BUY Rebel Flags For SaleHolt Collier lived one of the most remarkable lives of any Southerner of his era. Born into slavery in Mississippi, he rode with Confederate cavalry as a teenager, worked as a Texas cowboy, became the most famous bear hunter in American history and guided President Theodore Roosevelt on the 1902 hunt that gave the world the teddy bear. Here is the story of the man behind the legend.
Early Life on the Hinds Plantations
Holt Collier was born around 1846 in Jefferson County, Mississippi, one of the children of Harrison and Daphne Collier, who were house servants of the prominent Hinds family. The family’s patriarch, General Thomas Hinds, had been a hero of the War of 1812 and is the namesake of Hinds County, Mississippi. Holt grew up in the household of his son, Howell Hinds.
When Holt was about seven years old, Howell Hinds moved him to Plum Ridge, a plantation in Washington County in the wild Mississippi Delta. There the boy was put to work with the horses and hunting dogs. He was a natural. Riding with Hinds through the canebrakes and swamps, he became an expert horseman and a crack shot, and by most accounts he killed his first bear when he was only ten years old.
Holt Collier’s Confederate Service
When war broke out in 1861, Howell Hinds and his son Thomas rode off to join the Confederate army. Holt, then about fourteen, was determined to go with them. Family stories differ on exactly how he got to the front. In one version he was told he was too young and slipped away anyway to follow them. However he managed it, he was soon in the field with the Hinds men.
Holt’s own later pension application states that he was wounded in the ankle at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. After he recovered, he joined Company I of the 9th Texas Cavalry, part of the famous Texas cavalry brigade later commanded by Lawrence Sullivan “Sul” Ross. The 9th served alongside sister regiments such as the 6th Texas Cavalry and fought across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, including the bloody Battle of Franklin in November 1864.
Holt’s skills made him invaluable. He served as a scout and sharpshooter, rode on dangerous reconnaissance missions and, by several accounts, worked as a military spy behind enemy lines. Some accounts also say he scouted for cavalry operations under General Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was one of the relatively few Black men who served the Confederacy as a fighting soldier rather than only as a camp servant, and he stayed with his Texas comrades until the end of the war.
Texas Cowboy and Mississippi Market Hunter
After the war, Collier headed west to Texas to rejoin friends from his old regiment. He spent about a year as a bronco-busting cowboy on the ranch of his former commander, Sul Ross. Ross later served as Governor of Texas and as president of Texas A&M, and Sul Ross State University is named for him.
Collier eventually returned home to the Mississippi Delta and made his living the way he knew best: hunting. In an age before refrigeration, timber camps and railroad crews needed fresh meat, and Collier supplied them with venison, wild turkey and especially bear. His hunting dogs were famous throughout the region, and so was his nerve. He was known to go after wounded bears with nothing but a knife.
Over his lifetime, Holt Collier is credited with killing more than 3,000 bears, often said to be more than Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett combined. By the turn of the century, he was the most respected hunting guide in the South.
The 1902 Roosevelt Bear Hunt and the Birth of the Teddy Bear
In November 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt traveled to the Mississippi Delta to hunt black bear near Onward, Mississippi, at the invitation of Governor Andrew Longino. Major George Helm, who was organizing the hunt, asked Holt Collier to serve as the President’s guide. Collier was then about 56 years old.
The hunt got off to a slow start. Determined that the President should have his chance, Collier and his dogs ran down an old black bear and cornered it in a slough. When the exhausted bear grabbed one of his dogs, Collier struck it with his rifle butt and then roped it and tied it to a willow tree. Then he sent for Roosevelt.
When the President arrived and saw the injured animal tied to the tree, he refused to shoot it, calling it unsportsmanlike. He ordered that the bear be put out of its misery instead.
The story spread quickly. Political cartoonist Clifford Berryman drew the scene for the Washington Post in a cartoon titled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” showing Roosevelt refusing to shoot a small, appealing bear. In Brooklyn, a candy store owner named Morris Michtom saw the cartoon. He and his wife made a stuffed toy bear, put it in their shop window and called it “Teddy’s bear.” It was a sensation. Michtom went on to found the Ideal Toy Company, and the teddy bear became one of the most beloved toys in the world. In 2002, on the hunt’s 100th anniversary, Mississippi named the teddy bear its official state toy.
Roosevelt was deeply impressed with his guide. In 1907 he asked Collier to lead him again, this time on a bear hunt in the canebrakes of northeast Louisiana.
Later Life, Death and Legacy
Holt Collier spent the rest of his life in and around Greenville, Mississippi, and remained a local legend. In his final years he received a small Confederate pension from the State of Mississippi in recognition of his wartime service. He died on August 1, 1936, at about 90 years of age, and is buried in Live Oak Cemetery in Greenville.
His memory has been honored in several ways since then:
- In 2004, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge, about 2,200 acres in the Mississippi Delta named in his honor.
- The story of the 1902 hunt is retold every year in Mississippi, and Collier is recognized as the man whose skill set the stage for the teddy bear.
- Historians and Southern heritage groups continue to tell his story as an example of the loyalty and courage of the men who served in gray.
Frequently Asked Questions About Holt Collier
Who was Holt Collier?
Holt Collier (about 1846 to 1936) was a Mississippi-born hunter, guide and Confederate veteran. He served with the 9th Texas Cavalry during the War Between the States, killed more than 3,000 bears in his lifetime and guided President Theodore Roosevelt on bear hunts in 1902 and 1907.
Did Holt Collier fight for the Confederacy?
Yes. Collier served throughout the war, most notably with Company I of the 9th Texas Cavalry, part of Ross’s Texas Brigade. He worked as a scout, sharpshooter and spy, and his pension application states he was wounded at Shiloh.
What does Holt Collier have to do with the teddy bear?
During the November 1902 hunt near Onward, Mississippi, Collier roped a bear and tied it to a tree for President Roosevelt, who refused to shoot it. A newspaper cartoon of the scene inspired Morris Michtom to create a stuffed toy called “Teddy’s bear.”
How many bears did Holt Collier kill?
Collier is credited with killing more than 3,000 bears over his lifetime, a number often said to exceed the combined total of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett.
Where is Holt Collier buried?
Holt Collier is buried in Live Oak Cemetery in Greenville, Mississippi.
Is there a wildlife refuge named after Holt Collier?
Yes. The Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi was established in 2004 and covers about 2,200 acres.
Honor the Men Who Rode With Ross’s Texas Brigade
Holt Collier’s story is a reminder that the history of the South is richer and more complicated than many people are taught today. Read about another hard-riding Texas regiment in Terry’s Texas Rangers, and honor Mississippi’s Confederate heritage with our Mississippi Republic Flag or the 6th Texas Cavalry Flag.
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