The Texas Rangers

The Texas Ranger law enforcement agency features so prominently in Texan and Wild West folklore that its accomplishments have been featured in everything from pulp novels to popular television. After a brief overview of the Texas Rangers’ formation, this book provides an exhaustive account of every known Ranger unit from 1823 to the present. Each chapter provides a brief contextual explanation of the time period covered and features entries on each unit’s commanders, periods of service, activities, and supervising authorities. Appendices include an account of the Rangers’ battle record, a history of the illustrious badge, documents relating to the Rangers, and lists of Rangers who have died in service, been inducted into the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, or received the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Medal of Valor.

Darren L. Ivey is an independent researcher who lives in Kansas. He is the author of The Ranger Ideal Volumes 1 and 2.

Darren L. Ivey

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 348
Bibliographic Info: 29 photos, 14 maps, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019 [2010]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7822-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5639-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Abbreviations 3

1. For the Common Defense: Rangers in Colonial Tejas (1823–1835) 7
2. Gained by War: Rangers of the Revolution and Republic (1835–1845) 14
3. Los Diablos Tejanos: Rangers in the U.S.-Mexican War (1846–1848) 59
4. Rangers of the Old Stamp: The Texas Mounted Volunteers (1848–1861) 74
5. A Most Desperate Struggle: Rangers in the Civil War (1861–1865) 100
6. No Surrender, No Prisoners: The Minute Men, the Frontier Forces, and the Frontier Men (1865–1874) 135
7. A Little Standing Army: Minute Men/Special State Troops/Special Force (1874–1881) 149
8. Duty Well Performed: The Frontier Battalion (1874–1901) 157
9. Los Rinches: The State Ranger Force (1901–1935) 173
10. A Fabled Tradition: The Texas Ranger Division (1935–Present) 190

Appendix A: Battle Record 211
Appendix B: Rangers Who Died in the Line of Duty 226
Appendix C: The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame 246
Appendix D: Texas Ranger Recipients of the Department of Public Safety Medal of Valor 247
Appendix E: Documents Regarding the Texas Rangers 250
Appendix F: The History of the Badge 308
Bibliography 313
Index 321

• “The Texas Rangers feature prominently in Wild West folklore…an exhaustive account…will find a place in the permanent history of Texas and the Texas Rangers”—Booklist
• “The first of its kind, this book documents Texas Ranger units since the service’s 1823 inception…the most comprehensive book to date…a wonderful, one-stop reference for historians”—Library Journal
• “A good, one volume, overall, modern history of the Rangers in their changing roles from 1823 to today…easy to read”—Journal of the West
• “This is a must for Ranger buffs…an amazing compilation”—True West