Texas Ranger John B. Jones and the Frontier Battalion, 1874-1881

19. The Best Officers and Men

298 THE BEST OFFICERS AND MEN 19 ALMOST IMMEDIATELY the question arose as to Jones’ successor . Speculation centered on Neal Coldwell, who had been acting adjutant general and Jones’ pick to handle his inspection and quartermaster duties. General William P. Hardeman, a superintendent of the Texas Confederate Home and founder of Texas A&M University, was also mentioned as a candidate for the post.1 But Governor Roberts did not waste any time. On Thursday, July 21, the day after Jones’ funeral, he wired Wilburn H. King at Sulphur Springs, asking him to resign as a state representative and accept appointment as adjutant general.2 Born in Georgia, King moved to Texas in 1857 and served in the Confederate Army from Cass County, rising to brigadier general. After the war, King practiced law at Jefferson, then moved to Hopkins County where he served as mayor of Sulphur Springs and from where he was elected to the state legislature.3 In addition to serving during the Civil War with Governor Roberts, King was politically aligned with the Democrats, essentially a liberal populist.4 King accepted the appointment and promptly resigned from the state legislature.5 But the quick appointment was not without controversy and was not met with favor in some quarters. It was asserted that King, as a legislator, had been critically opposed to the Frontier Battalion, repeatedly The Best Officers and Men 299 favoring reduction of the appropriation for frontier defense. Because the appointment was made quietly, without fanfare, it was anticipated the governor’s agenda included soon disbanding the Battalion.6 The San Antonio Daily Express was almost apoplectic: [W]e can scarcely believe that the governor, who must realize the importance of this frontier protection and the maintenance of a competent force in the field to insure that protection, would appoint to the position of adjutant-general a gentleman who knows nothing of the importance of the work to be performed in the west, or who, if he does understand the situation, would sacrifice the west to save to the people of the eastern portion of the state that proportion of the taxes collected from them to maintain the state troops. Gen. King, while in the legislature , was the most bitter opponent of the frontier protection bill, and would have voted to turn the frontier over to the roughs, thieves and desperadoes who would certainly take possession of a good portion of it with the withdrawal of state troops.7 Various frontier counties, apprehensive that Ranger troops were about to be yanked away, flooded Austin with requests for permission to organize local militia companies for frontier defense.8 However, for all practical purposes, the Texas frontier was really disappearing; there were no longer any Indian raids, and local authorities were able to manage the lawlessness occurring in their communities. As one historian observed, although the Battalion consisted as such for another twenty years, it acted more in the capacity of “trouble-shooters,” and it would likely have been far better to reorganize at this time to accommodate the changed state of affairs.9 In an interview before he left for Austin, King was adamant that there was no foundation for the claim he intended to disband the Frontier Battalion . He admitted supporting the retrenchment efforts that reduced funding to the Rangers, but said he felt demand from the frontier areas had exceeded the actual necessity for protection, and therefore “should yield to the demands of a prudent economy.” He pledged to “labor, as my predecessor did, to make efficient and thorough the workings of the present frontier organizations, and I shall demand, in return, the exhibition 300 TEXAS RANGER JOHN B. JONES AND THE FRONTIER BATTALION, 1874–1881 and exercise of those qualities which go to make the good soldier and the good citizen.”10 King reported for work on August 1 and took his oath of office, commenting that he thought he had been done an injustice by the comments in the press as to his intentions. He promised “to do as well, if not better , than Gen. Jones, towards protecting the frontier.”11 One of his first orders of business was to receive $1,238.28 from Jones’ widow, being the “balance of indebtedness of said Jno. B. Jones to the State.”12 On August 4, King reorganized Oglesby’s Company F, leaving it with one captain, one first sergeant, two corporals, fifteen privates, and...