William A. A. Wallace

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Bigfoot Wallace

William Alexander Anderson "Bigfoot" Wallace (April 3, 1817 – January 7, 1899) was a famous Texas Ranger who took part in many of the military conflicts of the Republic of Texas and the United States in the 1840s, including the Mexican-American War.

Wallace was born in Lexington, Virginia, where he worked on his fathers fruit orchard. However, when a cousin and his brother was killed at the Goliad Massacre, Wallace moved to Texas and joined the Texas Revolution. However, he missed the fighting, as by the time he signed on that war had ended. He first settled in LaGrange, Texas, and in 1840 he took part in the Battle of Plum Creek. He also fought against General Adrian Woll's invasion of Texas in 1842. He also took part in both the Somervell Expedition and the Mier Expedition. He survived the "Black Bean executions" that followed the capture of the Mier participants, and was imprisoned for a time in Perote Prison east of Mexico City. After his release he served during the Mexican-American War, and by 1850 he was commanding a Ranger Company battling border bandits and hostile Indians. When he retired he settled in Frio County, Texas. The town of Bigfoot, Texas is named for him. Wallace is buried at the Texas State Cemetery.

[edit] Portrayals in Other Media

Larry McMurtry included a fictionalized version of Wallace in his Lonesome Dove prequel, Dead Man's Walk. In this book, Wallace is one of the Rangers who signs on with Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call to go on the Texas Santa Fe Expedition. After they are captured by Mexican authorities, they are made to draw beans to decide who will live or die, a method borrowed from the Mier Expedition. Unlike his real-life counterpart, Wallace in this story draws a black bean, and is executed. In the film, he is played by Keith Carradine.