Ross Had Ranger on the Resume
Like father, like son
He is one of the cursed, a Tantalus, whose literary hunger perpetually gnaws but can never be satiated. - Louise Erdrich, The Sentence
Those of you who know me will immediately grasp why the above quote resonates. I’m a book lover, an insatiable reader. I was that kid who maxed out the number of books we could borrow from the library each week, weaving my way to the parking lot with an armload I could barely see over. Flash forward several decades, and it’s my Kindle Library that’s completely overloaded. Not to mention the real books occupying just about every horizontal surface at home.
My latest read was very enjoyable. And that will sound weird if you’ve read it and know it’s full of torture and bloodshed and all sorts of primitive mayhem. I know what you’re thinking: what kind of a weirdo finds detailed descriptions of scalping methods and infanticides enjoyable reading? I do, apparently.
Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne is an impeccably researched deep dive into the Comanche culture. The cover features the Comanche war chief Quanah Parker, son of the infamous ‘White Squaw’ Cynthia Ann Parker and Peta Nocona, himself a war chief of one of the various Comanche tribes of the era. It’s tempting to include the cliche ‘like father, like son’ here, but all Comanche men had the potential and indeed strove to become war chiefs. It was not an inherited or elected position. If you demonstrated a knack, boom! instant war chief.
But I digress.
As fascinating as Quanah’s story is, second only in my opinion to that of his mother, I am always more excited about discovering new stuff that we didn’t all learn in 7th grade history class. It was tough to decide what to share with you today.
Here’s what I’ve landed on: the story of Sul Ross.
Ross’s name jumped out at me as I was reading Empire because my dad attended his namesake university in Alpine, Texas. But I didn’t know much more about the guy (Ross, not Dad). I just figured he was some rich Texan who liked seeing his name on buildings.
Little did I know he was the 23-year-old leader of the expedition that sort of accidentally, FINALLY located and ‘rescued’ Cynthia Ann Parker during the Battle of Pease River. I’m using quote marks because Cynthia Ann, Nautdah to her people, would probably have described Ross’s actions as a kidnap rather than a rescue. But I’m saving her story for another post. Let’s press on about Sul Ross.
Lawrence Sullivan Ross was born in 1838 in Iowa. Soon after, the Ross family moved to the Republic of Texas. Sul’s father served in the Texas Rangers (in light of recent events, I suppose I must clarify: law enforcement, not baseball) under the legendary John Coffee Hays and later became an Indian agent before turning to civilian pursuits. The Ross family prospered, and is considered one of the founding families of the city of Waco.
After graduating from college, Sul followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Texas Rangers. Young Mr. Ross was soon given command of an expedition consisting of federal troops, scouts, and volunteers by none other than Governor Sam Houston. You may be tempted to assume Sul was a sort of frontier nepo baby. But he earned this honor via his reputation during an earlier encounter with the Comanches at the Battle of Antelope Hills two years earlier in 1858.
Let me digress again. The Battle of Antelope Hills also had some interesting side notes. Ross was seriously wounded and nearly died. Would have, in fact, if a comrade hadn’t shot the Comanche who was approaching his prone form, scalping knife at the ready. Doubly interesting: the knife-wielding Comanche was someone Ross had known since childhood. Talk about holding a grudge!
It amuses me that another source describes Antelope Hills as something Ross participated in ‘on summer break’ during his college years at Baylor and later Florence Wesleyan. Apparently Pease River wasn’t done ‘on break’ - Ross had already graduated. Rather than shop his resume around like a tech bro, he joined the Texas Rangers instead.
Sul Ross continued to excel in every venture he attempted. Once the Civil War began, he chose to fight for the South. He quickly rose up the ranks and became one of the youngest generals in the Confederate Army. Ross was not one of these guys who sits on his horse on a distant hill and observes his troops in action. No, as with his Texas Rangers service, he’s in the middle of it, getting his horse shot out from under him (five times, no less), never missing a day of duty despite frequent deprivation and illness.
Upon his return to Texas at the end of the Civil War, Ross worked as hard at his homesteading as he had in his military career. He eventually became a successful landowner in the Waco area. He and his wife raised a family. He continued to inspire loyalty among those who knew him. Friends nominated him time and again for a variety of public offices, resulting in two successful campaigns running for Governor of Texas. Though many begged him to run for a third term, instead he opted to accept an offer to head what is now Texas A&M University. His appointment resulted in reversing a downward trend in enrollment. Young men who knew him by reputation flooded the admissions process. It was probably like if Nolan Ryan decided to open a pitching school.
Ross passed away in 1898 at age 59, probably from a heart attack, while doing what he loved: he was on a hunting trip with friends and family.
I was gratified to learn this 19th century Golden Boy did not have to buy himself naming rights to the West Texas university that bears his name. The Texas Legislature chose to honor him in this way when they established the school a few years after his death.
I could go on, but I will stop here and summarize a couple of other interesting factoids.
During the Battle of Antelope Hills, a young white girl was rescued from the Comanche tribe Ross and his unit were fighting. Oddly prescient of his experience with Cynthia Ann Parker just a few years later.
Governor Sul Ross was the first governor of Texas to hold his inaugural ball at the Driskill Hotel, a tradition which remains unbroken.
As governor, Ross strongly opposed a proposed state prohibition law, which was soundly defeated. Seriously? I mean, what’s not to like about this guy?
Well, I suppose I can think of one thing not to like. Just so we’re clear: in no way, shape, or form do I intend for this post to glorify slavery or its proponents. Ross’ service in the Confederacy is a fact and I am stating it here. His family owned slaves. He fought for the side that was attempting to preserve slavery. Slavery is wrong. It is wrong now. It was wrong then. It will always be wrong.
I am aware of the recent revisionist history revealing unsavory details about the law enforcement Texas Rangers. I look forward to reading more about this. We’ll also save that topic for a future post.
I will leave you with three things:
Side note: while researching this post, I learned the Jaybird-Woodpecker War was not an avian apocalypse. Whew!
After a long layoff, I’m back to participating on National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It’s a writing challenge to complete 50,000 words in 30 days. Anyone else doing NaNo this year? How’s it going?
You seriously did not think I would close without mentioning the other Texas Rangers?
When an investigation of illegal match fixing by the Russian mob brings the FBI to her tennis club in the person of hunky agent Wilson DuBois, Veronica Burk vows to help him solve the case quickly before her own very successful gambling habit falls under suspicion.
Ventured is available now on Amazon.
When she takes a chance on making a new life for herself, French orphan and cutpurse extraordinaire Belle must find a way to survive in the New World—or she may not live long enough to enjoy it.
My YA trilogy is also still available if historical fiction isn’t your thing.
Brody Morgan grew up starring in commercials for his dad's mega food corporation. What will Brody do when he discovers what he's really been selling?
What an amazing history lesson. Thank you for sharing.