In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

17 3 Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Birth of HPD P rior to the Civil War there was little if any police patrol in Houston. After nightfall the lack of protection was even more daunting. What little reliable protection existed was the result of local merchants hiring private guards and volunteers to protect their businesses. As Houston and the United States stood on the brink of Civil War in 1860, most evidence suggests that policing was inadequate by all standards. One of the earliest accounts of a member of HPD killed in the line duty was of the death of Officer C. Foley on March 10, 1860. According to the report in that day’s Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Foley had been patrolling the market district when accosted by Michael Flock. Upon being hit by the policeman, Flock left the scene only to return shortly after with a shotgun, fatally shooting Foley. Little is known as to the fate of Flock, who was carried off to jail and later tried in court. It would be more than twenty years before another member of the force was killed in the line of duty.1 By the early 1860s, Houston’s reputation for poor drivers was becoming evident well in advance of the age of the internal combustion engine. One city ordinance demanded, “No person shall drive, or cause to be driven, or ride over any of the bridges faster than a walk.” Houston’s seeming war between pedestrians and drivers would become a theme that would resonate into the twenty-first century. At the outbreak of the Civil War, John Proudfoot was city marshal beginning in 1860. His main duties included enforcing the Sabbath prohibition against the sale of liquors. Legislation at the end of 1861 summarized the duties of patrol officers and delegated the duties of the chief of police, than known as the marshal, as well as the patrol officers. The position of marshal fell under the administration of the mayor’s office and the police department. 18 Houston Blue The marshal was expected not only to “preserve peace and good order” but to “arrest, or cause the arrest, with or without process, all persons breaking or threatening to break the peace, and take them before the recorder.” In addition to his various duties, the marshal also served as the keeper of the city prison. Other responsibilities would be familiar to anyone knowledgeable about Southern police strategies, which until the end of the Civil War were predicated on the control of the large slave population. Many historians now consider the slave patrols of the early 1700s as the first real advances in American police development. In 18th century South Carolina, slave patrols consisted of three to five men who were expected to enforce laws against black literacy, trade and gambling. Recent research suggests that these slave patrols were made up of volunteers which often included “men of superior status, not just poor slaveless whites.”2 Like in the aforementioned slave patrols, “Every white male person over eighteen years, residing in the city [of Houston] [was] liable and required to do patrol duty.” The mayor, selected one or more patrol officers after the consent of City Council, to patrol each ward. The ward residents recognized as liable for patrol duty were expected to form patrol companies, elect officers and enter into service immediately.”3 Following the formation of each company, the organizational structure was reported to the mayor. The captain of each company was responsible for the regular patrol of their ward, and the reporting of anyone absent from duty or refusing to serve. A harbinger of the Civil War practice of paying substitutes in both armies, the ordinance allowed “any member of the company” to “procure a substitute to perform his duty” if “acceptable by the captain.”4 After being reported to city authorities, anyone who violated the conditions of patrol duty could be fined up to $3. These fines would be placed in a separate fund to support other patrol purposes. Despite these advances in policing, in 1861, Houston still lacked most municipal services. Although there were two fire engines, there were still no paid firefighters, no paved streets, no covered sewers, no street lighting and no board of health. Mental illness was treated as an afterthought, with most “lunatics” incarcerated in the county jail or loose on city streets. According to a report by Sheriff George Frazier in January 1861, of the eleven men incarcerated in the county...

Share