Still the Arena of Civil War: Violence and Turmoil in Reconstruction Texas, 1865-1874

Chapter 13: Governor James Throckmorton and the Question of Frontier Violence in Reconstruction Texas, 1866–1867

354 CHAPTER 13 Governor James Throckmorton and the Question of Frontier Violence in Reconstruction Texas, 1866–1867 by Kenneth W. Howell A t the close of the Civil War, Kiowa and Comanche warriors increased their raids against Anglo settlers living along the Texas frontier. The line of settlements, which were fairly stable during the war, retreated more than a hundred miles eastward as settlers abandoned their homes and moved to the safety of more populated regions. The population of Wise County alone decreased from 3,160 in 1860 to 1,450 in 1870. Those families who refused to leave their homes often moved in close proximity of their neighbors and created fortifications to guard against Indian raiders. Many settlers hoped that the end of the war would prompt the return of the U.S.Army. In fact, in 1865, approximately 4,000 federal troops were stationed in Texas, but instead of serving on the frontier, they were located in the interior of the state. General Philip H. Sheridan, Commander of the Department of the Gulf, ordered them to remain in the interior where they could protect freedmen and white Unionists from ex-Confederates, organized terrorist groups, and outlaw gangs.1 Conditions continued to deteriorate in the western counties for almost a year before the state and federal government began to seriously consider the need to send troops westward. During this time, one of the principal voices calling on the government to protect the western settlers was James Webb Throckmorton, a North Texas politician who had forged his career on defending the frontier. When he was sixteen years old, Throckmorton moved with his family to the wilds of North Texas, settling lands in an area northeast of the present-day town of McKinney.2 Less than a year after his arrival, young James learned his first lesson about frontier violence. On Christmas Day Governor James Throckmorton 355 Illustration 15. Gov. James Webb Throckmorton. (Courtesy of Library of Congress) 1842, the families of Wesley Clements and Peg Whistler started to build a small settlement approximately eight miles north of the Throckmorton family home. As Clements and his neighbor were cutting logs to finish work on their cabins, an unidentified group of Indians attacked and killed them. The wives and children of the men watched the brutal attack from the Clements family cabin. During the attack, Mrs. Clements attempted 356 Kenneth W. Howell to take a gun to her husband, but the assailants forced her to retreat back to the safety of her home. Their attackers then moved toward the settlers’ house but were turned away when the women fired several shots in their direction. The female defenders remained in the cabin until nightfall. Realizing that their attackers had apparently left the area, the women quietly moved to the side of their fallen men, hoping that they might still be alive. They were not. After assessing their circumstances, the women decided that Catherine Clements and her children would remain with the slain bodies to keep wild animals from devouring the corpses during the night, while Mrs. Whistler walked to the Throckmorton settlement and sought help from other white inhabitants in the area. The following day, Throckmorton’s father, with the aid of other settlers, rescued Mrs. Clements and recovered the bodies of the two men. The families interred the slain men in a cemetery near the Throckmorton family home.3 The Indian raid was undoubtedly etched into the future governor’s memory, especially considering that Wesley Clements was his stepmother ’s brother. The attack strengthened young Throckmorton’s resolve to protect settlers from future raids. Between 1842 and 1843, he served as a member of Capt. Jesse Stiff’s ranger company that patrolled North Texas guarding against Indian depredations. James eventually became a sergeant of a company of sixteen men from Fannin County. Perhaps because of his family’s personal loss or maybe as a result of his experiences as a frontier ranger, Throckmorton dedicated the remainder of his life to protecting the settlers.4 At no time was this more evident than during his brief tenure as governor of Texas, when he pushed the federal government to protect the frontier. In fact, Throckmorton pursued frontier defense with such vigor that he strained relations and created an environment of distrust between his office and the authorities who were charged with enforcing federal Reconstruction policies in the state. This breach of trust...