DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Captain Lee Hall — and friend, this one earns every word. Now, some men leave a mark on one place, one time, one chapter of history. Captain Lee Hall left a mark on just about everything he touched, from the red clay hills of North Carolina all the way to the jungles of the Philippines.
He was born October 9, 1849, in Lexington, North Carolina. Twenty years later, in 1869, he came to Texas — and Texas, it turns out, had been waiting for somebody exactly like him. He didn't ease into things.
By 1871 he was already making a name for himself as Grayson County Marshal and Deputy Sheriff, and that reputation kept building until 1876. Grayson County was not a quiet place, and the kind of national fame you earn there is not the kind that comes from being gentle. Then came the Texas Rangers.
He served with the frontier battalion from 1876 to 1880, and here is where the names start piling up like storm clouds. Sam Bass. King Fisher.
John Wesley Hardin. The Taylor-Sutton gangs, feuding with the kind of stubborn violence that exhausts whole counties. These were the men Captain Lee Hall was hunting.
Let that settle in for a moment. You might think a man who ran down that roster would be ready for a quieter life by the time he was done. But 1898 came along, and with it the Spanish-American War.
Hall went to the Philippines — and he didn't just go, he served in a way that drew a citation for gallant service. The war ran through 1900, and his record ran right alongside it. The marker calls him a heroic defender of the honor of Texas and the United States.
After everything from Grayson County to the Philippines, from Sam Bass to the Taylor-Sutton feud, it's hard to argue with that. Captain Lee Hall died March 17, 1911. But the marker is standing, and the names are still on it — and out here on the Texas road, that counts for something.
What the marker says
Captain Lee Hall (October 9, 1849-March 17, 1911) Heroic defender of honor of Texas and the United States. Born in Lexington, N.C., came to Texas in 1869. Gained national fame as Grayson County Marshal and Deputy Sheriff, 1871, 1876. Served with frontier battalion, Texas Rangers, 1876-1880, hunting such outlaws as Sam Bass, King Fisher, John Wesley Hardin, and feuding Taylor-Sutton gangs. In Spanish-American War (1898-1900), was cited for his gallant service in the Philippines. Recorded-1970.