Category Archives: Texas Rangers

Frank Jones — Texas Ranger

No man in the wrong can stand up to a man in the right who just keeps on a-coming. —The Texas Ranger Creed Introduction The Texas Rangers began with ten men, appointed by Stephen F. Austin in 1823.  He enlisted … Continue reading

Posted in FRONTIER, HISTORY, Outlaws, Texas Rangers, Vengeance | 4 Comments

The Council House Fight

Background Between 1700-1875, the Comanche, Kiowa, Wichita, Caddo, Bidai, Karankawa, Eastern Pueblo, and Apache Indians dominated a massive swath of land in the area of present-day Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona.  It was called the Comancheria.  It was … Continue reading

Posted in FRONTIER, HISTORY, Natives, Politicians, Texas, Texas Rangers | 6 Comments

An Act: To Provide for the Protection of Texas

According to some modern sociologists, Texas culture is among the major influences of American society today.  Even despite waves of immigrants (an amalgamation of Tejano, Anglo, Irish, Cajun, and African cultures) and the many tragedies impacting life in the Lone … Continue reading

Posted in CIVIL WAR, FRONTIER, HISTORY, Natives, Society, Texas, Texas Rangers | 2 Comments

Old Paint

Following the French and Indian War (1754-63), the British colony of Virginia extended from the Atlantic seaboard to the eastern bank of the Mississippi River.  Few British subjects traveled beyond the Appalachian Mountains until the early 1770s.  The area of … Continue reading

Posted in FRONTIER, HISTORY, Missouri, Natives, New Mexico, Pioneers, Politicians, Revolution, Texas, Texas Rangers, Very Strange | 5 Comments

The Ringtail Panther

Martin Van Buren Palmer (later, Parmer) (1778-1850) was born in Charlotte County, Virginia.  In 1798, he moved to Tennessee, settling in Dickson County where he superintended the Montgomery-Bell Iron Works.  During the War of 1812, Parmer served as a commissioned … Continue reading

Posted in FRONTIER, HISTORY, Missouri, Natives, Pioneers, Politicians, Revolution, Society, Texas, Texas Rangers | 6 Comments

“I done took it up.”

A look at straight-shooting Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald ___________ Introduction In order for stories to become popular, whether based on fact or smothered in myth, they have to reflect the society that takes stock in them.  Texas society has … Continue reading

Posted in CIVIL WAR, FRONTIER, HISTORY, Politicians, Society, Texas, Texas Rangers, U.S. Marshals | 8 Comments

God made man — but Texas made Texans

Introduction In 1820, Tejas (Texas) was a province of New Spain.  In that year, the population of Hispanics living in Texas was around 1,700 — mainly concentrated in San Antonio, but with a spattering of people also living in Nacogdoches … Continue reading

Posted in CIVIL WAR, FRONTIER, HISTORY, Missouri, Natives, New Spain, Outlaws, Pioneers, Society, Texas, Texas Rangers | 1 Comment

The Frontier Regiment

Background There was some interest in the United States for migrating to Texas in the mid-1830s — but not much, mostly because the fate of Texas and the people who lived there was uncertain.  But in 1850, with the issue of statehood out … Continue reading

Posted in CIVIL WAR, FRONTIER, HISTORY, Natives, Pioneers, Texas, Texas Rangers | 1 Comment

An Old Texas Fort

Age of Discovery Spain began its age of discovery and conquest with the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492.[1]  From that moment when Columbus accidentally stumbled into the American continent, Spanish explorers and conquistadors began building an empire so large that … Continue reading

Posted in CIVIL WAR, COLONIAL PERIOD, FRONTIER, HISTORY, Natives, New France, New Spain, Pioneers, Revolution, Texas, Texas Rangers, Westward Expansion | 2 Comments

Jeff Davis Milton

His parents named him Jefferson Davis, which should tell us something about the politics of his father, John Milton.  John was a capable attorney, a wily politician, and a proud Floridian who, as Florida’s fifth governor, guided his state through … Continue reading

Posted in CIVIL WAR, FRONTIER, HISTORY, Old Florida, Outlaws, Texas, Texas Rangers, U.S. Marshals | 5 Comments