Cullen Baker

Who was Cullen Baker?

Cullen Montgomery Baker, was a Tennessee-born Texas and Arkansas desperado whose gang is alleged to have killed hundreds of people including former slaves during the early days of the American Old West, in the years following the Civil War, although these numbers are likely inaccurate, and the actual number is likely closer to fifty or sixty.

He was notorious for fighting in saloon brawls, and for his fiery temper. During one fight, he was knocked unconscious by a man named Morgan Culp, who hit him in the head with a tomahawk. This seemed, for a time, to have shocked him into behaving, and calmed his temper. Baker has also been described as one of the earlier versions of a gunfighter.