Captain Mikes Rangers
What our aims are
To be taken seriously within the re-enactment world.
Every other re-enactment group, (Vikings, Ermine Street Guard, Sealed Knot, Etc.) is generally accepted by the public as serious historical groups that study the history of the period they depict. Western re-enactment groups, on the other hand, are generally considered to just imitate what they see on films and T.V. westerns. This may be the case with some groups, but not with us!
We study the period, (1874-1900), and have formed connections with the modern day Rangers, a Texas re-enactment group that portray Rangers, from Ulvalde Texas, and study books and articles written about the Frontier Battalion Texas Rangers, in order to learn more about the people we depict. We also have connections with the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco Texas, and with the Former Texas Rangers Foundation in San Antonio and Kerrville Texas.
The most important thing for a re-enactment group is to dress correctly for the period, and to carry the correct accesories, something a lot of so-called westerners do not take into consideration.
If the Ermine Street Guard or the Sealed Knot wore anything other than the dress of their period, it would be noticed by intersted public, while on the other hand, if a "Cowboy" comes on the scene, his dress is judged against that of the western films or T.V. program`s. Real cowboys seldom wore buscadero gun belts, because the holster is in the wrong position when riding. Generally holsters were worn high on the waist, and quite often in a cross draw position, so that it was easier to draw when mounted.
If a Roman soldier carried an epee sword , or Sabre, it would be noticed immediately, but when a westerner carries a Cal.45 Colt while taking paret in an American Civil War show, no-one in the public would think anythingof it. The fact that the Cal. 45 Colt wasn`t invented til nearly 10 years after the end of the Civil War, would only be noticed by anyone who studied weeapons or the History of the Americas.
In the period we depict, (1874-1900), there were quite a choice of weapons, but if you studied Ranger history you would now that at the beginning of the era, the Cal.44Colt or Remington muzzle loading revolvers were used, and some Rangers, like Sgt. Gillett used his Cal.44Colt well into the `70`s, but the most popular, and most used weapons in this period werew the Colt 45 revolver,and the Winchester rifle, (usually in Cal.44-40). Of course other wqeapons were used, Winchesters of other calibres, and Smith&Wesson handguns, plus Rangers experimented with any popular weapons that were reliable. Capt. McNelly of the Special Rangers equipped his men with Cal.58Sharps rifles, because they could outdistance a Winchester.
A Rangers life, and that of his colleagues, depended on his having reliable weapons for his defense, and our being taken seriously, depends on us knowing about the period we portray, and doing it with a dedication to detail. It would be nice if all westerners had the same dedication to the hobby, and perhaps one day will, until that day we will do our best to make the western scene accepted by the general public in the same way as other historical re-enactors are.
Texas Ranger Frontier Battalion
1874-1900
The Governor of Texas, to replace the State Police force that had been in force since 1870, formed the Frontier Battalion in 1874.
Major John B.Jones was commissioned to form a Ranger force that would patrol the outer frontiers of Texas to the West and North to prevent Indian raids into the settlements. Six companies were formed, and named A-F. They would each consist of 75 men, and they had to provide their own horse, saddle, and side arms.
The Indian problem was solved by 1877. After only three years of patrolling the frontiers that would normally have been the end of the Frontier Battalion, but they received new orders from the Adjutant General to turn their patrols inwards from the borders , and rid Texas of all the vilains that had immigrated from other states, after the Civil War.
There were rustlers, robbers, and outlaws of all descriptions, and the Rangers were issued a book from Headquarters with the names of 3m000 wanted men in it. Their job was to "Scratch-the-names-from-the-list", and that could only be done by aresting the people whose names were in the book, a job they undertook for the next 13 years. A copy of Sgt.Gilletts book is available (with his notations of captures and rewards) throughselected book stores of the internet.
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