The battle of Bandera Pass

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History of Texas
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State of Texas

The battle of Bandera Pass was fought between Texas Rangers and Comanches in the vicinity of the present day town of Bandera, Texas in the spring of 1841.

1 History
2 The Battle
3 Aftermath
4 Sources

[edit] History

After a big raid by the Comanches on the towns of Victoria, Texas and Linnville, Texas, the President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, decided that there was a strong need for frontier protection, so he appointed Captain John Coffee Hays to recruit a company of Texas Rangers. Some famous Indian fighters became members of Captain Hays’ company, men such as: William A. A. Wallace (Bigfoot Wallace), Ben Highsmith, Creed Taylor, Sam Walker, Robert Addison Gillespie, P.H. Bell, Kit Ackland, Sam Luckey, James Dunn, Tom Galberth, George Neill, and Frank Chevallier.

[edit] The Battle

Hays and his Texas Rangers arrived at Bandera Pass about 11 o’clock in the morning and were suddenly attacked by a large band of Comanches. At first his men were demoralized by the sudden attack, but Captain Hays ordered them with a calm voice, “Steady there, boys, dismount and tie those horses, we can whip them. No doubt about that.” Colt six-shooters were new and Captain Hays and his men were fortunate to have acquired fifty or sixty of them, This fact was apparently unknown to the Comanches. Although the Rangers were outnumbered many times over, they began firing their rifles and new pistols, and every shot seemed to strike a Comanche. Sam Luckey was wounded and fell, Ben Highsmith caught him and laid him on the ground. The Comanche chief charged them and wounded Sergeant Kit Ackland. Ackland also wounded the chief with his new pistol, and the two of them began fighting on the ground with their knives. They were both large men and a terrific fight ensued, over and over they rolled, but finally the Ranger won, and covered with blood and dirt, he rose from the ground where the chief lay dead, literally cut to pieces. This was one of the most bitter and bloody battles ever fought between Texas Rangers and Comanches and it continued until the Comanches finally retreated to the upper end of the Pass.

[edit] Aftermath

The Texas Rangers had won the battle and were in charge of the battleground. Five of the Texas Rangers lay dead on the field, and several others were wounded. A large number of horses from both sides were also killed and contemporary accounts stated that their bleaching bones could still be seen in the famous Pass for many years afterwards. After the Comanches had retreated, Captain Hays and his men withdrew to the south entrance of the pass, and spent the night burying their dead and treating the wounded. During this same time, the Comanches buried their chief near the other end of the pass where it exited northward through the mountains.