PARTIAL LIST OF TEXAS RANGER COMPANY AND UNIT …

PARTIAL LIST OF TEXAS RANGER COMPANY AND UNIT COMMANDERS

Compiled by Christina Stopka, Assistant Director, Head Armstrong Texas Ranger Research Center

& Staff, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum

Research contributed by Tony Black, Texas State Library and Archives, Austin

DEFINING THE TEXAS RANGERS

There have been ranging companies in the region now known as Texas almost as long as nonIndians have called Texas home. The modern Texas Rangers date their origins from ranging companies organized by Stephen F. Austin and Moses Morrison in 1823. These paramilitary volunteers were called by many names in the 19th century -- rangers and ranging companies, minute men, mounted volunteers, mounted gunmen, mounted riflemen, spies, frontier men, Texas State Troops, Frontier Regiment, Frontier Organization, Frontier Forces, Special State Troops, Special Force, Frontier Battalion, State Rangers and Texas Rangers. Their duties were essentially the same - protect the frontier from depredations by hostile forces - regardless of origin. By 1900, the ranging companies had been reorganized into full-time crime fighting, prevention and investigative organizations, and their name had been standardized as "Texas Rangers."

Records for the early years of the Rangers, as well as some more modern records, are fragmentary. The list that follows is and will likely always be incomplete. These are the names of commanding officers that the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum staff considers to becommanders of bona fide ranging companies. It is often difficult or impossible in the preCivil War era to separate ranging companiesfrom the militia. In some cases the ranging companies were attached to the military and reported to military commanders. Our primary criterion for defining who is, or is not, a Ranger is the specific assigned duty.

Secondary criteria include: who paid the company and from which fund why the company was formed who the company reported to (chain-of-command) whether at any time, the company ceased to be a ranging company through incorporation into

another unit or organization

One example is the body of men from Texas who were called Texas Rangers by the press during the Mexican War of 1846 - 1848. Many had served as Rangers prior to the war, but in 1845 and 1846 they enlisted in the United States Army as volunteers. At the time of their enlistment they ceased being Texas Rangers in the service of the State of Texas and became soldiers in the service of the U.S. Army. They were paid by the U.S. Army, scouted and engaged in guerilla warfare as units of the U.S. Army, and reported (arguably) to the U.S. Army command structure.

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There are, however, exceptions to this. In addition to those men who enlisted in the Army and fought in Mexico, there were those assigned to remain on the Texas frontier and continue their ranging duties. For the present we still count them among the ranks of Rangers as this home guard functioned --only on paper--as US Army soldiers. As research continues, we will continually revise and refine our selection crieria.

A few words about ranks. The following list includes Captains, Lieutenants, and Sergeants who, at times, served as the commanding officers of Ranger companies. And when a company was split into detachments and stationed long distances apart it was not unusual for several men to act as commanding officers for the same company.

Some gaps in the list reflects information not available while others are times when companies were disbanded. Ranger companies and individuals were often mustered or disbanded depending upon appropriations. It was not unusual for a company to be dismissed for economic reasons.

NOTE: The dates given, reflect as accurately as possible, the full length of duty as commanding officer as documented in the existing records. They do not necessarily reflect the full length of duty of the individual as a Texas Ranger. More information on these men and their companies can be found in the records of the Texas State Archives, Austin and the Armstrong Texas Ranger Research Center, Waco.

This will likely always be a work in progress, with the goal of preserving the legacy and service of those who contributed to the command structure of the Texas Rangers. As such it does not represent a complete listing of commanders for the Texas Rangers.

TEXAS UNDER MEXICO (CA. 1823 - 1835):

Note: Companies were formed under Mexican gubernatorial authorization as needed and commanded by militia leadership. This began in 1823 with authority granted by Governor of Coahuila y Tejas Jos? F?lix Trespalacios (Governor August 17, 1822 until his resignation on April 17, 1823)

Moses Morrison Stephen F. Austin Hugh B. Johnson

(March 1823 -???? - Ranging Company) (ca. August 1823 -???? - Ranging Company) (16 January 1827 -17 February 1827)

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TEXAS REVOLUTION AND REPUBLIC (1835 - 1845):

Note: Companies were loosely organized and Rangers enlisted under the authority of the Secretaries of War.

Secretary of War

Thomas Jefferson Rusk

(October 22, 1836 to December 10, 1838)

William S. Fisher

Barnard E. Bee

(October 22, 1836 to December 10, 1838)

Albert S. Johnston

Branch Tanner Archer

(December 13, 1841 through December 9, 1844)

George Washington Hockley

Morgan C. Hamilton

(December 9, 1844 to February 19, 1846 when Texas entered the

Union)

George Washington Hill

Morgan C. Hamilton

William Gordon Cooke

Alphabetical by commanding officer:

Capt. Solomon Adams

(February 1839 - August 1839 - Houston County Rangers)

Capt. Micah Andrews

(March 1839 - June 1839 - Rangers)

Capt. H. W. Augustine

(August 1838 - Mounted Volunteers, August Campaign

against the Mexicans)

Capt. John R. Baker

(October 1841 - December 1841 - Refugio County Minute

Men)

Capt. P. Hansbrough Bell

(February 1845 - December 1845 - Corpus Christi Rangers)

Capt. William Becknall

(June 1841 - November 1841 - Red River County Minute

Men)

Capt. William Bicknell

(1836 (2 months, 16 days); 1838 (14 days) - Texas

Volunteers)

Capt. John Bird

(April 1839 - May 1839 - Mounted Volunteers)

Capt. G. K. Black

(October 1839 - January 1840 - Mounted Rangers)

Capt. James Bourland

(Spring 1841 (6 months) - Company on the headwaters of

the Trinity River)

1st Lt. Thomas J. Bowen

(April 1838 - June 1838 - "Jordan's Company")

Capt. James E. Box

(March 1839 - October 1839 - Houston County Rangers)

Capt. William C. Brookfield

(October 1838 - Mounted Rangers)

Capt. Nathaniel Brookshire

(May 1839 - July 1839 - Mounted Volunteers)

Lt./Capt. D. C. Cady

(June 1845 - October 1845 - Travis County Ranging Corps

(Austin))

Capt. W. J. Cairns

(August 1841 - November 1841 - San Patricio County

Minute Men)

Capt. James H. Calahan

(May 1841 - December 1841 - Gonzales County Minute

Men)

Capt. Matthew Caldwell

(March 1839 - June 1839 - Gonzales Rangers)

Capt. Matthew Caldwell

(November 1840 (53 days) - Gonzales Volunteers)

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Capt. Castro

Capt. J. B. Chance Capt. Eli Chandler

Capt. Claiborn Chisholm Capt. James W. Cleveland Lt. A. Coleman

Capt. H. Clay Davis

Capt. George M. Dolson

Capt. Nimrod Doyle

Capt. James H. Durst

Capt. Joseph Durst Capt. John Emberson

Capt. George B. Erath Capt. George B. Erath

Capt. David Gage

Capt. Thomas N. B. Greer

Capt. John L. Hall

Capt. J. E. Hamilton

Capt. John C. Hays

Capt. John C. Hays

Capt. John C. Hays

Capt. Albert C. Horton Capt. Daniel R. Jackson Capt. James P. B. January Capt. Alexander Jordan

Capt. N. T. Journey Capt. Joseph D. Lilley Capt. John M. McDaniel

(January 1839 - February 1839 - Indians who volunteered against Comanches) (April 1836 - Washington Guards) (April 1841 - November 1841 - Robertson County Minute Men) (June 1838 - September 1838 - Mounted Rangers) (January 1839 - February 1839 - Mounted Rangers) (May 1845 - June 1845 - Travis County Ranging Corps (Austin)) (November 1844 - February 1845 - Corps of Corpus Christi Rangers) (April 1841 - December 1841 - Travis County Spies / Minute Men) (March 1839 - June 1839 - Volunteer Rangers, Robertson County) (December 1839 - January 1839 - Mounted Rangers (Indians)) (August 1839 - September 1839 - Mounted Rangers) (March 1839 - September 1839 Red River and Fannin County Volunteer Company of Rangers) (March 1839 - June 1839 - Rangers, Milam County) (April 1841 - November 1841 - Milam County Minute Men) (April 1841 - October 1841 - Nacogdoches County Minute Men) (April 1841 - October 1841 - Montgomery County Minute Men) (Summer 1841 - Company in expedition to Three Forks of the Trinity against Indians, Houston County) (July 1839 - August 1839 - Mounted Rangers, San Augustine County) (January 1841 - October 1841 - Company of Spies, Bexar County) (February 1843 - November 1843 - Company of Spies, Bexar County) (February 1844 - September 1845 - Company of Rangers on Northwestern and Southwestern Frontier) (March 1842; September 1842 - Volunteers) (1840 - Rangers) (August 1841 - Company of Volunteers) (June 1839 - August 1839 - Mounted Rangers, Nacogdoches) (September 1838 - March 1839 - Mounted Rangers) (June 1841 - August 1841 - Paschal County Minute Men) (December 1841 - February 1842 - Refugio County Minute Men)

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Capt. Ephraim McLane

Capt. Ephraim McLane

Capt. L. H. Mabbitt

Capt. James D. Matthews Capt. Nelson Merrill Capt. John W. Middleton Capt. A. T. Miles

Capt. James R. O'Neal

Capt. Panther

Capt. Silas M. Parker Capt. Antonio Perez Capt. John T. Price Capt. John T. Price Lt. John T. Price

Capt. David Renfro Capt. Mark R. Roberts

Capt. John Rugeley Capt. Eli Seal 1st Lt. John P. Simpson

Capt. Robert Sloan

Capt. H. M. Smith Capt. James Smith

Capt. James Smith

Capt. John M. Smith Capt. J. Snively Capt. Joseph Sowell

Capt. H. B. Stephens

Capt. Adolphus Sterne

Capt. Jesse Stiff

Capt. Jesse Stiff

(November 1839 - December 1839 - Galveston Mounted Volunteers) (April 1842 - August 1842 - Spy Company, west of Corpus Christi) (August 1844 - November 1844 - Mounted Volunteers / Mounted Men, Shelby County) (March 1839 - June 1839 - Mounted Rangers) (June 1839 - September 1839 - Bastrop Rangers) (July 1839 - August 1839 - Ranging Company, Sabine) (May 1841 - August 1841 - San Patricio County Minute Men) (June 1838 - September 1838 - Volunteer Company of Spies, Fannin County) (November 1838 - January 1839 - Company of Shawnee Indians) (1835 - 1836 - Ranging Company) (January 1841 - May 1841 - Spy Company, San Antonio) (January 1841 - May 1841 - Company of Spies) (March 1842 - Volunteers, Victoria County) (March 1845 - August 1845 - Goliad and Refugio Ranger Corps / Volunteers / Mounted Volunteers) (October 1838 - November 1838 - Mounted Gunmen) (January 1839 - April 1839; September 1839 - March 1840 - Fannin County Mounted Rangers) (March 1842 - April 1842 - Mounted Volunteers) (October 1835 - 1836 - Rangers) (December 1838 - January 1839 - Detachment of Fannin County Mounted Gunmen) (September 1838 - January 1839 - Fannin County Mounted Rangers) (March 1839 - September 1839 - Volunteer Rangers) (April 1836 - July 1836 - Nacogdoches Mounted Volunteers) (October 1838 - December 1838 - Mounted Volunteers / Spies) (March 1842 - Regiment of Volunteers, Victoria County) (September 1838 - December 1838 - Mounted Rangers) (July 1841 - September 1841 - Fannin County Minute Men / Rangers) (August 1838 - September 1838 - Mounted Rangers, Nacogdoches County) (July 1840 - October 1840 - Mounted Rangers, Nacogdoches County) (December 1838 - Fannin County Volunteers / Mounted Gunmen / Mounted Rangers) (April 1842 - Fannin County Guards)

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