The Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution: The Bloodiest Decade, 1910-1920

by Charles H. Harris III and Louis R. Sadler

Book Overview

The decade 1910-1920 was the bloodiest in the controversial history of one of the most famous law enforcement agencies in the world--the Texas Rangers. Much of the bloodshed was along the thousand-mile Texas/Mexico border because these were the years of the Mexican Revolution.

Charles Harris III and Louis Sadler shed new light on this turbulent period by uncovering the clandestine role of Mexican President Venustiano Carranza in the border violence. They document two virtually unknown invasions of Texas by Mexican Army troops acting under Carranza's orders. Harris and Sadler suggest the notorious "Plan de San Diego," usually portrayed by historians as a plot hatched in South Texas, was actually spawned in Mexico by Carranza. This irredentist conspiracy, which called for the execution of all Anglo males sixteen and older and the establishment of a Hispanic republic, was designed to cause a race war between Hispanics and Anglos. One of Carranza's goals was to end the support being given by border residents to his rival Pancho Villa.

The "Plan de San Diego" caused the governor of Texas to order the Texas Rangers to wipe out the insurgency along the border. This resulted in an estimated 300 Hispanics being killed by the Rangers and others without benefit of judge and jury.

The Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution is the first Ranger history to utilize Mexican government archives and the voluminous declassified FBI records on the Mexican Revolution.

"There is no other book that focuses on the Texas Rangers in the period 1910-1920. This will be the standard book on the Rangers for this period and probably the most thoroughly researched book on the Rangers in any period."--Alwyn Barr, Professor of History, Texas Tech University

"Harris and Sadler provide the first definitive evaluation of the Texas Rangers and their activities during the first and most violent decade of the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920. This is a really outstanding, important work"--William H. Beezley, Professor of Latin American History, University of Arizona

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826334849
• ISBN13: 9780826334848
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Length: 687 Pages
• Weight: 2.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 7.1" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

The Final Word on the Race War from the Big Bend to the mouth of the Rio

There has much been written on this period for and against the Rangers in this part of Texas. The truth is somewhere in between.J. Frank Dobie: Southwest Writers Series No. 1Guide to Life and Literature of the SouthwestThe Texas Rangers The Rangers were the inheritors of the traditions of the Frontier Batallion formed in the early nineteenth century to fight the Comanches who raided from Wyoming to northern Mexico on the prairies. By 1900 the organization had dwindled to a small number of full time men supplemented by those holding special commissions both honorary and others such as brand inspectors paid by the cattlemens' association. Blood on the Border: The United States Army and the Mexican Irregulars In any case they had to furnish their own mounts, and even badges. The whole organization was riddled with politics. Rangers served at the pleasure of the governor under the Adjutant General, who also oversaw the organized militia (later National Guard) Though termed companies, they seldom were larger than a modrn day infantry squad; there were usually Ranger captains and once in a while a sergeant, but the rest were privates. Som rangers were good leaders but because of the constant turmoil in the ranks, back and forth between private business, the Customs Mounted Inspectors, and local law enforcement, there were some brutes in the ranks who resortd to the ley de fugo, and killed both innocent and guilty alike. The Carranzistas controlled the Mexican side, and cynically fired on Army patrols on the US side. Carranza cut off the 1915 rebels in trade for recognition by the US and the race war ended. Revolution in Texas: How a Forgotten Rebellion and Its Bloody Suppression Turned Mexicans into Americans (The Lamar Series in Western History) But then came prohibition, (gun runners had always been a problem)rum running (tequila actually) and chasing draft dodgers and deserters. The authors made little use of the vast secondary literature, instead tey spent years mining the microfilm at the National Archives. Though the State Department files have long been open and the emajor portion filmed, the records of the Bureau of Investigation (later FBI) wer onl declassiied in the 1970s.

The Bloodiest Decade Revisted

The Mexican Revolution was at its most bloody point during this decade and spilled over to the United States on some occasions. This book analyzes the role of the Texas Rangers, Untied States Military and other groups during the time of the revolution. Mostly it is a policing action to keep violence from spilling over into El Paso but occasionally they are attacking cattle rustlers who cross the border including Pancho Villa. The Texas Rangers were essential in defending the frontier during this timer period and performed many valuable services. While there are several books that exist on the Texas Rangers this is the only one that I have run across that really explains their role within Texas as a whole. Both authors do an excellent job of bringing their knowledge about the revolution and weaving it within the context of Texas History. Their discussion of the Plan de San Diego which was an attempted revolt by Mexicans across the border was truly terrifying and they do an excellent job of giving the governments response to it. This book is excellent for anyone who wants a knowledge about how state forces responded to a crisis during the early 1900's. For those who love the Texas Rangers this is a must have to their library.

Texas-Mexican border tensions in early 1900s

During the decade of 1910-20, tensions between Mexico and the United States over incidents relating to Pancho Villa's threat to Mexico's president Venustiano Carranza and U. S. incursions into Mexico led by General John Pershing had become so tense that the "situation was not dissimilar to that of Jewish settlers in the West Bank"; with the small number of white Texans along the border being compared to the Jewish settlers surrounded by a much greater number of resentful Palestinians. In this situation, the Texas governors of this decade--Colquitt, Ferguson, and Hobby--used the Texas Rangers to protect Texas citizens and combat the tactics of Mexicans directed by Carranza and in some cases acting as vigilantes. The unique and in ways controversial activities of the Texas Rangers in this complex, volatile, and fluid situation is the subject the authors hone in on. Harris and Sadler, both former professors at New Mexico State U., bring to light little-known dimensions of the historical events, which continue to affect relationships and feelings between the white Texans and Hispanics in the area. There was much lawlessness on both sides. Mexican Army troops dressed as civilians crossed the border to raid Texas communities. After Texas Rangers executed two Mexican agitators after taking them by force from the F.B.I., the U. S. Attorney General issued an order that all prisoners henceforth be held by the U. S. Army. The situation was especially complicated not only because of points of opposition between Texas and the U. S. Federal Government, but also because of Mexican president Carranza's desire for recognition by the U. S. while trying at the same time to stand up to it. While concentrating on the unique role of the Rangers in this complex historical situation, Harris and Sadler also construct the context in which their activities took place.