In 1878, there was a famous encounter in Dodge City between Wyatt Earp and a Texas bad guy, which never happened. Nonetheless, the story of Clay Allison is fascinating. Robert Clay Allison was born September 2, 1841. His father was a Presbyterian minister who raised cattle and sheep. In his youth, Allison helped on the family farm near Waynesboro, Tennessee. At the age of 21 he enlisted in the Confederate Army to fight in the Civil War. Following the War, he was cattle rancher, cattle broker, and sometimes gunfighter who had a reputation for violence. He survived several knife and gunfights and was associated with a number of vigilante jail break-ins and lynchings.