DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Captain George Stevens, out of Wise County. Now, some men seem like they were just built for a particular stretch of history — like the land itself had a use for them. George W.
Stevens might've been one of those men. He was born in Lowndes County, Alabama, on July 12, 1830. Made his way to Arkansas for a spell, long enough to marry a woman named Martha McDonald in 1852.
Then in 1855, he and Martha pointed themselves toward Wise County, Texas — and that's where the story really gets its legs. The frontier in those days was no gentle thing. Raids were a constant threat, and Stevens stepped up to meet them.
He served in Company C of what was called the Frontier Cavalry — the 46th Cavalry Regiment — riding out to defend the settlements along the edge of the known world. Then came a grief quieter than any gunfight. Martha died in 1858.
Stevens eventually married Nancy Buchanan and kept on. Through the 1860s, the county turned to him as Sheriff. That's the kind of man Wise County had decided he was.
By the 1870s, the long war for the frontier was winding down. Native American tribes were being resettled onto reservations, and the Texas Rangers themselves were shifting — slowly — from military outfit to something more like law enforcement. But 1874 brought one last hard chapter.
With the close of Reconstruction, Stevens was designated Captain of Company B of the Texas Rangers' Frontier Battalion. Seventy-five members, most of them Wise County men, riding out across the frontier in an effort to end that war for good. They fought numerous battles.
And at one of them — up at Buffalo Springs in Clay County — Captain Stevens was severely wounded. By the end of 1874, he resigned his captaincy. Lieutenant Ira Long, also a Wise County native, was promoted to command Company B in his place.
Long had previously been selected by Battalion Commander Major John B. Jones himself to lead Jones' escort — so the company was left in capable hands. Stevens, meanwhile, went back to what Wise County always seemed to want from him: he sought office as county sheriff again.
Then came 1878, and one more moment worth remembering. Sheriff Stevens and a local posse joined the pursuit of the Sam Bass outlaw gang — famed enough that the name still carries a little smoke on it. One member of the gang was killed in a gunfight at Salt Creek, just west of Cottondale, while the rest of the gang escaped.
A month later, the gang was caught again — down in Round Rock. George W. Stevens died on April 11, 1893.
He's buried in Flat Rock Cemetery, five miles outside of Decatur. Five miles outside of town. Seems about right for a man who spent most of his life riding the edge of everything.
What the marker says
Captain George w. Stevens was born in Lowndes County, Alabama, on July 12, 1830. He lived in Arkansas briefly where he married Martha McDonald in 1852. The couple moved to the Wise County area in 1855 and Stevens became a leader in the efforts to defend the frontier from raids by Native American tribes. Stevens served in Company "C" of the "Frontier Cavalry," or the 46th Cavalry Regiment. Stevens" first wife, Martha, died in 1858 and Stevens married Nancy Buchanan. During the 1860s, Stevens served as Wise County Sheriff. By the 1870s, most frontier warfare with Native Americans ended due to their resettlements on reservations. During this time, the Texas Rangers slowly transitioned from military to law enforcement. In 1874, with the close of the post-Civil War reconstruction era, Stevens was designated the Captain of Company "B" of the Texas Rangers" "Frontier Battalion." The battalion, comprised of 75 members mostly from Wise County, engaged in numerous battles across the frontier in an effort to end the war for the frontier. At one such battle at Buffalo Springs in Clay County, Capt. Stevens was severely wounded. By the end of 1874, Stevens resigned as captain and again sought office as county sheriff. Lt. Ira Long, also a wise county native, was promoted to command company "b." Long was previously selected by Battalion Commander, Major John B. Jones, to lead Jones" "escort." In 1878, Sheriff Stevens and a local posse joined the pursuit of the famed Sam Bass outlaw gang. One member of the gang was killed in a gunfight at salt creek just west of Cottondale as the rest of the gang escaped. The gang was caught again a month later in Round Rock. Stevens died April 11, 1893, and is buried in Flat Rock Cemetery located five miles outside Decatur.