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Article: Texas Rangers
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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TEXAS RANGERS
TEXAS RANGERS.
In 1823 Stephen F. Austin hired ten men he called "rangers" to conduct a raid against the Indians. On 24 November 1835 the Texas legislature created a police force of three companies, fifty-six men each, known as Texas Rangers. Their numbers and reputation rose and fell, influenced by threats to the Texas Republic and governmental economy. Organized along military lines, the rangers had no uniforms in the nineteenth century. Later they began to wear suits with the ubiquitous cowboy hat.
Rangers served in the Texas Revolution as scouts, but their numbers remained small. In December 1838 Mira-beau B. Lamar, president of the Republic, added eight companies. ...