Leander H. McNelly
Leander Harvey McNelly (March 12, 1844 – September 4, 1877) was a Confederate officer and Texas Ranger captain. McNelly is best remembered for leading the "Special Force", a quasi-military branch of the Texas Rangers that operated in south Texas in 1875–76. Early years Leander H. McNelly was born March 12, 1844 in Follansbee, Brooke County, Virginia (today West Virginia), to P.J. McNelly and his wife Mary Downey. McNelly suffered from consumption as a child, and in 1860 his family moved to Texas in the hope that the climate would improve his health. In Texas, McNelly helped his family raise sheep and regained his health. Civil War On September 13, 1861, McNelly enlisted in the Confederate States Army, joining Company F of the Fifth Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers under General Thomas Green. After the Battle of Valverde during the New Mexico campaign, Green named McNelly his aide. Following fighting in the Battle of Galveston, McNelly was sent to Louisiana, where he w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Follansbee, West Virginia
Follansbee is a city in Brooke County, West Virginia, United States, located along the Ohio River. The population was 2,853 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 2,986 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. The city was named after the Follansbee brothers, the proprietors of a local steel mill. Geography Follansbee is located at (40.332919, -80.594048). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Demographics 2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 2,986 people, 1,302 households, and 842 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,432 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.6% White, 0.3% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population. There were 1,302 households, of which 27.0% h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morgan City, Louisiana
Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary and lower St. Martin parishes in the U.S. State of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census. Known for being “right in the middle of everywhere”, Morgan City is located 68 miles (109 km) southeast of Lafayette, 64 miles (103 km) south of Baton Rouge, and 86 miles (138 km) west of New Orleans Morgan City sits on the banks of the Atchafalaya River. The town was originally named "Tiger Island" by surveyors appointed by U.S. Secretary of War John Calhoun, because of a particular type of wild cat seen in the area. It was later changed for a time to "Brashear City," named after Walter Brashear, a prominent Kentucky physician who had purchased large tracts of land and acquired numerous sugar mills in the area. It was incorporated in 1860. History Capture of Brashear City During the American Civil War, the Star Fort of Fort Brashear was the larger of two works erected by the Union Army occupying the city to de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Juan Cortina
Juan Nepomuceno Cortina Goseacochea (May 16, 1824 – October 30, 1894), also known by his nicknames Cheno Cortina, the Red Robber of the Rio Grande and the Rio Grande Robin Hood, was a Mexican rancher, politician, military leader, outlaw and folk hero. He was an important caudillo, military general and regional leader, who effectively controlled the Mexican state of Tamaulipas as governor. In borderlands history he is known for leading a paramilitary mounted Mexican Militia in the failed Cortina Wars. The "Wars" were raids targeting Anglo-American civilians whose settlement Cortina opposed near the several leagues of land granted to his wealthy family on both sides of the Rio Grande. Anglo families began immigrating to the Lower Rio Grande Valley after the Mexican Army was defeated by the Anglo-Mexican rebels of the Mexican State of Tejas, in the Texas Revolution. From 1836 to 1848 when Cortina was 12–24 years old, parts of the Cortina Grant North of the Rio Grande Ri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nueces Strip
The Nueces Strip or Wild Horse Desert is the area of South Texas between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. According to the narrative of Mexican missionary Juan Agustín Morfi, there were so many wild horses swarming in the Nueces Strip in 1777 "that their trails make the country, utterly uninhabited by people, look as if it were the most populated in the world". In the 1830s, the Republic of Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its southern border; Mexico claimed the Nueces River ( north of the Rio Grande). The area between the two rivers became known as the Nueces Strip. Both countries invaded it, but neither controlled it nor settled it. It was the scene of the first fighting in the Mexican–American War in 1846. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, Mexico ceded the Nueces Strip to the U.S. Ever since 1848 the border area has had a reputation for lawlessness and smuggling, and was a main zone of activity of the Texas Rangers. It was also used by enslaved pe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Major (United States)
In the United States Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, major is a field-grade military officer rank above the rank of captain and below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of lieutenant commander in the other uniformed services. Although lieutenant commanders are considered junior officers by their respective services (Navy and Coast Guard), the rank of major is that of a senior officer in the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force. The pay grade for the rank of major is O-4. The insignia for the rank consists of a golden oak leaf, with slight stylized differences between the Army/Air Force version and the Marine Corps version. Promotion to major is governed by the Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980. Army A major in the U.S. Army typically serves as a battalion executive officer (XO) or as the battalion operat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations. The word battalion came into the English language in the 16th century from the French language ( French: ''bataillon'' meaning "battle squadron"; Italian: ''battaglione'' meaning the same thing; derived from the Vulgar Latin word ''battalia'' meaning "battle" and from the Latin word ''bauttere'' meaning "to beat" or "to strike"). The first use of the word in English was in the 1580s. Description A battalion comprises two or more primary mission companies which are often of a common type (e.g., infantry, tank, or maintenance), although there are exceptions such as combined arms battalions in the U.S. Army. In addition to the primary mission companies, a battal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Frontier
A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts on another country (see also marches). Unlike a border—a rigid and clear-cut form of state boundary—in the most general sense a frontier can be fuzzy or diffuse. For example, the frontier between the Eastern United States and the Old West in the 1800s was an area where European American settlements gradually thinned out and gave way to Native American settlements or uninhabited land. The frontier was not always a single continuous area, as California and various large cities were populated before the land that connected those to the East. Frontiers and borders also imply different geopolitical strategies. In Ancient Rome, the Roman Republic experienced a period of active expansion and creating new frontiers. From the reign of Augustus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Richard Coke
Richard Coke (March 18, 1829May 14, 1897) was an American lawyer and statesman from Waco, Texas. He was the 15th governor of Texas from 1874 to 1876 and was a US Senator from 1877 to 1895. His governorship is notable for reestablishing local white supremacist rule in Texas following Reconstruction. Richard Coke was revered by many Texas Southern Democrats due to his perceived triumphs over Reconstruction era Federal control in Texas politics. His legacy is also marked by his use of the newly established state power to disfranchise African American voters and institute White Supremacist policies. His uncle was US Representative Richard Coke Jr. Early life and education Richard Coke was born in 1829 in Williamsburg, Virginia, to John and Eliza (Hankins) Coke. Octavius Coke was his brother. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1848 with a law degree. Confederacy and Early Career In 1850, Coke moved to Texas and opened a law practice in Waco. In 1852, he marrie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.M. Philip Lucas, "Martin Van Buren as Party Leader and at Andrew Jackson's Right Hand." in ''A Companion to the Antebellum Presidents 1837–1861'' (2014): 107–129."The Democratic Party, founded in 1828, is the world's oldest political party" states Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s. The party is a big tent, and though it is often described as liberal, it is less ideologically uniform than the Republican Party (with major individuals within it frequently holding widely different political views) due to the broader list of unique voting blocs that compose it. The historical predecessor of the Democratic Party is considered to be th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grand Jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand jury is separate from the courts, which do not preside over its functioning. Originating in England during the Middle Ages, grand juries are only retained in two countries, the United States and Liberia. Other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most others now employ a different procedure that does not involve a jury: a preliminary hearing. Grand juries perform both accusatory and investigatory functions. The investigatory functions of grand juries include obtaining and reviewing documents and other evidence, and hearing sworn testimonies of witnesses who appear before it; the accusatory function determines whether there is probable cause to believe that one or more persons committed a particula ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Walker County, Texas
Walker County is a county located in the east central section of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 76,400. Its county seat is Huntsville. Initially, Walker County was named for Robert J. Walker, a legislator from Mississippi who introduced into the United States Congress the resolution to annex Texas. Walker later supported the U.S. during its Civil War and earned some enmity for it. In order to keep the county's name, the state renamed it for Samuel H. Walker (no relation), a Texas Ranger and soldier in the United States Army. Walker County comprises the Huntsville Micropolitan Statistical Area which is part of the Houston– The Woodlands Combined Statistical Area. Americans James Mitchell (1795–1870) and his wife, the former Calpernia Franklin (1805–1865), immigrated to the future Walker County in 1833 and were awarded a Mexican land grant. Mitchell, who became one of the first county commissioners, established the Mitchell House an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Texas State Police
The Texas State Police (TSP) was created following the Civil War by order of Texas Governor Edmund J. Davis. The TSP worked primarily against racially based crimes in Texas, and included black police officers. It was replaced by a renewed Texas Rangers force in 1873. History The Texas State Police was formed during the administration of Governor Davis on July 22, 1870, to combat crime during the Reconstruction Era of the United States. Davis also created the State Guard of Texas, and the Texas Reserve Militia, which were forerunners of the Texas National Guard. Among Texas State Police members were Captain Jack Helm of DeWitt County, Texas—later murdered by John Wesley Hardin and Jim Taylor during the Sutton–Taylor feud. Another notable member was Leander H. McNelly of the Texas Ranger's "Special Force" division.Crouch, Barry A. and Brice, Donaly E.; The Governor's Hounds: The Texas State Police, 1870–1873; University of Texas Press; reprint edition (December 1, 2012) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |