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

1. Irresistible on Horseback

1 1 IRRESISTIBLE ON HORSEBACK THE YOUNG MEN HUDDLED ALONG the shallow dry ravine as they listened to the pop-pop of gunfire from the Indians facing them on the crest of the ridge ahead. The shots whistled above them, uncomfortably close, occasionally striking one of the horses abandoned to their rear. The hot Texas sun was unmerciful and the men had long run out of water to quench their thirst. One of their force, Billy Glass, badly wounded only yards in front of them, piteously called to his comrades for help. They had ridden into an ambush, perhaps as a result of the negligence of their commander, Major John B. Jones, in failing to enforce a more disciplined pursuit of the marauding party they had been trailing. Barely organized two months, these were men of Texas’ new Frontier Battalion, created to meet the Indian threat, and now here they were pinned down in their first major confrontation with the enemy. In the face of danger, Major Jones, a man of slight stature and often frail health, stood above the ravine, walking along it in spite of the gunfire , calmly directing the fire of his men. In so doing, he exemplified the standard and set the example for courage that was to become the hallmark of these fledgling lawmen. Although they did not realize it at the 2 TEXAS RANGER JOHN B. JONES AND THE FRONTIER BATTALION, 1874–1881 time, this was the beginning of the legend known as the Texas Rangers, and their quarry was at hand. The Frontier Battalion was a relatively new creature in Texas, formed only two months earlier and placed under Jones’ command and guidance. Given the general hatred throughout the state of Governor Edmund Davis’ Reconstruction state police, it was remarkable that the Battalion would subsequently avoid much controversy and become widely accepted (though not always adequately funded) and would tout very real successes against marauding Indians, Mexican bandits, and other outlaws. Much of this success stemmed from the organizational and leadership skills of John John B. Jones, Frontier Battalion Commander (Courtesy of Texas State Library & Archives Commission, Austin, Texas) Irresistible on Horseback 3 B. Jones, a most unlikely candidate for the position. He proved himself a capable administrator, at the same time winning the respect and esteem of those who served under him by sharing their danger and privations in the field. Jones also gained the confidence of the politicians in Texas government who established funding and policy priorities that impacted on the Battalion. John B. Jones came from good stock and a privileged background. His father, Henry Jones, one of six children born to John and Mary “Polly” (Oates) Jones, was born August 22, 1807, in what was then the Fairfield District of South Carolina, near Winnsboro. Henry Jones’ greatgrandfather had immigrated from Wales to Ireland, and one of his sons, Henry’s grandfather, came directly to South Carolina, landing at Charleston before the Revolutionary War. A marriage between Henry Jones and Nancy Elizabeth Robertson was celebrated on September 16, 1832. Mrs. Jones, born on November 16, 1812, was the daughter of Benoni and Ruth Ann (Mickle) Robertson , also nicknamed “Nancy.”1 Benoni Robertson, a prominent planter and citizen in the Fairfield area, had been a soldier in the War of 1812, leading a battalion of South Carolina troops.2 The Robertsons could trace their ancestry to Scottish hero Robert Bruce, as the family originally emigrated from Scotland to Pennsylvania, then moved to Prince William County, Virginia, and then on to Winnsboro in the Fairfield District. Nancy Jones’ grandfather, William Robertson, who was married four times, took part in the battle of Eutaw Springs in the Revolutionary War, and her father, Benoni, was one of eight children. She herself was one of thirteen children.3 Both the Jones and Robertson families were slaveholders, certainly not unusual in South Carolina during the antebellum period. Slaves were considered personal property, and last wills of various family members reflected bequests of slaves in their possession at the time the documents were drawn. For example, after Nancy Jones’ death in 1848, her father, Benoni Robertson, drafted a will bequeathing the slaves “Lizay,” “Leah,” “Aaron,” “Darry,” and “Brister” to young John B. Jones and his sisters, the slaves already being in the possession of Henry Jones under a loan 4 TEXAS RANGER JOHN B. JONES AND THE FRONTIER BATTALION, 1874–1881 to Benoni Robertson from...