This third volume of the Savage Frontier series focuses on the evolution of the Texas Rangers and frontier warfare in Texas during the years 1840 and 1841. Comanche Indians were the leading rival to the pioneers during this period. Peace negotiations in San Antonio collapsed during the Council House Fight, prompting what would become known as the Great Comanche Raid in the summer of 1840.
Stephen L. Moore covers the resulting Battle of Plum Creek and other engagements in new detail. Rangers, militiamen, and volunteers made offensive sweeps into West Texas and the Cross Timbers area of present Dallas-Fort Worth. During this time Texas' Frontier Regiment built a great military road, roughly parallel to modern Interstate 35. Moore also shows how the Colt repeating pistol came into use by Texas Rangers. Finally, he sets the record straight on the battles of the legendary Captain Jack Hays.
Through extensive use of primary military documents and first-person accounts, Moore provides a clear view of life as a frontier fighter in the Republic of Texas. The reader will find herein numerous and painstakingly recreated muster rolls, as well as casualty lists and a compilation of 1841 rangers and minutemen. For the exacting historian or genealogist of early Texas, the Savage Frontier series is an indispensable resource on early nineteenth-century Texas frontier warfare.
Praise for earlier volumes in the Savage Frontier series:
"The two volumes of Savage Frontier provide exciting action and accurate history. In addition, important genealogical material is given for anyone seeking the role of his or her ancestors in early Texas history." —Chuck Parsons, Texas Ranger Dispatch
"Anyone with an interest in the Texas Republic, or in the nature of frontier warfare in the early nineteenth century, would want to have this book on the shelf. It will also be a gold mine for Texas genealogists. "—James E. Crisp, author of Sleuthing the Alamo
"An exhaustively researched study of the pervasive violence that confronted the newborn Texas Rangers even in colonial days." —Kent Biffle, Dallas Morning News