John V. Fletcher (born 1821) was a Confederate States Army captain and bushwhacker from Missouri who served in the American Civil War. In 1865, he was paid by US Senator James Henry Lane to convince his band of bushwhackers to surrender to the Union Army and to hunt down Josey Wales, the last remaining member of Fletcher's command who refused to capitulate. Ultimately, Fletcher reluctantly helped Captain Bill Terrill track down Wales in Texas, but, after Wales killed Terrill, Fletcher - feeling remorse for his betrayal - decided to ignore Wales when he saw him again and instead decided to head to Mexico to search for Wales, despite knowing that he was alive in Santo Rio.
Biography[]
Fletcher in 1863
John V. Fletcher was born in Missouri in 1821, and he served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, joining William T. Anderson's band of bushwhackers and riding with Josey Wales, among others. By 1865, after Anderson's death, Fletcher took command of some of the remnants of Anderson's group, and, in May 1865, he was bribed by the US Senator and Union Army Kansas brigade commander James Henry Lane to convince his men to surrender. Fletcher failed to convince the diehard Wales to join him, and, at the surrender, Fletcher was forced to watch as his men were massacred by Captain Bill Terrill's Redlegs, against Lane's promises. When Wales rode into the camp, killed several Union soldiers, and rode off with the mortally wounded survivor Jamie Bottoms, Lane hired Fletcher to help Terrill track down and kill Wales and any other Confederate holdouts.
Fletcher in 1865
Terrill knew Wales better than Wales' archenemy Terrill did, and Terrill frequently ignored Fletcher's warnings to not underestimate Wales, who, according to Fletcher, lived by the feud. The trackers pursued Wales across the Missouri River, into the Indian Territory, and then into Texas, where Wales engaged in a shootout with US Army troops in a small desert town before fleeing into Comanche territory. Ultimately, Terrill caught up with Wales at the Crooked River Ranch near the ghost town of Santo Rio, but Wales confronted and killed his rival and his henchmen. Not long after, Fletcher rode into Santo Rio with two Texas Rangers to look for Wales, but, when Wales walked into the bar and was introduced to the Rangers as "Mr. Wilson" by the bartender, Fletcher pretended not to recognize him. The bartender assured the Rangers that Wales had been killed in a shootout in Mexico, causing them to leave after having the bartender sign an affidavit, but Fletcher stayed behind and opined that he did not believe the story of Wales' death. He said that he would go to Mexico to find Wales and convince him that the war was over, and, when "Wilson" asked what Fletcher would do, Fletcher responded, "He's got the first move. I owe him that. I'll try to tell him that the war is over." When Fletcher asked "Mr. Wilson" if he would agree, Wales responded with his trademark line, "I reckon so. I guess we all died a little in that damn war." Fletcher then watched as Wales rode off, and he turned around and embarked on his own fruitless journey to Mexico.