March 14, 1874

Sid Wallace was hanged, an event that drew observers from across Johnson County. One of the most famous violent post–Civil War episodes in Johnson County was the 1873 murder of Judge Elisha Mears. The man suspected in the killing was “noted desperado” Sid Wallace, who attempted to assassinate Joseph T. Dickey, a St. Louis drummer (or a railroad foreman, depending upon the source), in the spring of 1872 and who was convicted of murdering Constable R. W. Ward of Clarksville.