| The Notorious Outlaw Kinnie Wagner |
| William "Kinnie" Wagner was born in Scott County, Virginia, on February 18, 1903. He was one of eight children of Charles Monroe and Nancy Clinton Wagner. In his childhood, he became proficient at target shooting and, at the age of 16, Kinnie joined the Richard Brothers Circus. Because of his skill as a bronco buster and target shooter, he became known to audiences as the "Texas Kid." After leaving the circus, Kinnie began running moonshine in Mississippi. This ultimately led to a shoot-out in which a deputy was killed. Kinnie claimed the shooting was justified and said that he had been framed by a sheriff who'd hired him to run moonshine. He claimed that, when the FBI came to the county to conduct investigations concerning the manufacture of illegal alcohol, the sheriff was afraid he knew too much and would give up information to the agents. Not long before, he had been given a watch to keep for a friend and, according to Kinnie, on trumped up charges, he was arrested for the theft of the watch. However, his stay was short-lived, because he escaped from the Lucedale, MS jail. On Christmas eve, 1924, the sheriff sent a deputy to recapture him. The deputy, whose name was McIntosh, was waiting to ambush Kinnie but Kinnie discovered him. A gun battle ensued and the deputy was killed. Kinnie fled to the Virginia/Tennessee area and, with the help of family and friends, hid out from authorities. The State of Mississippi offered a $1,000 reward for him, dead or alive. One day the Kingsport, TN, police learned that Kinnie was supposed to meet his sister, who was graduating from high school and hadn't seen her brother in a long time. They hatched a plan to ambush the outlaw, but when the smoke cleared, two of the policemen were dead and one was seriously injured and Kinnie had escaped across the Holston River. The Kingsport News wrote, "The tragedy was the most shocking and disastrous one that has ever occurred in or about Kingsport. With ten orphaned children and two widows weeping in their homes, dozens of men of Kingsport and vicinity turned out on the manhunt for the desperado." Kinnie ultimately surrendered and went to trial in Blountville. The jury returned a verdict of guilty and Kinnie was sentenced to be executed in the electric chair. But, before the sentence could be carried out, Kinnie Wagner made good another daring escape. He escaped from custody numerous times, but ultimately died in prison in 1958. |
| Escaped Killer, Tired of Being Pursued, Surrenders to Woman after Outwitting Posses Texarkana, Arkansas - The Associated Press August 20, 1926 Carl "Kinnie" Wagner, 23, alleged slayer of six men, is in custody today after quietly surrendering himself to sheriff Lillie Barber, woman executive of Miller County. "I'm tired of being hunted," Wagner said. "I don't want to dodge people anymore." Posses had been searching for the notorious gunmen since Tuesday, as the result of his latest shooting escapade. On that day he is alleged to have fatally shot Sam and Will Carper and wounded Bob Carper on a farm near Texarkana. Wagner, formerly an expert rifle and pistol performer with a circus, declared, "I would have gotten Bob, but it was so dark I couldn't see to shoot straight." The prisoner is wanted at Kingsport, Tenn. for slaying two officers and wounding a third in April, 1925. He had been sentenced to die in the electric chair and was in jail pending an appeal when he led other prisoners in a jail delivery and escaped. In Mississippi, Wagner is wanted in connection with the deaths of two officers who attempted to prevent him from breaking out of jail. "I have never been arrested for stealing or been in jail on any other charge except killing," Wagner told Sheriff Barber. |
| Vernon Dalhart recorded three songs about Kinnie Wagner in 1926. The Ballad of Kenny Wagner It was down in Mississippi, Not many years ago, A young man started out in life, A life of sin and woe. Now Kenny Wagner was his name, A bandit bold and free; He shot down Sheriff McIntosh And fled to Tennessee. He was captured up in Tennessee And put into the jail; He had no one to help him out, No one to go his bail. But Kenny broke the jail one night And he made his getaway; He thought that he could go through life And never have to pay. It was out in Texarkana Where Kenny met his fate; A woman sheriff called his hand And he pulled his gun too late. He was taken back for trial Right where the deed was done, The judge to Kenny turned and said, "No more you'll pull your gun." For Kenny Wagner broke the law And he threw his life away, And right behind the prison bars He'll sit till judgment day. So folks take fair warning And heed this kind advice, Don't ever break the laws of God, You'll always have to pay. |
