Arizona Rangers
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The Arizona Rangers was a law enforcement agency in Arizona, modeled on the Texas Ranger Division, created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901 and disbanded in 1909. Created to deal with infestations of outlaws, especially rustlers, in the sparsely populated Territory of Arizona, especially along the Mexican border, the Rangers were an elite, well-trained, and secretive agency mounted on the best horses money could buy and well equipped with modern weapons at State expense. They were very effective in apprehending members of outlaw bands, often surprising them by descending on them without warning.
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[edit] History
Originally, one company was authorized, to consist of a captain, a sergeant and not more than 12 privates. In 1903, the authorized force was increased to 26. The Rangers, many of whom in the early years were veterans of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, were skilled horsemen, trackers and marksmen. They were widely publicized and conspicuous, sported their badges boldly, and were well armed and distinctive.
In addition to dealing with rustlers and other outlaws, the Rangers were called on to deal with several large strikes by Mexican workers at mines in Arizona and at a mine at Cananea, in Mexico. Contemporary news reports in the New York Times on June 3, 1906 reported that on June 1, 1906 strikers destroyed a lumber mill and killed two brothers who were defending the mine. Eleven casualties were reported among the Mexican "rioters". Responding to a telegraphed plea from Colonel William Cornell Greene of the Greene Consolidated Copper Company, a posse of 275 volunteers from Bisbee, Douglas and Naco Arizona, commanded by Captain Thomas H. Rynning of the Arizona Rangers, entered Mexico against the orders of Joseph Henry Kibbey Governor of Arizona Territory, and at the invitation of Rafael Yzabel, the Governor of Sonora, reinforced the Sonoran rurales. Mexican troops were reported en route to the city. Four troops of the Fifth Cavalry en route from Fort Huachuca were held at Naco, Arizona on the border on the orders of President Taft. According to Colonel Green the "trouble was incited by a Socialistic organization that has been formed [in Cananea] by malcontents opposed to the Diaz government."[1][2][3][4]
On February 15, 1909 the act establishing the Arizona Rangers was repealed. During the seven and a a half years of its existence, 107 men served in the Rangers. The vote to disband was vetoed by Republican (Territorial Governor Joseph Henry Kibbey, but the Democratic-dominated assembly overrode the veto, backed by political pressure from county sheriffs and district attorneys in northern Arizona.
[edit] Leadership
The first Captain of the Arizona Rangers was Burton C. Mossman of Bisbee, Arizona. Mossman, who had previously been manager of the 2 million acre (8,000 km²) Aztec Land and Cattle Co, also called the "Hash Knife outfit", in northern Arizona near Holbrook and Winslow, had some success in controlling rustling of his company's cattle.
In July, 1902 after successfully recruiting and organizing the original Rangers, Mossman resigned, returning to the cattle business and was replaced by Thomas H. Rynning. The third and last commander of the Arizona Rangers was Harry C. Wheeler.
In general the men of the Arizona Rangers were extremely capable men whose exploits were extensively reported by the newspapers of the day.[5] Many of these reports are collected in the book, The Arizona Rangers edited by Joseph Miller. A tale of at least one bad apple, Sergeant Jeff Kidder, who exchanged gunfire with Mexican police in Naco, Sonora while intoxicated, is also recorded, as is the story of Manuel Sarabia, a Mexican revolutionary.
[edit] Uniforms and insignia
Arizona Rangers were not issued standardized uniforms, as they were originally intended to operate undercover.
Badges of the Arizona Rangers, which were first issued in 1903 were solid silver five-pointed ball-tipped stars, lettered in blue enamel with engravings etched in blue, and are a valuable collectable. An officer's badge was engraved with the Ranger's name, while badges for enlisted men were numbered. Upon resignation, a Ranger returned his badge, which was then available to be assigned to a new Ranger.
[edit] Similar agencies
The Arizona Rangers had been preceded by ephemeral organization of the Arizona Territorial Rangers in 1860 (disbanded when its members joined the Confederate Army) and in 1882 (never funded by Congress).
The analogous agency in the Territory of New Mexico, organized in 1905 was called the New Mexico Mounted Police. Across the Mexican border in northern Sonora a similar band of men, the rurales, also known as the Cordada, was commanded by a Russian, Colonel Emilio Kosterlitsky who cooperated closely with the Rangers.
The California State Rangers who were broadly similar and became the California State Police.
[edit] Arizona Rangers after 1909
After the Arizona Rangers disbanded, many of the former Rangers stayed in law enforcement. Harry Wheeler became the sheriff of Cochise County. Tom Rynning was a prison warden in Florence, Arizona.
Seven former Rangers reunited in 1940 to ride together in the Prescott Rodeo Parade.
Arizona Ranger, a low-budget black-and-white film produced by RKO, was released in 1948, starring Jack Holt and his son Tim Holt.
In 1955, Arizona authorized a $100 monthly pension for former Rangers who had served at least six months and who still lived in Arizona. Five men qualified for this pension.
26 Men, an ABC television Western, was created in 1958 based on the adventures of the Arizona Rangers. It starred Tris Coffin as Captain Tom Rynning, and was cancelled after one season.
The Arizona Rangers were featured in the song, "Big Iron", in Western singer Marty Robbins' album Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs. They are also used in the 1971 John Wayne movie, Big Jake.
The last surviving Arizona Ranger, John R. Clarke, died in 1982 at the age of 97.
[edit] Modern-day organizations
In 1957, a voluntary service organization called the Arizona Rangers was organized. Founded with the assitance of four former members of the 1901-1909 Arizona Rangers, the modern Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the state of Arizona in 2002, when Arizona Governor Jane Hull signed Legislative Act 41. The purpose of this act was "to recognize the Arizona rangers, who formed in 1901, disbanded in 1909 and reestablished in 1957 by original Arizona rangers". The present day Arizona Rangers are an unpaid, all volunteer, law enforcement support and assistance civilian auxiliary police in this State who work co-operatively at the request of and under the direction, control, and supervision of established law enforcement officials and officers. They also provide youth support and community service and work to preserve the tradition, honor, and history of the 1901-1909 Arizona Rangers. [1]
The Arizona Territorial Rangers Reenactment Group, headquartered in Netcong, New Jersey, is a historical reenactment group.
Another Arizona Rangers, based in Tucson, is part of Missouri Western Shooters [2].
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ "ARMED AMERICANS AT GREENE'S MINE; Rushed Into Mexico from Arizona Against Gov. Kibbey's Orders. TAFT HOLDS UP U.S. TROOPS Cavalry from Huachuca Stopped at the Frontier -- Only Two Americans Killed in Riots" New York Times June 3, 1906 Greene Consolidated Copper Company, Cananea, Mexico
- ^ New York Times report from Mexico City giving the viewpoint of the Mexican government, June 2, 1906
- ^ "WENT AGAINST ORDERS; Governor of Arizona Warned Capt. Rynning and Other Americans" New York Times, June 3, 1906
- ^ "MEXICANS RESENT INVASION.; Charges Against Gov. Yzabel, Who Let in Arizona Rangers" New York Times October 12, 1906
- ^ "RANGER'S LONG CHASE.; More than a Thousand Miles Over Deserts and Mountains" New York Times, June 1, 1902, story of the capture of a 20 year old "daring horse thief" by a party of Rangers
[edit] References
- Adapted from the Wikinfo article, "Arizona Rangers" http://www.internet-encyclopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Arizona_Rangers March 6, 2004
[edit] Further reading
- DeSoucy, M. David, Arizona Rangers, Arcadia Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-0738548319
- Miller, Joseph, editor, The Arizona Rangers, Hastings House, 1975, hardcover, 268 pages, ISBN 0-8038-0353-2
- O'Neal, Bill, The Arizona Rangers, Eakin Press, 1987, ISBN 0-89015-610-7
[edit] External links
- History page Arizona Department of Public Safety website
- History page modern Arizona Rangers, a few historical photos
- Lyrics to Big Iron
- Arizona Rangers reenactment group Bremen-Germany
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