Category Archives: Texas History

Today in Texas History – May 28

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From the Annals of Big Oil – In 1923, the Santa Rita No. 1 oil well came in.  The gusher came in the early morning at the solitary rig located in Reagan County.  The University of Texas had leased 670 sections of its west Texas land to Rupert P. Ricker.  Ricker in turn hoped to make enough selling drilling permits from various wildcatters to make the rental payments to UT.  Frank T. Pickrell and Haymon Krupp bought the drilling permits and formed Texon Oil and Land Company.  They then hired geologist Hugh Tucker to select a site for drilling among the almost 200,000 acres.  Carl G. Cromwell drilled the well which was spudded in only minutes before the drilling permit would have expired.  The incredible gusher and the ensuing development of UT’s vast land holdings transformed the school from a small land grant college in a small city to a major institution of higher education.  The University of Texas system has the second highest endowment of any US university ranking only behind Harvard.

Today in Texas History – May 26

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From the Annals of Slavery –  In 1837, the executor of William Barret Travis’s estate placed a notice in the Telegraph and Texas Register for an escaped slave named Joe.  Joe had been one of the few survivors of the battle of the Alamo the year before. The notice ran for three months before it was discontinued.

During the final battle for the Alamo, Joe was armed and defended with others before retreating to an interior room.  After the battle, Joe answered the call of the Mexican troops for any slaves to reveal themselves. Joe came out was immediately shot and suffered a bayonet thrust. A Mexican captain prevented his death.  He was taken by the Mexican Army and later interrogated by Santa Anna regarding Texas and the Texas Army.  He was apparently released and on March 20, Joe was questioned by the Texas Cabinet at Groce’s Retreat about the siege and final battle at the Alamo. William F. Gray reported that Joe impressed those present with the modesty, candor, and clarity of his account. Joe was then returned to Travis’s property near Columbia.  On the first anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto, Joe escaped with two fully equipped horses while accompanied by an unidentified Mexican man.  Joe was never returned to slavery and was last reported in Austin in 1875.

Today in Texas History – May 22

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From the Annals of Golf –  In 2003, Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to play on the PGA tour in 58 years.  She did so at the storied Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.  The Colonial Invitational invited her to play based on her stellar record on the LPGA in the preceding years.  When she retired Sorenstam had won 72 LPGA events and 10 major championships.  But for Sorenstam  her two rounds at the Colonial provide a large part of her legacy. Sorenstam refers to the experience as “one of the highlights of my career.”   She ended the day at 1-over par and missed the cut by a stroke.

On a personal note, Red was there for her second round on Friday and strategically placed himself where he could watch Sorenstam play on holes 5, 6 and 7, and managed to catch her only birdie of the day.  The crowds were incredible and largely supportive.  It was a fun day to watch golf.

And who was the last women to play in an PGA event before the striking Swede?  It was Texan Babe Didrikson Zaharias at the Tucson Open in 1945.

Today in Texas History – May 20

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Identification Order of Bonnie and Clyde in 1934

From the Annals of the Bank Robbers –  In 1933, the United States Commissioner in Dallas issued a warrant for the arrest of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker for interstate transportion a stolen vehicle.  The FBI (then known as the Division of Investigation) became involved in the hunt for the dangerous duo in December 1932 based on the discovery of a Ford automobile which had been stolen in Pawhuska, Oklahoma and abandoned near Jackson, Michigan. The investigation revealed that another stolen vehicle (from Illinois) had been abandoned in Pawhuska near the time of the car theft.  A search of this car turned up a prescription bottle which led special agents to a drug store in Nacogdoches.  Further investigation led to the revelation that the prescription had been filled for Clyde Barrow’s aunt and that she had been recently visited by Barrow, Parker, and Clyde’s brother, L. C. Barrow. It was also discovered that they had been driving the Ford sedan stolen in Illinois.

This was enough evidence to obtain issuance of a federal warrant against Barrow and Parker for interstate transport of a stolen vehicle from Texas to Oklahoma.  For the first time, the FBI became involved in the hunt for the notorious bank robbers and folk legends.

Although glamourized in the ridiculously inaccurate 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, the duo were ruthless criminals who were implicated in at least 13 murders, numerous bank robberies, thefts and in staging a prison escape from the Eastham Prison Farm to free their former gunman Raymond Hamilton in which two guards were shot.

The two would continue their crime spree for another year after issuance of the federal warrant.  On May 23, 1934, acting on information that Barrow and Parker were in the area of Ruston, Louisiana, a posse composed of police officers from Louisiana and Texas, including Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, staged an ambush near Sailes, Louisiana. Barrow and Parker appeared in another stolen car.  The officers opened fire and the saga of Bonnie and Clyde came to a gory end in a hail of bullets.

Today in Texas History – May 19

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From the Annals of Depredations –  In 1836, Commanche, Kiowa, and Caddo Indians in kidnapped nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker and killed her family near present day Mexia.  Silas and Lucy Parker had moved to Texas from Illinois in 1832.   Their homestead included a civilian stockade called Parker’s Fort intended to protect the family and others from Indian raids. The wooden stockade probably was capable of holding off an Indian raiding party if properly manned and defended.  However, a long lull in Indian raids induced the Parker family to drop their guard and they were caught by surprise on the fateful day Cynthia Ann was kidnapped. The more than one hundred raiders killed five of the Parkers and abducted five women and children.  Cynthia Ann was taken by the Comanche. The tribe routinely kidnapped their enemy’s women and children for either enslavement or adoption into the tribe – typically in the case of young children. That was Parker’s fate as she lived happily with the Comanche for 25 years.

But her story does not end there.  Four years after the Fort Parker raid, her relatives learned that she was still alive.  A trader named WIlliams reported seeing her with a band of Comanche in north Texas.  He tried to bargain for her, but it was obvious that the girl was happy with her life as a Comanche. The Commanche Chief Pahauka allowed Williams to speak to the girl, but she stared at the ground and refused to answer his questions. After four years, Parker apparently had become accustomed to Commanche ways and did not want to leave. In 1845, two other traders saw Parker, who was 17 years old.   They were told that she was now married to a Comanche warrior Peta Nocona and the men reported “she is unwilling to leave” and “she would run off and hide herself to avoid those who went to ransom her.” She stayed happily married to Nocona and gave birth to 3 children including Quanah Parker who would become a famous leader of the last of the free-roaming Comanche bands.

In December 1860, a Texas Ranger force surprised Nocona’s camp on the Pease River in present day Foard County.  Nocona was killed and the Rangers captured Parker and her daughter, Prairie Flower.  Parker was unwilling to adapt to Anglo and tried to run away several times.  But as it became clear that her adopted people were fighting a losing battle, she accepted her place as a stranger among her relatives. After her daughter, Prairie Flower died of influenza and pneumonia in 1863, Parker struggled on for seven more years. Weakened by self-imposed starvation, she died of influenza in 1870

Today in Texas History – May 18

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From the Annals of the Depredations –  In 1871, more than 100 Kiowas, Comanches, Kiowa-Apaches, Arapahoes, and Cheyennes from the Fort Sill Reservation in Oklahoma attacked Henry Warren’s wagontrain on the Butterfield Overland Mail route.  The attack ended with the wagonmaster and six teamsters dead while five others managed to escape.  The raiding party suffered one killed and five more wounded.  One of the escaped teamsters related his story of the attack to Gen. Sherman and Col. Ranald MacKenzie at Fort Richardson. As a result the leaders of the raid, Chiefs Satank, Satanta, and Big Tree, leaders of the raid, were arrested. Satank attempted to escape and was killed. Satanta and Big Tree were tried for murder in Texas which was reputed to be the first use of Texas courts to try Indian for criminal acts.  They were found guilty and sentenced to death, but had their sentences commuted to life by Gov. Edmund Davis.   The raid restarted U.S. military operations against the Comanches and their allies who remained at large.

Photo of Chief Satanta from http://www.Kansas.com

Today in Texas History – May 14

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From the Annals of the Revolution – In 1836, Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna and Republic of Texas provisional president David Burnett signed two Treaties of Velasco ending the Texas Revolution.  The public treaty, signed not surprisingly at Velasco (now Surfside Beach), ceased the fighting, called for withdrawal of Mexican troops and exchanges of prisoners, but Mexico did not formally recognize Texas’ independence.  The self-styled “secret treaty” had provisions for normalization of relations after the terms of the public treaty had been met.  The still vastly superior Mexican forces in the field honored the treaty and withdrew to Mexico.  In effect, the treaty was a venal effort by Santa Anna to save his own skin as it provided for his immediate transport to Veracruz. The story of Texas might have been vastly different if Gens. Urea and Filasola had decided to ignore Santa Anna’s command to stand down.

Despite the treaties, disputes over whether the Texas/Mexico boundary was on the Rio Grande or the Nueces continued and ultimately was the provocation that started the Mexican-American War that John Polk desperately wanted.  As a result, Texas’ boundary was never finally resolved during the days of the Republic.  It was not determined until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848 at the end of the Mexican-American War.

Today in Texas History – May 13

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From the Annals of the Unlucky –  In 1865, the last battle of the Civil War was fought near Brownsville at Palmito Ranch.  Union and Confederate commanders had previously reached a local truce thinking that a confrontation in the what appeared to be the waning days of the war over non-strategic ground in south Texas would be a waste of time, ammunition and most importantly lives.  Despite this on May 11, Col. Theo. H Barrett sent 300 mostly Black troops to take possession of Brownsville.  The Union force surprised about 150 Confederate cavalrymen and quickly routed them.  However, later in the afternoon the Confederates engaged the Union in a skirmish.  The Union commanders assumed that the Confederates had received reinforcements and quickly withdrew.  On May 13, Col. John “Rip” Ford arrived with artillery and assumed command.  The Confederates opened up with the cannons and an ensuing cavalry charge.  The Union troops were quickly routed and fell back to Brazos Island.  Approximately 30 unfortunate Union soldiers were killed in the meaningless and unnecessary battle.  After capturing some Union troops, the Confederates learned of the surrender of Lee and Johnston.  This small battle is only remembered because it was the last actual battle of the Civil War.

Texas Rising to Premiere on Memorial Day

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The History Channel will premier a new series Texas Rising over Memorial Day Weekend.  The initial episode will air on May 25 at 8:00 pm (CDT).  Texas Rising  will be 10-hour series based on the Texas Revolution and the rise of the Texas Rangers.

Texas Rising has a large cast with notable names such as Bill Paxton, Brendan Fraser, Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olivier Martinez, Thomas Jane, Crispin Glover, Jeremy Davies, Christopher McDonald, Max Thieriot, Chad Michael Murray, Trevor Donovan, Robert Knepper, Jeff Fahey, Rob Morrow and Kris Kristofferson.  The series is directed by Roland Joffé.   It might be worth watching just to see how badly Kris Kristofferson butchers his role as Andrew Jackson. 

Today in Texas History – May 12

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From the Annals of School Songs –  In 1903, “The Eyes of Texas” was sung for the first time.  As a prank, the UT Glee Club serenaded President Wilson L. Prather with a parody song based on the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” The lyrics, written by John Lang Sinclair, were based on Prather’s oft-repeated admonition to students that “the eyes of the Texas are upon you.”  Prather’s saying was based on hearing Robert E. Lee say “the eyes of the South are upon you” during his time as a student at Washington College. The song became popular with students and was adopted as the official school song and copyrighted by UT.