Hood's Devils River Fight

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker along Devils River has to say — and friend, this one earns every word. July 5th, 1857. Company G of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry rides out of Fort Mason.

It's a small unit — just a handful of men — and their orders put them in pursuit of Comanche Indians in the vicinity. Leading them is a young lieutenant named John Bell Hood, born in 1831. Remember that name.

They head northwest. Days pass under a Texas summer sun. Then, somewhere out in that hard country, the men discover something that changes the nature of the ride entirely: a fresh Indian trail.

And it's heading southward — toward Mexico. They follow it. By July 20th, they're crossing bluffs near the Devils River.

And there, on a ridge about two miles from the stream, marked by a white flat, they find an Indian camp. Hood is cautious. Something about this doesn't sit right.

A small band of Indians advances out to meet them — which sounds almost civil, until you understand what it is. It's a lure. Then somebody throws down the flag.

That's the signal. And out of the brush and the bluffs comes close to a hundred Comanches and Lipan Apaches, and they attack. One hundred.

Against one small company. You do the math on those odds. Now here's where it gets worse.

The Indian women begin setting brush fires. Smoke and flame roll up to Hood's front, hemming his men in. Outflanked by a force at least three times their number, with a wall of fire and smoke cutting off any forward movement, the soldiers are forced into fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Not a cavalry charge — hand to hand. All Hood could hope for, as the marker tells it, was that superior marksmanship and discipline would prove to be the decisive elements in the fight. The company falls back to reload.

The smoke is thick. The noise is tremendous. And then — through all of it — the soldiers hear the loud cries of Comanche women.

And those cries mean something. They signal a retreat. The fight is over.

But the cost is real. Two cavalrymen are killed: William Barry and Thomas Ryan. Five others, Hood among them, are wounded.

Private Ryan is buried at the site. Private Barry's body is never found. The following day, a relief unit rides up from Camp Hudson — twenty miles to the south — to render medical aid and help bury the dead.

Later reports would reveal that nineteen Indians were killed, and many more wounded. Hood and his men are cited for valor in army reports. And that lieutenant — young John Bell Hood, wounded on a ridge above the Devils River in the summer of 1857 — he goes on to become a general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.

The Devils River didn't stop him. Not much could.

What the marker says

Hood's Devils River Fight The men of Company G, a small unit of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry, left Fort Mason on July 5, 1857, under the command of Lt. John Bell Hood (1831-1879), in pursuit of Comanche Indians in the vicinity. Traveling northwest, they discovered a fresh Indian trail leading southward toward Mexico. Crossing bluffs near the Devils River on July 20, the men encountered an Indian camp on a ridge about two miles from the stream, marked by a while flat. Suspecting an ambush, Hood proceeded cautiously toward the ridge. A small band of Indians advanced to meet Hood's party. Then, throwing down the flag to signal their concealed allies, a group of close to 100 Comanches and Lipan Apaches attached. Outnumbered, and hampered by brush fires set by Indian women, the soldiers were forced into fierce hand-to-hand combat. Outflanked by a force at least three times his number and hemmed in by a wall of fire and smoke to his front, all that Hood could hope for was that superior marksmanship and discipline would prove to be the decisive elements in the fight. The company fell back to reload its weapons, only to hear the loud cries of Comanche women through the smoke and dust, indicating an Indian retreat. Two cavalrymen, William Barry and Thomas Ryan, were killed, and five others, including Hood, were wounded. A relief unit from Camp Hudson (20 mi. S) arrived the following day, rendering medical aid and helping to bury the dead. Pvt. Ryan was buried at the site, and Pvt. Barry's body was never found. Later reports revealed that nineteen Indians were killed, and many more wounded. Hood and his men were later cited for valor in army reports. During the Civil War, Hood became a general in the Confederate States Army. (1987)