DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the one telling this tale, and I'm just Duane, passing it along the way it was handed to me. Now settle in, because this one's got the kind of man in it that history doesn't know quite what to do with — and the kind of outfit that history never forgot. B.
F. Terry was a native of Kentucky, though Texas claimed him soon enough. He came to Texas in 1831, and when the time for hard decisions arrived, he was standing in the Secession Convention making them.
That's the kind of man we're talking about — not someone who watched events unfold from a comfortable distance. When tensions with the federal government turned dangerous down on the Rio Grande, Terry commanded reinforcements of state troops sent there for the capture of Federal arms and property at Fort Brown. He had a sense for where the action was going to be, and he followed it all the way to Virginia, hoping to be present at the first battle of the war.
He got his wish. He was cited for valuable volunteer service in the first Battle of Manassas — a battle that shocked just about everybody who witnessed it into understanding this was going to be a very long, very serious war. Terry came back to Texas carrying orders to raise a cavalry regiment.
And here's the detail that tells you everything about who B. F. Terry was: he accepted his commission only when the men themselves elected him Colonel.
He didn't reach for the rank. They handed it to him. What those men built together would attain fame under his name — Terry's Texas Rangers.
Ten companies of them. The marker calls them the 'Kid Glove' gentry of Texas, which is a phrase worth sitting with for a moment. These were men of standing, of means — men who could have found softer arrangements.
Instead, they enlisted for the duration of the Civil War. All of it. However long it took.
As the 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment, they joined Johnston's command in Kentucky. And Kentucky is where Colonel Terry's story ends, and the Rangers' story truly begins. He was killed at Woodsonville, Kentucky, leading his unit's first charge.
The very first one. His loyal Rangers carried his name from that day until the war's end. Now, the regiment that bore his name — history finds it easy, the marker says, to call these Texas men fighters.
They were excellent horsemen. Marksmen. Utterly reckless.
Individual heroism was not uncommon, which in the language of understatement means it happened regularly enough that people stopped being surprised by it. Their deeds were praised at Shiloh. At Murfreesboro.
At Chickamauga. At Bragg's Raid into Kentucky. And when the war finally ground down to its bitter end, they made their last charge at Bentonville, North Carolina.
They were called upon to cover retreats, to slip into enemy lines to gather information, to harass the enemy, and to lead charges. Every role that required nerve, speed, and the willingness to be somewhere dangerous — that was Terry's Rangers. B.
F. Terry is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. The regiment that carried his name outlasted him by years, battle by battle, charge by charge, all the way to Bentonville.
He never got to see what they became. But he's the reason they had a name worth keeping.
What the marker says
Native of Kentucky. Came to Texas 1831. Member Secession Convention. Commanded reinforcements of state troops sent to Rio Grande for the capture of Federal arms, property at Fort Brown. Went to Virginia hoping to be in first battle of war. Cited for valuable volunteer service in first Battle of Manassas. Returned to Texas with orders to raise cavalry regiment which soon attained fame as Terry's Rangers. Accepted his commission only when men elected him Colonel. Killed Woodsonville, Kentucky leading unit's first charge. His loyal Rangers carried his name until war's end. Buried Glenwood Cemetery, Houston. Terry's Texas Rangers - Ten companies of the "Kid Glove" gentry of Texas enlisted for the duration of the Civil War, forming the famed Terry's Texas Rangers. With their able leaders, this 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment joined Johnston's command in Kentucky. History finds it easy to call these Texas men fighters. They were excellent horsemen, marksmen, utterly reckless. Individual heroism was not uncommon. Their deeds were praised at Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Bragg's Raid into Kentucky and their last charge at Bentonville, N.C. Called upon to cover retreats, to invade enemy lines to get information, harass the enemy and to lead charges.