Texas Rangers vs. Comanche Warriors : The Battle at Agua Dulce Creek

May 29th 1850 eight miles Northwest of present-day Alice Texas Captain John rip Ford in his contingent of Texas Rangers are making their way down a tributary of the Nueces River they were on their way South toward their headquarters at San Antonio Viejo or old San Antonio near the U.S Mexico border on the Rio Grande Captain Ford known as Rip which many apocryphal accounts attribute to his signing of so many death notices while serving as a quartermaster in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848 has just celebrated his 35th birthday he is joined by several other Veterans of the war all of whom are in their 20s and early 30s second in command is lieutenant Andrew Jackson Walker malkaya Benjamin Highsmith serves as quartermaster and commissary David level serves as orderly and Philip n Luckett serves as the surgeon though young all have considerable combat experience in the brutal conflicts of the Mexican-American War a number of other rangers rounded out their ranks including William Gillespie Gillespie a relatively new ranger had also served in the Mexican-American War and came from a family who held a revered and respected place in the Ranger History his Uncle Robert Gillespie had served with distinction along with Ranger Legends such as Jack Hayes Bigfoot Wallace Samuel Walker and rip Ford himself Robert Addison Gillespie known as Addie to his friends had served with distinction in countless campaigns against the Comanche he had met his end four years earlier while serving in the Mexican-American War on September 22 1846 in the Battle of Monterey the Elder Gillespie had reportedly been the first Ranger to breach the perimeter of the fort on Independence hill during the action he was shot in the Torso and mortally wounded he would succumb to his wound a day later on September 23rd William Gillespie determined to follow in his legendary uncle's footsteps was Keen to engage the Comanche and solidify his own reputation with the Rangers the Rangers lead Scout is a half Comanche half-mexican man named Rocco madrigio who spoke three languages Spanish English and Comanche and was thoroughly familiar with the territory they were in near the Nueces River he was also reputed to have an otherworldly sense of smell despite the highly desirable skill set of their Scout they had spent much of the previous fall and pursuing specter-like bands of Comanche in vain all throughout South Texas they had in fact not even seen any Comanche in many months this had been a source of great frustration for Ford certainly but even more so for the young and battle hungry amongst them like William Gillespie during this spring though combat with the Comanche had seemed a more and more certain Prospect their first Contact would come as a shock though when they were startled awake on May 26th by The Gunshot of a ranger posted his Century his intended target had been a group of shadowy figures astride several of the Rangers horses riding away from the herd at a full gallop after the writers did not halt at the Century's orders the ranger opened a fire hitting one unfortunate rider in the Torso and knocking him to the ground until the sun broke on the Eastern Horizon no Ranger left the perimeter of the camp for fear of being caught in an ambush in the dark however once Dawn broke the group was sent out to retrieve the unidentified would-be horse thief they returned to Camp soon after bearing with them the barely alive body of a Teenage Comanche Warrior he had been part of a group of Young Warriors intent on stealing the Texans horses garnering themselves a measure of material wealth and social Renown though his cohorts had managed to escape this unfortunate young man had been mortally wounded by the centuries shot as he expired the Rangers rode out of camp and reconnoited an area several miles in circumference finding none of the unfortunate Young Warriors companions later that day Captain Ford scribbled a note detailing their location and contact with the Comanches and requesting reinforcements he dispatched another eventual Ranger Legend Edward Burleson Jr to carry the message to the nearby Fort Merrill Burleson departed and later returned that afternoon reporting of a dismal even downright disturbing State of Affairs at the fort the commander JB Plummer seemed not only unconcerned with the potential danger but also upset with the Rangers for their early morning gunshots disturbing his trooper's sleep Plummer dismissed the reports of Comanche being so close to the Fort despite the tangible proof of a Dying prisoner in the custody of the Rangers his reticent agreement to send a small Detachment of his regulars back to the Ranger camp with Burleson only resulted in the already bizarre situation deteriorating into the Macabre that night one of the regulars wandered about the camp toting the head of the recently deceased Comanche as a trophy even for the veteran Rangers and especially for their neophyte Brethren such a site was both disgusting and distasteful Ford described the man as Looney and sent the regulars away upon being made aware of the reprehensible display now three days later as they made their way South their eyes always scanning the brush and Horizon for potential dangers many among them desired only to exit this territory and secure a few days respite within the walls of San Antonio Viejo once in Scots within the comparative safety of sturdy cool Adobe walls and tempering their nerves with a stiff drink perhaps their minds could unwind enough to process the events of the preceding 72 hours but San Antonio Viejo was still a long ride up the Nueces from here and whether the Rangers knew it or not there would be no respite from violence and danger anywhere in their near future four though the Texas Frontier was a vast expansive territory that had not always lend itself to ease and travel nor communication word did spread fast and word had spread to the Comanche via the survivors of the failed raid on the ranger encampment the detections had inflicted a hard death on one of their beloved tribesmen though the Comanche could be harsh unremitting and even overtly inhumane to even the most innocent of their enemy Comanche families and bands were Incredibly Close and unyieldingly sentimental as was common amongst many Plains tribes the Comanche ceremonial grieving process often involves self-mortification that could at times even result in the death of the practitioner the Comanche though perhaps more than any tribe managed to perpetually strike a Newtonian imbalance and avenging wrongs done to them that is to say to whatever degree they perceived themselves to have been aggrieved it was their right nigh their karmic duty to seek Vengeance via an equal and opposite degree of violence the Rangers were all too aware of the comanche's propensity for combat and thus a tense anticipation pervaded their ranks as they rode South For Better or For Worse though they would not have to suffer the pangs of dread long they had broke camp at dawn and by mid-morning their Scout rakei had spotted the tracks of several unshot horses sign of a war party being nearby the Comanche would have been aware of the party's likely destination as it was the only fort on the Nueces between their current location and the fort they had just left thus Ford and his Rangers assumed correctly as it would turn out that the Comanche intended to cut off the current path of travel with the Comanche and thereby mortal danger near at hand thoughts of relaxing in a Border Cantina or reposing in a warm bed at their destination were quickly replaced with the immediate demands of combat their first engagement saw them being fired upon by a small party of Comanche attackers another small group of younger Braves out reconordering the territory the attackers were quickly disconcerted by the Firepower of the Ranger contingent by 1850 the Rangers though only a decade and a half old had already contributed significantly to advancements and Firearm technology the intervening time had seen the average Ranger outfitted it first with single shot pistols then five shot Patterson cold revolvers with removable cylinders two at this time the most recent iteration of the cult revolver the 1847 Walker cult its predecessor the Patterson cult had been the brainchild of a young New Jersey inventor named Samuel Colt Colt had first designed the pistol with its revolving cylinder in 1836 though the implementation of a revolving cylinder was not invented by Samuel Colt his Hope was to bring the concept to its fullest fruition though at first it seemed there was no commercial interest in his invention it would be the aburgeoning Republic of Texas who would be an early purchaser of the firearm in 1839 the Republic would officially purchase 180 of the revolvers for use by of all things the Texas Navy at the time pirates did frequent the coast of Texas and the Republic needed to defend itself against possible International incursions now that it was for the time being operating as an autonomous entity however Governor Sam Houston would disband them in 1843 freeing up the stocks of now unused revolvers for Texas's newest military experiment the Texas Rangers the Rangers who traced their lineage to Stephen F Austin's ranging companies of the 1830s were a Motley assemblage of combative and adventurous young men whom Texas sought to employ as a light-mounted Cavalry in the intervening years both the Rangers and the revolver would be pit through the refiners fire of hard frequent and highly mobile combat engagements with adversaries ranging from cattle thieves to Mexican soldiers to Comanche Warriors Colt even struck up a correspondence and eventual friendship with Ranger Samuel Walker in which the ranger-related suggestions for improvements and letters oftentimes written not far from the front lines Walker was a Maryland native who had come to Texas in 1842 via the port at Galveston he had served under Captain Jesse Billingsley in an ill-fated Invasion into Mexico only to be captured held as a pow and narrowly survived what is known to history as the black bean incident linked to episode and description Upon returning to Texas Walker enlisted with the Rangers and Via his experiences in fighting the Comanche Kiowa Apache and in the Mexican-American War he would come to suggest adding a fixed trigger guard interchangeable parts for easier repair in the field and perhaps most distinctively adding one chamber to the cylinder making a six-shot revolver the finished product what would come to be known as the Colt Walker revolver would weigh in at 4.5 pounds with a length of nearly a foot and a quarter firing a 44 caliber ball with an effective range of roughly 100 yards this made the Colt Walker what amounted to a handheld Cannon especially by the standards of the tie rip 4 himself who served with Samuel Walker throughout many of the same campaigns including the Battle of Veracruz where marks that the pistol was indeed more powerful than the 54 caliber Mississippi rifle after seeing its lethality at distance in combat the Rangers quickly adopted the new revolvers in 1847 and Walker himself would carry two into combat late that year at the Battle of huamatla it would be here on October 9 1847 that the young Ranger Captain would be shot and killed by a sniper though Walker had fallen his legacy and the legacy of the firearm he had helped to build were still keenly felt just over two years later here on the Nueces River rip forward and the countless other Veterans of the war in which Walker perished no doubt felt an extra measure of gratitude for his efforts now that they found themselves surrounded and Far From Home The Walker Colt enabled them to lay down a field and raid of fire that could overwhelm the rate of fire that the Comanche were capable of with their short high draw weight bulbs the community had long dominated the battlefield in terms of rate of fire and maneuverability two key factors in any engagement the horsemanship of the average Comanche Warrior enabled him to fire his weapon while hanging off the side of the horse protected from counter Fire by the animal's body he could lose his Arrow from Over the horse's back as well as under or over the horse's neck all while shielding himself from consequential counter-attack these skills were not inherent in the Comanche more than any other people the difference lie in their lifestyle and training the Comanche were highly practiced from very young ages at skill sets that would eventually stack together to present the fully formed fully grown Warrior that ruled the Southern Plains Comanche children boys and girls were taught to ride and to shoot common practice drills involved picking up objects off the ground while riding their horses at progressively faster speeds upon every attempt as well as shooting live birds out of the air with blunted arrows as a means of target practice but the Rangers for all their reputation as an ad hoc assemblage of killers For Hire were in fact disciplined drilled professionals who were not only superb Horsemen but incredibly accurate marksmen while mounted as well as Sound small group tacticians and the Rangers were not only well armed but mounted on some of the finest horses in Texas a prospective Ranger was not allowed to join the ranks with a horse valued at less than one hundred dollars adjusted for inflation this would be a cost of roughly thirty nine hundred dollars today the Rangers were indeed known for their decided lack of military discipline dress and decorum they were free to wear what pleased them from wide brim hats and sarapes to Buckskin leggings and coonskin caps but in combat they were highly disciplined highly mobile and highly dangerous in 1850 they were essentially the only military force capable of engaging the Comanche on the Comanches level on this day though that premise would be certainly put to the test after their initial Skirmish near what was known as Rancho amigosa Ford ordered his men into Skirmish lines spaced out a few yards apart and the contingent carried on Colt Walker revolvers drawn and ready they moved as quietly as possible communicating via either hand signs or in the most hushed of tones they would travel another four miles up the Nueces before coming inside of the Comanches camp near what is known as Agua Dulce Creek the Comanche that had attacked them earlier had disappeared to the north and had evidently not yet returned to their Camp to sound the alarm that the Rangers were on their way this delay meant the Rangers possessed the element of surprise and rip forwards sought to use that advantage to its fullest extent immediately with forward leading the charge the Rangers rode full speed towards the unsuspecting War party's camp the Comanche and Camp soon sensing the oncoming commotion of hoofbeats and writers exhortations snatched up their weapons and made a Mad Dash for their horses seconds later the Rangers would smash into the Comanche camp at full force now riding a top speed and loosing howling war cries of their own the Rangers barreled in amongst the Comanche shooting down any and all that they could at First Sight no exception was made for the mounts of the Comanche either as several of them were shot down at point-blank range in order to bring their Rider to the ground over the course of the next few minutes a brutal Close Quarters combat would unfold throughout the camp the Sun Warrior is standing to fight and others attempting to escape into the Mesquite brush that surrounded them those who stood and fought were almost all shot down where they stood while those who retreated into the brush were pursued by mounted Rangers intent on killing them when the dust had settled rip Forge Rangers had killed four of the Comanche Warriors in the camp and by Ford's account wounded up to seven in the immediate aftermath many of the Rangers were flush with the thrill of victory and shouts of Triumph and congratulations abounded then they heard the scrapes in all the commotion despite what any of them would consider a resounding Victory one of their own had been Gravely wounded young William Gillespie had been riding through the village on the attack bringing up the rear as a younger Ranger ahead of him he saw a Comanche Warrior attempting to flee The Village on Horseback the warrior was however brought down in quick succession by a shot to the neck and an additional shot to the back Gillespie washed the warrior fall from his horse presuming him to be dead as he rode past but though mortally wounded the warrior was not dead the warrior had managed to bring himself up to a sitting position after Gillespie had ridden by him seeing this Gillespie wheeled his horse around in an effort to shoot the Fallen Comanche with his revolver however the animal lurched and caused the young man to misfire into the ground between himself and the Comanche this momentary mishap created all the time the Comanche Warrior needed to draw his bow one final time and before expiring of his own wounds loose an arrow that struck Gillespie under the rib cage piercing his lung mortally wounded the ranger slumped in the saddle seeing this Captain Ford called his Rangers off the pursuit of the fleeing Comanche and into two squads one Squad formed a defensive line to Shield the second who ushered Gillespie still slumped in his saddle to safety for a tense moment the fleeing Comanche turned and seemed to ponder an attack on the now compromised Rangers who had just done them so much harm and killed four of Their Own however they were not afforded much time in contemplation as the ranger Squad holding the defensive position soon burst into a head-long attack towards them the Comanche fled into the Mesquite leaning their wounded to the mercy of the Rangers once outside the effective range of the Ranger's Firearms though the remaining Comanche would continue to taunt and torment the Rangers from afar shielded from sight by the brush and darkness meanwhile the Rangers had commandeered what was the Comanche Camp only a short time earlier and turned it into the closest approximation to a field hospital as they were able their efforts would do little good though Gillespie's wound was severe with the arrow penetrating deep into his rib cage in the succeeding hours he would die a slow agonizing death Gillespie was much beloved amongst his cohorts and the fact that his legendary uncle had suffered such a similar terrifying fate only a few short years before was not lost on any of the Rangers present but their work was not done those not tending to Gillespie were sent out to inspect and treat the horses many of whom had been injured in the fight others were sent off to scout the perimeter of the camp on the lookout for any lingering Comanche these Rangers returned soon after with a young Comanche who had been injured in the fight and hidden in the brush the boy had been hit twice by gunshots in the arm but much to the Rangers surprise and admiration remained silent and stoic since being discovered the boy apparently assumed that he would be taken to the Rangers Chief and summarily executed when he was informed that he would in fact not be harmed he remained dubious but Peaceable the young man informed the Rangers that he was the son of a war chief and that his people had bestowed upon him the rather unfortunate moniker of carne muerto or dead meat were it not for the present circumstances the bizarre nature of this scenario might have provided some much-needed levity but as the mortally wounded William Gillespie writhed in pain only a few yards away there was no laughter to be had the Rangers made camp and endured a Restless agonizing night one that their friend and compatriot Gillespie would not survive sometime before the sun rose the young Ranger who had dreamed of serving proudly and solidifying his own Legend passed away Captain Ford who no doubt bore a considerable amount of grief and guilt having long known the Gillespie family ordered the young man's body tied to a Mew the Rangers then made their way to the top of a small Hill near aguadolche Creek where a grave was dug and Gillespie was wrapped in a blanket still wearing his boots still with his hat on what forbed himself described as a sad but simple service was held with prayers offered and scriptures read all the while the young Comanche captive who had been brought along in tow stared silently at the Open Grave that had been dug like most Comanche he would have been all too aware that the Rangers had a reputation for exacting harsh revenge of their own on their prisoners and he believed that after the death of their comrade the Rangers now meant to kill him in retribution and bury him in the grave he was however informed that this would not be the case Gillespie's body was then lowered as gently as possible into the grave covered with rocks to dissuade the wolves and coyotes and then the Rangers moved on heading again towards San Antonio Viejo with one less Ranger and one more prisoner in tow they would indeed make it to San Antonio Viejo but the story of the Rangers fighting the mighty Comanche here in the unforgiving Texas Frontier far from over rip forward in many of the men present that day would go on to Legendary careers with the Rangers though the fate of carnomorte the young Comanche Brave taken prisoner is lost to history the fate of Comanches was far from determined their reign as Lords of the Southern Plains would continue on for at least a quarter Century more as with the tales of horrific raids merciless battles and the ongoing fight to hold on to the territory they believed to be rightfully theirs but those like the countless other stories from the old west are other stories for other times

Channel: History at The OK Corral

Views: 354,865

Keywords: history, history documentary, texas history, texas history documentary, american history, native american history, texas rangers, colorado river, native american, 19th century, comanche history, comanche torture stories, native american documentary history channel, native american history and culture, old west history, old west history documentary, old west documentary, comanche tribal history, old west, texas documentary, native american history before colonization

Id: kg7f9x6N7lo

Length: 23min 22sec (1402 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 24 2023