Post by sloanrodgers on Jul 12, 2008 18:05:31 GMT -5
I recently purchased a book about infamous Texas Ranger Henry Lee Ransom. It's strangely titled
Captain Ransom, Texas Ranger An American Hero (1874-1918) by Pat Hill Goodrich from Evangel
Publishing House out of Indiana. It's definitely not your typical rip-snorting ranger biography and
honestly there is very little information in this book on Ranson's exploits during his brief career as
a Texas Ranger in the early 20th Century, especially during the Mexican Border War of 1915.
The biography is also vague on Corp. Ransom's 2 tours of duty in the U.S. Army in the Philippines,
even though he supposedly served in 19 battles. It's stated that he was never wounded, but was
often sick with malaria. He was supposedly be-medaled or decorated, but none of his medals are
named. The battles that Ransom served in are also unnamed.
The most interesting part of this book is Ransom's short career as a Houston special police officer
and a few months as Chief of Police. He and some former ranger cronies ran rough-shod over the
city before Ransom was forced to resign. Ransom murdered an attorney and assaulted a reporter
among other crimes. I'm not sure why the author considers Ransom an American hero of any kind,
but numerous excuses are made for his bad behavior.
While the author includes a great deal of family, Texas, military and general ranger history, there
is almost nothing concerning Henry Ransom's actions during the Border War. His crimes during this
period are completely ignored and instead the confused reader is given his vague travel itinerary
through various border towns from scout reports. There's a few photographs of Henry Ransom in
the biography and he probably doesn't meet most peoples's concept of the brutal ranger. He was
a short, slight, pale man with a uni-brow over squinty eyes. I think he needed a gun to intimidate
the citizens of Texas, but he wasn't the only one.
Captain Ransom, Texas Ranger An American Hero (1874-1918) by Pat Hill Goodrich from Evangel
Publishing House out of Indiana. It's definitely not your typical rip-snorting ranger biography and
honestly there is very little information in this book on Ranson's exploits during his brief career as
a Texas Ranger in the early 20th Century, especially during the Mexican Border War of 1915.
The biography is also vague on Corp. Ransom's 2 tours of duty in the U.S. Army in the Philippines,
even though he supposedly served in 19 battles. It's stated that he was never wounded, but was
often sick with malaria. He was supposedly be-medaled or decorated, but none of his medals are
named. The battles that Ransom served in are also unnamed.
The most interesting part of this book is Ransom's short career as a Houston special police officer
and a few months as Chief of Police. He and some former ranger cronies ran rough-shod over the
city before Ransom was forced to resign. Ransom murdered an attorney and assaulted a reporter
among other crimes. I'm not sure why the author considers Ransom an American hero of any kind,
but numerous excuses are made for his bad behavior.
While the author includes a great deal of family, Texas, military and general ranger history, there
is almost nothing concerning Henry Ransom's actions during the Border War. His crimes during this
period are completely ignored and instead the confused reader is given his vague travel itinerary
through various border towns from scout reports. There's a few photographs of Henry Ransom in
the biography and he probably doesn't meet most peoples's concept of the brutal ranger. He was
a short, slight, pale man with a uni-brow over squinty eyes. I think he needed a gun to intimidate
the citizens of Texas, but he wasn't the only one.