Lives of two Texas Rangers Lee Hall and John Barclay Armstrong. (original) (raw)
There�s not many times when people are doing research on the history of Texas, that they don�t come across that illustrious group of lawmen known as the Texas Rangers.
I doubt that there is a band of lawmen anywhere who have garnered as much respect and admiration as the Texas Rangers. You might say that there is sort of a romantic, yet mysterious, allure which accompanies these brave men who sought to preserve law and order in the Lone Star State � back when Texas was young and bad men roamed the frontier.
At times the paths of these men crossed; they may have served in the same company or perhaps assigned to the same case, but they rode together in pursuit of those who would do harm to the citizens of Texas.
These men were not unlike those who fought for Texas independence. They wore no uniforms in the Rangers; some were fancy dressed, while others wore the simple attire that would be found on a Texas cowboy.
But they did have several things in common � they were well-armed and proficient in the use of their firearms and they were fearless when confronted by Indians or bandits.
Two such men were Jesse Lee Hall and John Barclay Armstrong. Both of these men gained fame while serving in the Rangers, but Armstrong was probably the most famous because of his dealings with the outlaw, John Wesley Hardin.
According to the Handbook of Texas, Jesse Hall came to Texas from North Carolina in 1869 when he was 20 years old. At some point in his young life, he must have encountered and made an impression on the well-known artist, Frederic Remington. The artist was quoted as saying, �Hall is a gentleman of the romantic Southern soldier type and he entertained the highest ideals, with which it would be extremely unsafe to trifle.�
Hall began his life in Texas as a schoolteacher, but it wasn�t long before he was wearing a badge. He was a city marshal in Shermanand a deputy sheriff in Denison. Later, he became a Texas Ranger serving under Capt. Leander McNelly�s Special Forces group operating in the Nueces Strip.
After McNelly fell ill, Hall was promoted to company commander � this is where Hall and Armstrong crossed paths, because Armstrong, who had been the company�s sergeant, was promoted to second lieutenant serving under Hall.
Armstrong and Hall moved their company of rangers to Cuero where they suppressed the famed Sutton-Taylor Feud. Later, Hall decided to break up the company into units of one or two men and station them along the border to suppress cattle rustling and to stop outlaw King Fisher and his gang. Hall resigned from the Rangers in 1880.
Jesse Hall married in 1880 and was blessed with five daughters. According to the Handbook of Texas, most of his business ventures failed but his patriotism lived on as he raised two companies for service in Spanish-American War. He saw action in the Philippines and received medals for his gallant service.
One historian described Hall as �a man of daring and almost reckless physical courage, of fine physique and resistless energy.�
Hall died in 1911 at the age of 62. He is buried in the National Cemetery at San Antonio.
Jesse Hall�s fellow ranger, John Armstrong, was known as �McNelly�s Bulldog� while serving under Capt. McNelly. He joined that unit in 1875, one year before Hall joined up. Many of the rangers felt that Armstrong, not Hall, should have gotten McNelly�s command.
Armstrong was from Tennessee and was quick to join the Rangers when he moved to Austin. He was assigned to the Eagle Pass area and operated on both sides of the border, breaking up outlaw gangs and helping to arrest the notorious John King Fisher.
However, Armstrong�s greatest achievement was the capture of the famed outlaw John Wesley Hardin. Armstrong volunteered for the job and he pursued Hardinfirst to Alabama and then to Florida where he confronted the outlaw and four of his gang on a train in Pensacola.
It has been said that when Hardinspotted Armstrong he shouted, �Texas by God,� and went for his gun. Armstrong clubbed Hardinwith his pistol and knocked him unconscious while killing one of Hardin�s men and arresting the others.
Armstrong brought Hardinback to Texas where he was tried and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Armstrong was also involved in the killing of outlaw Sam Bass at Round Rock, Texas. Afterwards, he was assigned to Cuerowhere he retired from ranger service and became a U.S. marshal.
Armstrong was described by one writer as being �well-built with a face marked by heavy brows and made distinguished by a finely modeled nose and deep-set languid eyes. The Ranger always wore a full beard and was something of a dandy in the way he dressed.� The man known in later years as �Major� Armstrong owned a 50,000-acre ranch in Willacy County. He died at the age of 63.
This is a brief history of the lives of only two Texas Rangers; there are so many more stories to tell. And just like their predecessors, today�s Rangers continue in their task to protect the people of Texas.
Lone Star DiaryJune 27, 2011 column
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