BUY Rebel Flags For SaleAround 1902, a group of gray-bearded Texans gathered for a reunion photograph. Forty years earlier, they had ridden with one of the most celebrated cavalry regiments of the War Between the States: the 8th Texas Cavalry, known to friend and foe alike as Terry’s Texas Rangers. This old photograph is a good place to start the story of who they were, where they fought and why their name still carries weight in Texas today.
Who Were Terry’s Texas Rangers?
Terry’s Texas Rangers was the popular name of the 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment of the Confederate States Army. The regiment was raised in the late summer of 1861 by Benjamin Franklin Terry, a Kentucky-born sugar planter from Fort Bend County, and his friend Thomas S. Lubbock. Both men had served as volunteer scouts at the First Battle of Manassas that July, and they returned to Texas with permission to raise a regiment of mounted rangers.
The call for volunteers went out from Houston in August 1861, and the response was overwhelming. Around 1,170 men enlisted in ten companies drawn from counties across the state. They were sworn in that September and officially organized as the 8th Texas Cavalry that fall. They were young, independent and superb horsemen, and most brought their own horses and weapons: double-barreled shotguns, revolvers and big Bowie knives. Many wore a small handmade Lone Star on their hats as a badge of Texas pride.
The Battle of Rowlett’s Station and the Death of Colonel Terry
The Rangers were bound for Virginia, but on the way they were diverted to Kentucky to join General Albert Sidney Johnston’s army at Bowling Green. Their first real fight came on December 17, 1861, at Rowlett’s Station, near Woodsonville, Kentucky, along the Green River.
There the Texans charged a detachment of the 32nd Indiana Infantry. The fighting was fierce and the Confederates held the field, but the victory came at a heavy price: Colonel Terry was killed leading the charge. His men took his name as their own, and from that day on they were Terry’s Texas Rangers. Lubbock, who succeeded him, died of illness only weeks later, and command passed to John A. Wharton, who would lead the regiment to fame.
Fighting Across the Western Theater
For the next three and a half years, the Rangers fought in nearly every major campaign of the Western Theater. Their record includes:
- Shiloh (April 1862), Tennessee
- Forrest’s raid on Murfreesboro (July 1862), riding with General Nathan Bedford Forrest
- Perryville (October 1862), Kentucky
- Murfreesboro / Stones River (December 1862 to January 1863), Tennessee
- Chickamauga (September 1863), Georgia
- The Knoxville Campaign (late 1863)
- The Atlanta Campaign (1864), under General Joseph Wheeler
- The Carolinas Campaign and Bentonville (1865), North Carolina
As cavalry, the Rangers did far more than fight pitched battles. They scouted ahead of the army, screened its movements, raided Union supply lines and railroads, and fought countless skirmishes that never made the history books. They also earned a reputation for fierce, reckless charges, which is why their own veterans and even their enemies said they fought like devils. You can read more about that reputation in our post “They Fight Like Devils.”
The Last Charge at Bentonville
By the spring of 1865, the Confederacy’s Western armies had been bled nearly white. What remained of them was in North Carolina under General Joseph E. Johnston, trying to slow Sherman’s advance. At the Battle of Bentonville in March 1865, the Rangers made one of the last great cavalry charges of the war, striking a Union force that threatened to cut off Johnston’s line of retreat. The charge helped keep the army’s escape route open. It is often remembered as the last charge of the Army of Tennessee.
When Johnston surrendered at Bennett Place in late April 1865, many of the Rangers refused to give up. Rather than lay down their arms, they rode away to try to join Confederate forces still in the field farther south and west. For many of them, the war ended only when there was nothing left to ride toward.
Remembering the Rangers
After the war, the survivors went home to farm, ranch and rebuild Texas. They formed a veterans’ association and gathered for reunions for decades, like the one captured in the photograph above.
In 1907, a bronze equestrian monument to Terry’s Texas Rangers was dedicated on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Its inscription includes a tribute from President Jefferson Davis: “The Terry Rangers have done all that could be expected or required of soldiers.” Colonel Terry himself is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.
Frequently Asked Questions About Terry’s Texas Rangers
What regiment were Terry’s Texas Rangers?
Terry’s Texas Rangers was the nickname of the 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment of the Confederate States Army, which served from 1861 to 1865.
Who founded Terry’s Texas Rangers?
The regiment was raised in 1861 by Benjamin Franklin Terry, a Fort Bend County sugar planter, together with Thomas S. Lubbock. Terry was elected colonel.
How did Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry die?
Terry was killed on December 17, 1861, leading a charge at the Battle of Rowlett’s Station near Woodsonville, Kentucky. It was the regiment’s first major fight.
Were Terry’s Texas Rangers part of the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency?
No. Despite the name, the 8th Texas Cavalry was a Confederate army regiment, not part of the Texas Ranger lawmen. The men called themselves “rangers” in the tradition of Texas mounted volunteers, and some of them had served as frontier rangers before the war.
What battles did Terry’s Texas Rangers fight in?
Their major engagements included Rowlett’s Station, Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro (Stones River), Chickamauga, the Knoxville and Atlanta campaigns and Bentonville.
Is there a monument to Terry’s Texas Rangers?
Yes. A bronze equestrian monument to the regiment stands on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. It was dedicated in 1907.
Honor Terry’s Texas Rangers
Fly the colors of one of the South’s most famous cavalry regiments with our Terry’s Texas Rangers Flag, made of double nylon with sewn, embroidered details for outdoor display. You can also browse our full Confederate flag collection for more regimental and national flags.
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