Savage Frontier, Vol. II, 1838-1839: Rangers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas (review)

Savage Frontier could just as easily been titled Savage Frontiersmen. Stephen L. Moore's second tome traces "the early days of the Texas frontier defense system" (p. ix). As a genealogical source it is a great resource; as a historical resource it is a good source, but overall it is not an easy read.

Early on, Moore acknowledges, "few accounts exist to paint the picture from the point of view of the Native Americans involved in these 1830s battles" (p. xi). To his credit, the author makes an earnest effort to present a balanced picture of the times, from the perspective of the Native Americans and the transplanted Texans. The Texans easily matched the savagery of the Native Americans. Writing to President Lamar, Capt. William Sadler pointed out:

We should spare neither age, sect nor condition, for they do not. I know it will be said this is barbarous and too much like the savage. And it is harsh, but it is the only means in my view that will put them down and as such should be resorted to.

(p. 168)

Indeed, President Lamar was engaged in genocide and "ethnic cleansing" that gave no quarter (p. 350). His aim was to rid Texas of the Native Americans, forcing them across the border to the United States for the Americans to deal with. The Texans on the field took their lead from the president. When Texans killed Cherokee Chief Bowles, they left his mutilated body on the battlefield for years, and some "Texans used their knives to cut away pieces of his body for personal charms and souvenirs" (p. 281). After one encounter, Andrew Sowell came upon "two dead Mexicans and further out in the open ground were two dead ex-slaves close together, their clothing burned off. . . . Further up . . . lay the body of the Biloxi Indian whose head had been removed by Doctor Fentress" (p. 192).

The book is difficult to follow because it attempts to keep the presentation in chronological order and consequently jumps from one unrelated event to another. In one page, you are following the exploits of Texans in East Texas against the Cherokees and the next you are in central Texas chasing the Comanches. Moore's attention to detail often intrudes with his presentation. It is hard to keep track of the colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, and assorted other personnel in different brigades, regiments, companies, infantry, cavalry units, etc. Names of participants bleed throughout the pages, often the same people making frequent appearances at different locations with different outfits.

All these facts provide a gold mine for family researchers, including Native and Mexican Americans. It points historians to important events and sources. While Moore makes some candid and important observations, the book lacks meaningful historical analysis as serious historical scholarship is lacking. Many of the engagements, they could hardly be called wars or battles, are only cursorily covered. It suggests to the casual reader that they must not have really been that important in the grand scheme of things.

Still, the book records an important aspect in the history of Texas and is a worthwhile contribution.