Tracking the Texas Rangers: The Twentieth Century

Timeline: 20th Century Texas Ranger History, Harol J. Weiss, Jr.

vii TIMELINE: 20TH CENTURY TEXAS RANGER HISTORY Harold J. Weiss, Jr. 1901: Creation of the Ranger Force, which replaced the Frontier Battalion and lasted until 1935. At the same time the beginnings of the troubles between Gregorio Cortez and local sheriffs took place. Shots were exchanged and deaths occurred. This led to Cortez’s publicized flight, manhunt by local law officers and vigilantes, and capture by the Rangers who guarded him in various jails from mob action in this continuing saga. 1902–1903: The trials and tribulations of Ranger Sergeant A. Y. Baker and Company A under Captain James Brooks in South Texas. A sequence of events took place: Baker gunned down the Cerda brothers at different times; the Ranger was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defense; and Company A was moved to a different part of the state. In 1904, Captain Brooks and his Rangers made up for any misconduct in the eyes of the Ranger organization by taming Batson, an oil boomtown. 1905: The mass murder of members of the Conditt family in Jackson County and the subsequent detective work by Captain Bill McDonald and other Rangers. This bloody scene involved members of both the black and white communities. Two black males were arrested, convicted, and hanged. State-local judges viii ★ Tracking the Texas Rangers: The Twentieth Century and lawyers played an important role in this case which took years to complete. 1906: A raid on Brownsville occurred, which involved Anglos , Hispanics, black soldiers of the United States army, and the Texas Rangers under Captain McDonald . The raiders, numbering about a score, destroyed property, killed one individual, and wounded others. White officers and the black rank and file of the US infantry clashed with McDonald and the Rangers in the investigation. In this muddled incident, one thing was for sure: the identities of the raiders still remain a mystery. 1906–1907: Retirements of two of the “Four Great Captains” of the Texas Rangers: J. A. Brooks and Bill McDonald. The former became a state legislator and a judge. The latter accepted appointments as state revenue agent and as United States marshal for the Northern District of Texas. 1910–1920: Era of the Mexican Revolution with arms, funds, and manpower sought by revolutionaries from the Texas side of the boundary line. Border raids intensified after 1915, with Pancho Villa even attacking Columbus, New Mexico. The Rangers also had to endure the appointments to their ranks of political hacks by Governor James “Pa” Ferguson. The last two of the “Four Great Captains,” in addition, left the Ranger service: John Hughes and John Rogers. The decade ended with the hearings carried out by J. T. Canales. This investigation cataloged Ranger incompetence and violent actions against Mexican Americans in South Texas, especially by Captains J. Monroe Fox and Henry Ransom . A reorganization of the Rangers followed. 1920–1930: A decade in which Rangers tried to keep order in oilboomtowns ;wentafterbordersmugglersduringprohibition ; intervened in a railroad strike; pursued and Timeline: 20th Century Texas Ranger History ★ ix shot bank robbers; moved in, investigated, and made arrests during black-white violence in Longview and Gregg County; and had to endure the travails of the administration of Governor Miriam “Ma” Ferguson. The other governors, though, Pat Neff and Daniel “Dan” Moody, relied heavily on the work of the Rangers. At the same time Ranger captains of note emerged: Thomas R. “Tom” Hickman, William L. “Will” Wright, and William Warren Sterling. Into the 1930s: The previous decade showed that politics still dictated the kind of Rangers selected to keep law and order. The election of Ma Ferguson to another term as governor in 1932 only exacerbated the problem. Yet in the midst of this ten-year span the state found a solution to this age-old problem. All these events took place during the economic and social turmoil of the Great Depression. 1930: The Sherman riot occurred. This racial violence involved a black prisoner charged with sexual assault. A large mob tried to take the prisoner by rushing the courthouse more than once, only to be held back with force by Captain Hamer and his Rangers. In the end, the building was burned, the prisoner died, and the military moved in, as the mob attacked the black community. 1931: The infamous “Red River War” took place between Texas and Oklahoma over the opening of a new free bridge alongside a toll bridge. The...