Opposition: the Texas Rangers

To most people today, the name Texas Rangers conjures up images of law enforcement and indeed today's Texas Ranger Division is made up of sworn peace officers who do exactly that.  However, they began life in Texas as a paramilitary unit and their first enemies were Natives, principally the Cheyenne.  This post covers the early period of the Rangers.  It would be impossible to do their entire history justice here.

Rangers and ranging are as old as the frontier in America.  Some of the first ranger-type companies were gathered in Plymouth and other Massachusetts towns in response to the unrest along the frontier in the east.  Beginning in 1823, Stephen F. Austin appointed ten men to protect the settlers who arrived in Texas following Mexico's independence from Spain.  The Rangers were formally constituted in 1835 and comprised over 300 men.  After Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second President of the Republic of Texas raised a force of 56 Rangers to fight against the Comanche and Cherokee.  Because of their experience in dealing with Natives, Rangers were known as experts in guerrilla and counter-guerrilla operations.  The Rangers were temporarily disbanded prior to the Civil War, but reconstituted soon after the War ended.  They would continue to supplement the Army's response to Native raids throughout the 1860's and 1870's, including warfare against the Comanche and Apache.  As the Native population in Texas was systematically removed to Oklahoma, the Rangers duties turned to border security and law enforcement, where they remain today.



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