Vernon County Sheriff's Office, Missouri
End of Watch: Friday, March 22, 1867
Age: 41
Tour of Duty: 1 year
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 22, 1867
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: At large
Sheriff Joseph Bailey was shot and killed while attempting to arrest two brothers for hog stealing.
The suspects robbed the Sheriff of his gun, horse, and money. Two of the suspects escaped, and a third suspect was lynched. A fourth suspect who escaped was later killed in May 1875 when he tried to attack a guard in a Lincoln, Nebraska, prison.
Sheriff Bailey had served with the Vernon County Sheriff's Office for one year and previously as a Brigadier General during the Civil War. He was survived by his wife and four children.
He is buried in section 3, lot 2 of Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Scott, Bourbon County, Kansas.