The Governor's Hounds: The Texas State Police, 1870–1873 (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture)

History

Crouch, Barry A.

Brice, Donaly E.

Americas

University of Texas Press

In the tumultuous years following the Civil War, violence and lawlessness plagued the state of Texas, often overwhelming the ability of local law enforcement to maintain order. In response, Reconstruction-era governor Edmund J. Davis created a statewide police force that could be mobilized whenever and wherever local authorities were unable or unwilling to control lawlessness. During its three years (1870–1873) of existence, however, the Texas State Police was reviled as an arm of the Radical Republican party and widely condemned for being oppressive, arrogant, staffed with criminals and African Americans, and expensive to maintain, as well as for enforcing the new and unpopular laws that protected the rights of freed slaves.
Drawing extensively on the wealth of previously untouched records in the Texas State Archives, as well as other contemporary sources, Barry A. Crouch and Donaly E. Brice here offer the first major objective assessment of the Texas State Police and its role in maintaining law and order in Reconstruction Texas. Examining the activities of the force throughout its tenure and across the state, the authors find that the Texas State Police actually did much to solve the problem of violence in a largely lawless state. While acknowledging that much of the criticism the agency received was merited, the authors make a convincing case that the state police performed many of the same duties that the Texas Rangers later assumed and fulfilled the same need for a mobile, statewide law enforcement agency.

Historians have detailed the exploits of desperadoes and outlaws in the latter part of the 19th century, those who emerged immediately after the Civil War have been overlooked. These outlaws, who were most active in the tri-state area of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, harassed the Union army and Freedmen's Bureau agents and terrorized the black population. Considered the most notorious was, Cullen Montgomery Baker. In this biography, the authors researched local folklore, legend, and fact to provide an accurate account of the southern desperado, whose strong resentment towards the North created a coined New Rebellion that led rise to many outlaw gangs including indirectly assisting in the formation of the Ku Klux Klan.

Cullen Montgomery Baker, Reconstruction Desperado

Louisiana State Univ Pr

Historical narrative of the Indian Wars in the Texas Republic

The Great Comanche Raid: Boldest Indian Attack of the Texas Republic

Eakin Pr

N.O. Reynolds (1846-1922) has remained somewhat a mysterious figure, his Texas Ranger career being overshadowed by such names as Frank Hamer, Sam Walker, and Bill McDonald. Historians Chuck Parsons and Donaly E. Brice bring the life of Reynolds back to the prominence he deserves and present a complete picture of the man who brought a greater respect for the law in Central Texas. Reynolds began as a sergeant in famed Company D, Frontier Battalion in 1874. He served honorably during the Mason County "Hoo Doo" War and was chosen to be part of Major John B. Jones's escort, riding the frontier line. In 1877 he arrested the Horrells, who were feuding with their neighbors, the Higgins party, thus ending their Lampasas County feud. Shortly thereafter he was given command of the newly formed Company E of Texas Rangers. Also in 1877 the notorious John Wesley Hardin was captured; N.O. Reynolds was given the responsibility to deliver Hardin to trial in Comanche, return him to a safe jail during his appeal, and then escort him safely to the Huntsville penitentiary. Even though mobs wanted to lynch Hardin, they were afraid to challenge N.O. Reynolds and his Rangers. Reynolds served as a Texas Ranger until he retired in 1879 at the rank of lieutenant, later serving as City Marshal of Lampasas and then County Sheriff of Lampasas County.

Texas Ranger N. O. Reynolds, the Intrepid (Volume 14) (Frances B. Vick Series)

Biographies & Memoirs

Parsons, Chuck

Historical

University of North Texas Press

Texas Rangers: Lives, Legend, and Legacy

Authors Bob Alexander and Donaly E. Brice grappled with several issues when deciding how to relate a general history of the Texas Rangers. Should emphasis be placed on their frontier defense against Indians, or focus more on their role as guardians of the peace and statewide law enforcers? What about the tumultuous Mexican Revolution period, 1910–1920? And how to deal with myths and legends such as One Riot, One Ranger? Texas Rangers: Lives, Legend, and Legacy is the authors’ answer to these questions, a one-volume history of the Texas Rangers. The authors begin with the earliest Rangers in the pre-Republic years in 1823 and take the story up through the Republic, Mexican War, and Civil War. Then, with the advent of the Frontier Battalion, the authors focus in detail on each company A through F, relating what was happening within each company concurrently. Thereafter, Alexander and Brice tell the famous episodes of the Rangers that forged their legend, and bring the story up through the twentieth century to the present day in the final chapters.

Alexander, Bob

<div>Authors Bob Alexander and Donaly E. Brice grappled with several issues when deciding how to relate a general history of the Texas Rangers. Should emphasis be placed on their frontier defense against Indians, or focus more on their role as guardians of the peace and statewide law enforcers? What about the tumultuous Mexican Revolution period, 1910-1920? And how to deal with myths and legends such as One Riot, One Ranger? Texas Rangers: Lives, Legend, and Legacy is the authors' answer to these questions, a one-volume history of the Texas Rangers. The authors begin with the earliest Rangers in the pre-Republic years in 1823 and take the story up through the Republic, Mexican War, and Civil War. Then, with the advent of the Frontier Battalion, the authors focus in detail on each company A through F, relating what was happening within each company concurrently. Thereafter, Alexander and Brice tell the famous episodes of the Rangers that forged their legend, and bring the story up through the twentieth century to the present day in the final chapters.</div>

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brice, Donaly E.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Brice, Donaly E.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brice, Donaly E.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Governor's Hounds: The Texas State Police, 1870–1873 (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture)

The Governor's Hounds: The Texas State Police, 1870–1873 (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture)

The Governor's Hounds: The Texas State Police, 1870–1873 (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture)

Cullen Montgomery Baker, Reconstruction Desperado

The Great Comanche Raid: Boldest Indian Attack of the Texas Republic

Texas Ranger N. O. Reynolds, the Intrepid (Volume 14) (Frances B. Vick Series)

Texas Rangers: Lives, Legend, and Legacy

Texas Rangers: Lives, Legend, and Legacy