The Texas State Police (TSP) was created following the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

by order of

Texas Governor The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

Edmund J. Davis. The TSP worked primarily against racially based crimes in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, 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 The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebui ...

. Davis also created the State Guard of Texas, and the Texas Reserve Militia, which were forerunners of the

Texas National Guard The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States, and the 9th-largest econ ...

. Among Texas State Police members were

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Jack Helm John Jackson "Jack" Helm (sometimes Helms) (c.1839–May 17, 1873), was a lawman, cowboy, gunfighter, and inventor in the American Old West. He fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, but worked as a lawman for the Union during Rec ...

DeWitt County, Texas DeWitt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,824. The county seat is Cuero. The county was founded in 1846 and is named for Green DeWitt, who founded an early colony in Texas. Hist ...

—later murdered by

John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming h ...

and Jim Taylor during the Sutton–Taylor feud. Another notable member was

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 Tex ...

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), and

Mixed results

Despite the success of the Texas State Police, the fact that the organization was controlled by Governor Davis and employed

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s made it very unpopular, especially with former slave owners.

Flawed

In September 1870, local citizens of

Hill County, Texas Hill County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 35,874. Its county seat is Hillsboro. The county is named for George Washington Hill, secretary of war and secretary of the navy under the Republic ...

refused to cooperate with the TSP in moving against the Kinch West gang; and in December 1870 Hill County citizens blocked the TSP from arresting the killers of a

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...

couple. Some state police members certainly deserved criticism. Captain Helm, for instance, was accused of murdering prisoners; he was fired, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Others committed crimes for which the charges were dropped as soon as headquarters was advised. James Davidson, the chief of the state police, embezzled $37,435 and disappeared in 1872.

Disbanded

On April 22, 1873, the law authorizing the state police was repealed. Former policeman Leander H. McNelly and at least thirty-six other state police members then became officers in the reincarnated Texas Rangers force.

Fallen officers

Of nine members of the TSP known to have been killed in the line of duty, privates Jim Smalley was killed in 1871, also by Hardin. Four other members died as a result of a shootout on March 14, 1873.

Legacy

The Texas State Police was abolished in 1873. In 1935, the

Texas Department of Public Safety The Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas, commonly known as the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), is a department of the state government of Texas. The DPS is responsible for statewide law enforcement and driver license adminis ...

was formed to serve as one of the several state police forces (the TDPS predecessor was the

Texas Ranger Division The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers and also known as ''Los Diablos Tejanos'' (), is an State bureau of investigation, investigative law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the US state of Texas. It is ba ...

formed by the Texas Legislature as McNelly's "Special Force of Rangers" and the "Frontier Battalion" in July 1874). Other state agencies, including the Texas Attorney General's Office,

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

, and the

Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, or TABC (formerly the Texas Liquor Control Board), is a Texas public agency responsible for regulating, inspecting, and taxing the production, sale, and use of alcoholic beverages within the state. The agenc ...

identify as state police yet provide

state police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...

services within their areas of responsibility, and informally use the term "State Police" on their uniforms and insignia.''As Game Wardens Patrol Texas Border''
MyStatesman.com; accessed October 2016

References

Bibliography

* Ann Patton Baenziger, "The Texas State Police during Reconstruction: A Reexamination," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 72 (April 1969). * William T. Field, Jr., "The Texas State Police, 1870–1873," Texas Military History 5 (Fall 1965).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Texas State Police Defunct law enforcement agencies of Texas History of Texas 1870 establishments in Texas