The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River or Wyoming Civil War, was a range war which took place in Johnson County, Wyoming, USA, in April 1892. It was a battle between small farmers and large, wealthy ranches in the Powder River Country that culminated in a lengthy shootout between local farmers, a band of hired killers, and a sheriff's posse, eventually requiring the intervention of the U.S. Cavalry on the orders of the President of the United States.
The events have since become a highly mythologized and symbolic story of the Wild West, and over the years variations of the storyline have come to include some of the west's most famous historical figures and gunslingers. The storyline and its variations have served as the basis for numerous popular novels, films, and television shows.
