounded in the courthouse and unable to escape. What happens next is the full story of “The Battle of the Cimarron.”

The battle of the Cimarron iBooks edition is complete with interactive media, including both audio and video files. The 50-page book is a beautiful digitally mastered replica narrated by Brad Smalley. The content of the interactive replica includes ten audio files, 15 photos, one video, and a newspaper article about the historic battle.