When that phrase, attributed to Ranger Captain Bill McDonald in 1896, was used to describe his arrival and response to a possible riotous situation, it forever cemented the image and mythos of the Texas Rangers as a fierce, hard-core band of lawmen who wielded egotistical fearlessness as deftly as they did their six shooters. Frontier Battalion company in Alice, Texas. By the mid-1870s, it was used primarily as a hunting knife. Dime novels and other short works of fiction captured popular imagination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Still serving as the states most elite law enforcement agency, their investigations cover anything from murder, to corruption, to any number of other serious criminal activities, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Rangers. he retired as a Texas Ranger, Hamer was hired as a special investigator for the The opening scene in the first episode has text showing Santa Anna (Olivier Martinez) riding into the Alamo after the early morning battle on March 7, 1836. of a company that patrolled the South Texas border. In 1934 though, well after Mail: P.O. Established in 1835, the "Texas Rangers Division" was originally intended as a frontier militia put in place by the government to protect settlers from the Indian tribes and outlaws that existed in abundance throughout the region, according to the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco. Mexican President Porfirio Diaz warned that he had sent cavalry to arrest anyone entering Mexico to take part in the fight. She was seized by Mexican forces in East Texas on April 16, 1836, but was not at the Alamo. Prints and Photographs Collection, 1957/011-4. Jones went on to become a distinguished veteran of Texas forces in the Civil war, and was later chosen to lead the battalion of Rangers that would take down infamous train robber Sam Bass and his gang in 1878, according to the, Originally from Lexington, North Carolina, Hall moved to Texas in 1869. The blade of this knife is marked: G. Wostenholm & Son, Washington Works, I*XL, the real IXL knife, The Hunters Companion. The Texas Rangers is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction based in Austin, Texas. Fax: 512-936-2306, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, Website Policies | Accessibility Resources | Texas Library and Archives Foundation, Inc. | Subscribe - Events Newsletter, © 2020 Texas State Library and Archives Commission. While many historians believe the celebrated frontiersman David Crockett was among those executed, he is not identified in the opening execution scene as part of the group. The idealized figure of the Texas Ranger lent himself well to tales of life on the frontier where the virtuous cowboy was pitted against outlaws and the “savage Indian.” Mainstream media helped transport the mythology of the Texas Ranger beyond just the state and found a loyal fan base in young children and men. In 1895, a heavyweight championship bout was announced between Bob Fitzsimmons and James J. Corbett, scheduled for October 31 in Dallas. View Governor Culberson sent Texas Rangers to El Paso, Texas. See related: 10 things the History Channel's 'Texas Rising' got wrong about the Battle of the Alamo. He came to Texas after learning of the execution of his brother and cousin, but did not get here until 1837, well after the war ended. View our Texas site for more information Prints and Photographs Collection, 0001/102-333. Captain Micah Andrews command the Texas Rangers in 1837.John Barclay Armstrong helped catch John King Fisher and Email TSLAC, Tel: 1-800-252-9605 The order reminded the men that they were “in the employment of the Government” and as such should “be constantly engaged in some sort of service.”. John B. Jones, Texas Ranger. His most famous exploit as a ranger was undoubtedly his capture of John Wesley Hardin, an outlaw responsible for the death of between 20-40 men, in the spring of 1877, according to the, George Wythe Baylor was born August 2, 1832 in Fort Gibson, Indian Territory and would spend the next several years moving around before finally settling in Texas in 1845. At age 28 he joined the Texas Rangers and is best know for both his involvement in the fence cutting wars and his tracking down of the infamous "Conner gang" in the early 1880s, according to the, Originally an Illinois native, Aten's father moved the family to Texas in 1876. Texas Rangers. the most well known criminal cases in the history of the Old West, such as those of gunfighter John Wesley Hardin, General Order No. The state’s frontier settlements remained vulnerable to incursions by Native Americans and Mexican bandits. The Karankawas, now considered extinct, lived a nomadic existence for centuries as hunter-gatherers, but were greatly reduced in numbers and no longer considered a threat by 1836. The stories typically focused on the dramatic adventures of a single heroic character. or 512-463-5465 Born in Texas, Hamer joined the Rangers in 1906, and became part Tel: 512-463-5455 Fax: 512-463-5436 Email TSLAC bank robber Sam Bass, and outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. Ira joined the Texas Rangers at age 21 and is probably best know for his involvement in the "Fence-Cutting Wars", where he helped track down dangerous individuals violently opposed to the fencing in of once free-range land, according to the. Today, the Texas Rangers continue their legacy. But they were always the first and foremost line of defense for early Texans. Soon after joining the Ranger company in 1844, he and 14 other Rangers took on some 80 Comanches in the battle of Walker’s Creek. The Texas Ranger became a romanticized figure characterized by his fierce fighting ability, cool calm, and stoic demeanor. Prints and Photographs Collection, #1/32-1. During the Civil War, it was possible to determine a man’s loyalties by the markings on the blade of his knife, which included patriotic scrolls, defiant mottos and the American eagle. Texas Library and Archives Foundation, Inc. In 1891, McDonald was selected to replace S. A. McMurry as Captain of Company B, Frontier Battalion of the Texas Rangers where he would take on numerous high-profile criminal cases, including illegal prizefights, bank robberies, murders and riots, according to the, A Texas native, William Lee Wright was born on February 19th, 1868. Texas Genealogy Trails. The shift from savage to heroic began in the 1870s with the formation of the Frontier Battalion. Company of the Frontier Battalion, Texas Rangers, c. 1885. A number of general orders were issued to this effect by Major John B. Jones. The Rangers intercepted Mexican and Native American marauders that crossed into Texas. Slavery would continue in Texas until after the end of the Civil War nearly 30 years later. According to “Texian Iliad” author Stephen L. Hardin, Fannin was shot by a firing squad, and his body was “burned on a pyre with the other victims.”. Wallace would go on to join the Texan Army in 1842, and later the Texas Rangers. Judge Roy Bean brought the spectators, press and Rangers to a sandbar on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. A Texan Ranger, July 6, 1861. The decline of the Frontier Battalion coincided with the death of Major Jones and the resignation of its captains in 1881. Fax: 512-463-5436 The flat, unsharpened area of the blade just above the guard bears the image of an officer on horseback, presumably a likeness of Mexican War hero and eventual president, General Zachary Taylor. Governor Charles Culberson made prizefighting a state felony on October 3, 1895. She signed a contract with James Morgan in New York City in late 1835 to work as a housekeeper in Texas. M-F 8:00 am to 4:45 pm, Tel: 1-800-252-9386 And according to historical author James Donovan, there were 2,000-3,000 slaves in Texas, many declared indentured servants, in compliance with loosely enforced Mexican laws that prohibited slavery. The series, shot in and around Durango, Mexico, depicts Texas as barren desert with large mountains and overlooks. Fitzsimmons knocked Maher out in the first round and claimed the $10,000 purse. The documents are shown here in their entirety so some of the files contain multiple pages. Walker and his partner Trivette are Texas Rangers. Historians have said Portilla actually agonized over Santa Anna’s orders to execute the Texians at Goliad, and even released some of them. Loyalty Rangers. After serving time in the confederate army, in 1879 Baylor was commissioned a lieutenant in the Texas Rangers and ordered to take over the command of a detachment of Rangers in El Paso. The Texas Rangers are an iconic force in the state's history, and some see them as a caricature of the Texan culture. During prohibition Capt. In response, the Texas Legislature created the Frontier Battalion on April 10, 1874 to defend against Native Americans and to enforce law and order. Tel: 512-463-5455 The Rangers have taken part in many of the most important events of Texas history and were involved in some of the most well known criminal cases in the history of the Old West, such as those of gunfighter John Wesley Hardin, bank robber Sam Bass, and outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. Bowie knife, TSLAC Artifact Collection, ATF0468. “Texas is slave-free,” Houston (Bill Paxton) tells West. TSLAC Main Collection, 813.4 W768rs. Alamo commanders William Travis and Jim Bowie were slave owners. Texas Rangers at the El Paso County Courthouse, 1896. Much time and thought was devoted to organizational structure, bureaucracy, keeping up the spirits and discipline of its men, and weeding out undesirable recruits. The Rangers were responsible for taking down some of the most infamous criminals in Texas history, "From Wild West train robbers and gunfighters in the 1870s, to bootleggers and gamblers in the 1920s," the article said. Charles August Johnson, Frontier Battalion, 1892. In 1976 the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame opened to the public as a State memorial to the 150th anniversary of the Texas Rangers. Wright's Rangers were instrumental in capturing bootleggers smuggling tequila into Texas from Mexico, according to the, J.A. The Texas Rangers were unofficially created by Stephen F. Austin in 1823 and formally constituted in 1835. After the introduction of the Colt revolver, the Bowie knife diminished in favor. W. L. Wright joined the Frontier Battalion in 1898 continuing to serve in the State Rangers until 1902, but later was appointed as Captain of Company "D" Texas Rangers, stationed out of Laredo. When confronting an external enemy, the Texas Ranger was expected to be a soldier. It’s very unlikely, based on eyewitness accounts, that Santa Anna himself fired a shot at one of several Texian defenders captured and executed at the Alamo. Once located, the fight that ensued between the two groups would go down in history as the last Indian battle in Texas, according to the, Born in Kemper County, Mississippi in 1852, Bill, his mother, and other relatives moved to Texas after the Civil War had ended. William Alexander Anderson “Bigfoot” Wallace (Robert Baker), a soldier and Texas Ranger from Virginia, did not discover his brother dead at Goliad, as depicted dramatically in the series.