Texas Ranger Division

:For other uses see Texas Rangers (disambiguation).

History

Creation and early days

By the early 1820s the Mexican War of Independence had subsided, and some 600 to 700 families had become settled in Texas—most of them from other parts of the United States. At the time the area had no regular army to protect its citizenry against the attacks of Indians and bandits, and for this reason in 1823 Stephen F. Austin organized small, informal armed groups that eventually came to be known as "rangers" because their duties required them to range over the countryside. On or about August 4 of that year, Austin wrote that he would "... employ ten men ... to act as rangers for the common defense ... the wages I will give said ten men is fifteen dollars a month payable in property ..."

Related Topics:
Mexican War of Independence - Indians - 1823 - Stephen F. Austin - Rangers - August 4

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However, it was not until 1835 that the Texas Rangers were formally constituted, when Austin returned to Texas after having been imprisoned in Mexico City. Upon his return, Austin helped organize a council to govern the group. On October 17, at a consultation of the Provisional Government of Texas, Daniel Parker proposed a resolution to establish the Texas Rangers, totaling some 60 men distributed among three companies. This was instituted by Texas lawmakers on November 24, and by 1837, the Rangers numbered more than 300.

Related Topics:
1835 - Mexico City - October 17 - Daniel Parker - November 24 - 1837

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In their early days, Rangers performed tasks of little significance. During the Texas Revolution, Rangers served mainly as scouts, couriers, and guides for the settlers fleeing before the invading Mexican Army, and performed general support duties. These minor roles continued after independence, when the region became the Republic of Texas under President Sam Houston. Houston, who had lived with the Cherokee for many years — and whose wife was Cherokee — favored peaceful coexistence with Indians, a policy that left little space for a force with the Rangers' characteristics.

Related Topics:
Texas Revolution - Republic of Texas - Sam Houston - Cherokee

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This situation changed radically when Mirabeau B. Lamar became president in December 1838. Lamar had been in skirmishes with the Cherokee in his home state of Georgia, and like most Texans did not forget the support the Cherokee gave the Mexicans at the Cordova Rebellion against the Republic. Thus he favored the simple eradication of Indians in Texas — a view that he shared with Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Thomas Rusk. Lamar saw in the Rangers the perfect tool for the task.

Related Topics:
Mirabeau B. Lamar - December - 1838 - Georgia - Cordova Rebellion - Thomas Rusk

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Lamar obtained permission from the Texas Legislature to raise a force of 56 Rangers, along with other volunteer companies. During the following three years, he engaged the Rangers in a war against the Cherokee and the Comanche, succeeding in weakening their territorial control. The Rangers, led by Captain John Coffee "Jack" Hays and armed with state-of-the-art five-shot Colt revolvers, were instrumental in the success of the campaign. At the suggestion of one of Hays' officers, Samuel Hamilton Walker, these revolvers soon evolved into the famous, enhanced six-shot version, the Walker Colt.

Related Topics:
Texas Legislature - Comanche - John Coffee ''"Jack"'' Hays - Colt - Revolver - Samuel Hamilton Walker - Walker Colt

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The Mexican–American War

Sam Houston was re-elected President of Texas on December 12, 1841. He had taken note of the Rangers' cost-efficiency, and increased their number to 150. Under Hays's leaderships, the Rangers played an important role in defending against a Mexican invasion in 1842 and against attacks by Indians. Despite his youth at the time, the charismatic Hays was a rallying figure to his men, and is often considered responsible for giving cohesion, discipline and a group mentality to the Rangers. Flacco, a chief of the allied Indian tribe of the Lipan, used to call Hays Bravo too much.

Related Topics:
December 12 - 1841 - 1842 - Lipan

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With the annexation of Texas by the United States and the Mexican–American War in 1846, several companies of Rangers were mustered into federal service, and proved themselves at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. From that moment on, their effectiveness as guerrilla fighters and guides to the federal army through a territory that they were familiar with marked the pace of the American offense. The Rangers played an important role in the battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista. The army commanded by General Winfield Scott landed at Veracruz on March 1847, and the Rangers once again proved themselves valuable at the ensuing Siege of Veracruz and the battles of Cerro Gordo and Chapultepec. They were also responsible for defeating the fierce Mexican guerrilleros that hindered the advance of the federal troops, which they achieved ruthlessly and efficiently. By then, the Rangers had earned themselves a considerable reputation that approached the legendary among Mexicans, and when Ranger companies entered and occupied Mexico City with the US Army on September 1847, los Diablos Tejanos (the "Texas Devils") were received with reverence. Their role in the Mexican–American War also won them nationwide fame, and news of their exploits in the contemporary press became common, effectively establishing the Rangers' as part of American folklore. As the Victoria Advocate reported in the November 16, 1848, issue:

Related Topics:
Mexican–American War - 1846 - Palo Alto - Resaca de la Palma - Federal army - Monterrey - Buena Vista - Winfield Scott - Veracruz - March - 1847 - Siege of Veracruz - Cerro Gordo - Chapultepec - Mexico City - September - November 16 - 1848

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:Four newly raised ranging companies, have all been organized, and taken their several stations on our frontier. We are much pleased. We know they are true men, and they know exactly what they are about. With many of them Indian and Mexican fighting has been their trade for years. That they may be permanently retained in the service on our frontier is extremely desirable, and we cannot permit ourselves to doubt but such will be the case.

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Despite these popular stories and their fame, most of the Ranger force was disbanded during the years following the end of the Mexican–American War on February 2, 1848, since the protection of the frontiers was now an official duty of the US Army. But as more and more settlers sought to establish homesteads in lands traditionally occupied by Indians, the skirmishes with the native peoples became a major political issue. During the 1850s, the Rangers were intermittently called on to deal with this problem, and with the election of Hardin Richard Runnels as governor in 1857, they once again regained their role as defenders of the Texas frontier.

Related Topics:
February 2 - 1848 - 1850 - Hardin Richard Runnels - Governor - 1857

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On January 27, 1858, Runnels allocated $70,000 to fund a force of Rangers, and John Salmon Rip Ford, a veteran Ranger of the war with Mexico, was commissioned as senior captain. With a force of some 100 Rangers, Ford began a large expedition against the Comanche and other tribes, whose raids against the settlers and their properties had become common. On May 12, Ford's Rangers, accompanied by Tonkawa, Anadarko and Shawnee scouts from the Brazos Reservation in Texas, crossed the Red River into Indian Territory and attacked a Comanche village in the Canadian River Valley flanked by the Antelope Hills, in what is now Oklahoma. Suffering only four casualties, the force killed a reported 76 Comanche?including a chief by the name of Iron Jacket?and took 18 prisoners and 300 horses.

Related Topics:
January 27 - 1858 - John Salmon ''Rip'' Ford - Comanche - May 12 - Tonkawa - Anadarko - Shawnee - Brazos Reservation - Red River - Indian Territory - Canadian River - Antelope Hills - Oklahoma

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In December 1859, Ford and his company were assigned to Brownsville, where the local Mexican rancher Juan Cortina had launched an attack and briefly occupied the town, and later conducted a series of guerrilla actions and raids against the local Anglo landowners. Together with a regiment of the US Army commanded by Major Samuel P. Heintzelman?who later became a notable general of the Union in the Civil War), Ford's Rangers took part in the Cortina War, and on December 27, 1859, they engaged and defeated Cortina's forces in the battle of Rio Grande City. Pursued and defeated by the Rangers again a few days later, Cortina retreated into Mexico, and although he would continue to promote minor actions against the Texan ranchers, the threat of a large-scale military incursion was effectively ended.

Related Topics:
December - 1859 - Brownsville - Juan Cortina - Anglo - Samuel P. Heintzelman - Union - Civil War - Cortina War - December 27 - Rio Grande City

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These campaigns convinced both the Texan people and their political leaders that the US Army could provide only limited protection in the enormous state, and that a well-funded local Ranger force was essential. However, this option was not pursued in the light of the emerging national political problems, and the Rangers all but disappeared as a functioning group for several years.

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The Civil War and late 19th century

After Texas seceded from the United States, in 1861, during the Civil War, many Rangers enlisted individually to fight for the Confederacy, such as Walter P. Lane, George W. Baylor, Thomas S. Lubbock, Benjamin McCulloch, John B. Jones, Leander H. McNelly and John Ford himself. Although the famous Eighth Texas Cavalry regiment was widely known as Terry's Texas Rangers, neither its leader and founder, Benjamin Franklin Terry, nor the majority of its members had been affiliated with the state organization. The fact that both groups have often been regarded as related?Terry's men themselves had thus used their leader's name?speaks of the widespread fame that the Rangers had achieved by that time. During the Civil War, the duties of scouting the state frontiers for Union troops, hostile Indians and deserters relied on those who could not be drafted into the Confederate Army due to their age or other disabilities. This mixed group was never officially considered a Ranger force, although their work was essentially the same.

Related Topics:
1861 - Civil War - Confederacy - Walter P. Lane - Thomas S. Lubbock - Benjamin McCulloch - Terry's Texas Rangers - Union

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During the 1865–74 Reconstruction?the period after the Civil War when the breakaway confederate states were reintegrated into the nation?the Rangers were designated as state police. Charged with enforcing unpopular new laws that came with the reintegration, the Rangers fell into disrepute. During this period, the Rangers were essentially a hybrid military and police unit; when fighting Indians or Mexicans, its members behaved much like troops, but when hunting down criminals, they functioned as a detectives and policemen.

Related Topics:
1865 - 74 - Reconstruction

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The scenario changed radically for the Rangers with the state election of 1873. When newly elected Governor Richard Coke took office in January 1874, he vigorously restored order to Texas in pursuit of improvements to both the economy and security. The frontiers were nearly overrun by raids by Indians and Mexican bandits, and once again the Rangers were given the duty of solving the problem. The state legislature authorized the reorganization and reinforcement of the agency, and a special force was created within its aegis: the Frontier Battalion, consisting of six companies of 75 men each under the command of Major John B. Jones. The Frontier Battalion was soon augmented with the Special Force, a second military group of 40 men under Captain Leander H. McNelly, with the specific task of bringing order to the Nueces Strip, where Juan Cortina's men were conducting periodic guerrilla operations against the local ranchers. In the following years, both Ranger groups addressed numerous threats of both internal and foreign origin.

Related Topics:
1873 - Richard Coke - January - 1874 - Legislature - John B. Jones - Leander H. McNelly - Nueces Strip - Juan Cortina

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It was at these times that many of the Rangers' myths were born, such as their success in capturing or killing notorious criminals and desperados?including bank robber Sam Bass and gunfighter John Wesley Hardin?and their decisive role in the defeat of the Comanche, the Kiowa and the Apache peoples. The conduct of the Rangers during this period was far from exemplary. In particular, McNelly and his men used ruthless methods that often rivaled the brutality of their opponents, and McNelly himself provoked an international incident by venturing into Mexico without orders and storming a ranch that he believed to be a cattle robbers' hideout, only to find out that he had assaulted the wrong ranch. During these years, the Rangers suffered the only defeat in their history when they surrenderred at the Salinero Revolt.

Related Topics:
Desperado - Sam Bass - John Wesley Hardin - Kiowa - Apache - Salinero Revolt

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Questionable as their methods were, the Rangers' actions were effective in restoring order to the frontier. After McNelly's retirement because of health problems, the Special Force was dissolved in 1877 and their members absorbed into the Frontier Battalion, which continued to function even after Jones's death in the line of duty in 1881. By last years of the 19th century, a high measure of security within the vast frontier of Texas had been achieved.

Related Topics:
1877 - 1881

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The Mexican Revolution and early 20th century

At the beginning of the 20th century, Texas' frontiers had became more civilized, thus rendering the 1874 legislation obsolete after ruling the organization as a quasi-military force for more than 25 years. Amidst serious legal troubles that questioned the authority of the Rangers to exert such a role, new resolutions according to the current times were adopted. The Frontier Battalion was disbanded with the passing of new legislation on July 8, 1901, and a new Ranger force was created, consisting of four companies of "no more than 20 men each" with a captain in command of every unit. The nature of the Rangers had slowly but firmly evolved an exclusive law enforcement focus.

Related Topics:
20th century - July 8 - 1901

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The Mexican Revolution that began on 1910 against President Porfirio Díaz changed the relatively peaceful state of affairs along the border drastically. Soon after, violence on both sides of the frontier grew high as bands of raiders began crossing the Rio Grande almost on a daily basis, whether partisans in search of resources to wage civil war against Díaz, or gangs of simple bandits who took advantage of the turmoil to loot.

Related Topics:
Mexican Revolution - 1910 - President - Porfirio Díaz - Rio Grande

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The political decision was clear: restore control and order by any necessary means. As Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt instructed Ranger Capt. John R. Hughes: ...you and your men are to keep Mexican raiders off of Texas territory if possible, and if they invade the State let them understand they do so at the risk of their lives. Hundreds of new special Rangers were appointed on orders of the state, without really screening aspiring members. Rather than conducting themselves as law enforcement officers, many of these groups acted more like vigilante squads. Reports of Rangers abusing their authority and worse became numerous. The situation grew even worse when on March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa led 1,500 Mexican raiders in a cross-border attack against Columbus, New Mexico, increasing the already high tension between the communities. Before the decade was over, hundreds if not thousands of lives were lost, counting Anglos, Tejanos and Mexicans alike; although by far, these last two groups suffered the most. In January 1919 at the initiative of Representative José T. Canales of Brownsville, the Texas Legislature launched a full investigation of the Rangers' actions throughout these years. The investigation found that up to 5,000 people, mostly of Hispanic descent, had been killed by the Rangers from 1910 to 1919, and that members of the group had been involved in many sordid misdeeds of brutality and injustice.

Related Topics:
Oscar Branch Colquitt - Vigilante - March 9 - 1916 - Pancho Villa - Columbus - New Mexico - Anglo - Tejanos - January - 1919 - Brownsville

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These were the most turbulent times in the history of the Rangers, and with the objective of recycling the force, putting it back in tune with its past and restoring the public's trust, the Legislature passed on March 31 a resolution to purge it and enhance it and its procedures. All special Ranger groups were disbanded; the four official companies were kept, albeit their members were reduced from 20 to 15 each; better remuneration was offered in order to attract men of higher personal standards; and a method for citizens to articulate complaints against any further misdeeds or abuses was established.

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The reforms proved positive, and the new Ranger force eventually regained the status of a respectable agency. Under the command of captains such as Frank A. Hamer (who would later become famous for leading the party that killed the outlaws Bonnie and Clyde), the Rangers displayed remarkable activity in the following years, including the ever-present fighting of cattle rustlers, intervening in the violent labor disputes of the time and protecting the citizenry at the Ku Klux Klan's public displays. With the passage of the Volstead Act and the beginning of the Prohibition on January 16, 1920, they also added scouting the border for tequila smugglers and detecting and dismantling the illegal stills that abounded along Texas' territory to their assignments.

Related Topics:
Frank A. Hamer - Bonnie and Clyde - Ku Klux Klan - Volstead Act - Prohibition - January 16 - 1920 - Tequila - Still

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One of the Rangers' highest-profile interventions during this period was taming Texas' oil boomtowns (beginning with Spindletop's discovery in 1901), which had developed into lawless territories. During the 1920s, martial law was decreed on several of these towns, such as Mexia and Borger; at others, like Desdemona, Wink, Ranger, Kilgore and Burkburnett, the situation was also very serious, and the Rangers were called in to quell agitated locals and terminate all illegal activities. This trouble proved to be a recurring one until well in the 1950s, but the Rangers prevented it from growing into an even more dramatic problem. At Borger, a total of ten officers were sent on April 7, 1927, including Capt. Hamer. The balance of the Rangers' activities upon their arrival as reported was:

Related Topics:
Boomtown - Spindletop - 1920 - Mexia - Borger - Desdemona - Wink - Ranger - Kilgore - Burkburnett - 1950 - April 7 - 1927

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:A thorough-going clean-up was put underway. The liquor traffic was broken up, many stills being seized and destroyed, and several thousand gallons of whiskey being captured and poured out. Two hundred and three gambling slot machines were seized and destroyed, and in a period of twenty four hours, no less than twelve hundred prostitutes left the town of Borger.

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Modernization and present day

The Great Depression that began in 1929 forced both the federal and state governments to cut down on personnel and funding of their organizations, and the Rangers were no exception. The number of commissioned officers was reduced to 45, and the only means of transportation afforded to Rangers were free railroad passes.

Related Topics:
Great Depression - 1929

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The situation worsened for the agency when its members entangled themselves in politics in 1932 by publicly supporting Governor Ross Sterling in his re-election campaign, over his opponent Miriam Amanda "Ma" Ferguson. Ferguson was elected, and immediately after taking office on January 1933, she proceeded to discharge all serving Rangers. The force also saw its salaries and funds slashed by the Texas Legislature, and their numbers reduced further to 32 men. The result was that Texas became a safe hideout for the many Depression-era gangsters escaping from the law, such as Bonnie and Clyde, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Pretty Boy Floyd and Raymond Hamilton. The hasty appointment of many unqualified Rangers to stop the increasing criminality proved completely ineffective.

Related Topics:
1932 - Ross Sterling - Miriam Amanda ''"Ma"'' Ferguson - January - 1933 - George ''"Machine Gun"'' Kelly - Pretty Boy Floyd - Raymond Hamilton

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The general disorganization of law enforcement in the state convinced the members of the Legislature that a thorough revision of the public security system was in order, and with that purpose it hired the services of a consulting firm from Chicago. The resulting report yielded many worrying conclusions, but the basic underlying facts were simple: the criminality levels in Texas were extremely high, and the state's means to fight them were underfunded, undermanned, loose, disorganized and obsolete. The consultants' recommendation, besides increasing funding, was to introduce a whole reorganization of state agencies; especially, to merge the Rangers with the Texas Highway Patrol under a new agency called the Texas Department of Public Safety. After deliberating, the Legislature agreed with the suggestion. The resolution that created the new state law enforcement agency was passed in 1935, and with an initial budget of $450,000, the DPS became operational on August 10.

Related Topics:
Chicago - Texas Highway Patrol - Texas Department of Public Safety - 1935 - August 10

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With minor rearrangements over the years, the 1935 reforms have ruled the Texas Rangers' organization until present day. Hiring new members, which had been largely a political decision, was now achieved through a series of examinations and merit evaluations. Promotion relied on seniority and performance in the line of duty. More and more sophisticated means of crime fighting were put at their disposal, and by the late 1930s, the Rangers had one of the best crime labs in the United States at the Headquarters Division in Austin.

Related Topics:
1930 - Austin

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The appointment of Colonel Homer Garrison in September 1938 as director of the DPS proved decisive as well. Under his leadership, many respected captains such as Manuel T. Gonzaullas worked extensively to restore the good name of the force that had been compromised in the previous decades, keeping it in line with its traditions within a modern and civilized society and regaining its high status. The number of commissioned officers grew and the Rangers developed a clear detective function, while the Highway Patrol took charge of direct law enforcement duties.

Related Topics:
September - 1938 - Manuel T. Gonzaullas

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The quality of the force in terms of training, funding, modernization and number strength has continued to improve, and today the Texas Rangers Division is generally regarded as one of the most efficient law enforcement agencies in the world. In the last few decades, the Rangers have intervened in several thousand cases with a high level of effectiveness, including many high-profile ones such as the pursuit and capture of serial killer Ángel Maturino Reséndiz. The agency is also fully integrated with modern Texan ethnic groups, counting numerous officers of Hispanic and African American origin among its members, some of them of higher ranks.

Related Topics:
Ángel Maturino Reséndiz - African American

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The Texas Rangers' internal organization still maintains the basic outlines that were set in 1935. The agency is formed into six companies, lettered from "A" to "F", each commanded by a Captain. The number of personnel is set by the Legislature; today, the Texas Rangers number 118 commissioned officers (including two women), three crime analysts, one forensic artist, one fiscal analyst and 17 civilian support personnel (largely women). The Legislature has also made a provision for the appointment of 300 Special Rangers for use in emergency situations. The historical importance and symbolism of the Texas Rangers is such that they are protected by statute from being disbanded (The division relating to the Texas Rangers may not be abolished - Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 147, Sec. 1, September 1, 1987).

Related Topics:
Forensic - September 1 - 1987

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The statewide headquarters of the Texas Rangers is located in Austin at the Texas DPS headquarters. Many incorrectly assume that Waco is the Rangers' headquarters because the Ranger Hall of Fame is located there. Since August 31 2005, the Chief of the Texas Rangers in command has been Senior Captain Ray Coffman.

Related Topics:
Waco - August 31 - 2005

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The companies' headquarters are distributed in six geographical locations:

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• Houston is the headquarters for Company "A", commanded by Capt. Jim Miller.
• Garland is the headquarters for Company "B", commanded by Capt. Richard H. Sweaney.
• Lubbock is the headquarters for Company "C", commanded by Capt. Gerardo de los Santos.
• San Antonio is the headquarters for Company "D", commanded by Capt. Clete Buckaloo.
• Midland is the headquarters for Company "E", commanded by Capt. Barry K. Caver.
• Waco is the headquarters for Company "F", commanded by Capt. Kirby Dendy.