Riding for the Lone Star: Frontier Cavalry and the Texas Way of War, 1822–1865 by Nathan A. Jennings

Abstract

Reviewed by: Riding for the Lone Star: Frontier Cavalry and the Texas Way of War, 1822–1865 by Nathan A. Jennings William Yancey Riding for the Lone Star: Frontier Cavalry and the Texas Way of War, 1822–1865. By Nathan A. Jennings. (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2016. Pp 407. Maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index.) Although many books have been written about the Texas Rangers and antebellum frontier warfare in Texas, none approach the subject in the way this book does. Nathan A. Jennings’s book, Riding for the Lone Star, is a military history, but it goes beyond traditional accounts of frontier conflict by placing the Texas military tradition in a broader framework. His purpose is to show how a distinct Texas military tradition emerged from conflicts with nomadic Indians and Mexican lancers, bolstered by the needs of an evolving frontier society. His thesis is clear: “Texan society developed a distinctive way of war defined by armed horsemanship, volunteer militancy, and event-specific mobilization as it engaged both tribal and international opponents” (1). Jennings begins by analyzing campaigns of Anglo settlers in Spanish Texas, first against coastal tribes like the Karankawa and later against plains tribes such as the Comanche and various Wichita bands. He demonstrates that the mobility of mounted Indians necessitated a change in tactics from defensive blockhouses and forts to volunteer expeditions of mounted riflemen. During the Texas Revolution, the provisional government of Texas used mounted volunteers to guard the northwest frontier from Indian raids, and cavalry also played a large role in the Battle of San Jacinto. Jennings continues tracing the development of the Texas Rangers as the Republic of Texas authorized companies of mounted troops to patrol the frontier as a shield against Indian attacks. Tactical evolutions such as the use of Indian auxiliaries and the Colt revolver turned the Rangers into the most effective light cavalry on the continent. The apex of the Texas way of war came during the war with Mexico, when both Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott employed Texas mounted troops to great effect and, to both commanders’ chagrin, great destruction. Frontier warfare continued to change during the 1850s as Texas mounted troops began to actively seek Comanche villages and launch strikes in an attempt to discourage raiding. Finally, Jennings shows how the Texas way of war manifested during the Civil War, when more than twice as many Texans served in cavalry units than infantry. In tracing these developments, Jennings has done an admirable job in placing them within societal contexts, as well as tactical and strategical concerns. For example, he shows that the woeful state of the Texas economy necessitated reliance on short-term volunteer troops. Jennings also demonstrates that there was a strong ethnic component to Texan militancy. Texas troops were often brutal against both Indian and Mexican noncombatants because they believed they had to be to protect their society from what they considered to be barbarians. While this is a valuable [End Page 118] insight into frontier conflict, sometimes Jennings engages in hyperbole, such as referring to Mirabeau Lamar as genocidal. He also tends to use technical military jargon that may detract from the understanding of civilian readers. These are small quibbles, however, and in general, do not detract from the quality of this monograph, which is a valuable contribution to the historiography of nineteenth-century Texas. William Yancey University of North Texas Copyright © 2015 The Texas State Historical Association