The Texas Rifles

The new Confederacy, facing into the Union cannon, had too much on its hands to send troops to the Texas frontier to hold back the Indians. Instead, it authorized the State of Texas to raise its own troops. Many kinds of men drifted into the Texas Mounted Rifles. Some thought it might be safer than fighting in far off Virginia. Many were merely young men a-thirst for adventure. Some were settlers who saw this as the best way to protect their families and homes against the murderous thrusts of the Comanche. And some were men who still loved the Union, who had lived too long under that gallant flag to turn their guns against it now. Such a man was Scout Sam Houston Cloud... At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

From their founding in the 1820s up to the modern age, the Texas Rangers have shown the ability to adapt and survive. Part of that survival depended on their use of firearms. The evolving technology of these weapons often determined the effectiveness of these early day Rangers. John Coffee “Jack” Hays and Samuel Walker would leave their mark on the Rangers by incorporating new technology which allowed them to alter tactics when confronting their adversaries. The Frontier Battalion was created at about the same time as the Colt Peacemaker and the Winchester 73—these were the guns that “won the West.” Firearms of the Texas Rangers, with more than 180 photographs, tells the history of the Texas Rangers primarily through the use of their firearms. Author Doug Dukes narrates famous episodes in Ranger history, including Jack Hays and the Paterson, the Walker Colt, the McCulloch Colt Revolver (smuggled through the Union blockade during the Civil War), and the Frontier Battalion and their use of the Colt Peacemaker and Winchester and Sharps carbines. Readers will delight in learning of Frank Hamer’s marksmanship with his Colt Single Action Army and his Remington, along with Captain J.W. McCormick and his two .45 Colt pistols, complete with photos. Whether it was a Ranger in 1844 with his Paterson on patrol for Indians north of San Antonio, or a Ranger in 2016 with his LaRue 7.62 rifle working the Rio Grande looking for smugglers and terrorists, the technology may have changed, but the gritty job of the Rangers has not.

Two very different cousins head to Italy to fight in World War II in this absorbing novel, a winner of the Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal. The first novel in the Texas Gun Club series, this is the story of two cousins and their journey from south Texas to the distant shores of wartime Italy. Sam Taft is a rancher, fiercely devoted to his wife, Margaret, and intent on surviving the war and returning to Texas. Each skirmish, every battle, is one step closer to home. His cousin Perkin Berger was a student of history at the University of Texas, and is eager for adventure. The impulsive Berger finds the war a lark, a grand journey—until the harrowing realities of warfare begin to set in. Set against the backdrop of the battle of Salerno, The Texas Gun Club is meticulously researched and faithful to the saga of the soldiers from Texas in 1943 Italy, written with rich authenticity by a retired naval officer.

This new book from Mowbray Publishers is the result of the author's almost 20 years of research. It attempts to shed light on the extent of the gun trade in Texas during its early times. Though the military connection is touched upon in this book, the civilian gun trade is the main objective. Many of the old established gun dealers in Texas became quite successful, while others came and went. Each major city seemed to have one gun dealer that stood above all others. Included in this extensive directory of over 1,200 dealers and makers are the Dance Brothers of Anderson, the Erichson family of Houston, E.A. Worden of Dallas, Charles Hummel of San Antonio, J.C. Petmecky of Austin, A.J. Anderson of Forth Worth and countless other dealers and tradesmen, many of whom could have books dedicated to them alone. More than 1,200 listings and over 700 black & white photographs. 8.5"x11" and printed on heavy, coated paper.

The glamorous story of the Texas Revolution.

How different might our maps look today were it not for the gun? Would there be a Texas were it not for improvements in firearm technology? Texas Independence was won by the gun...and kept by the gun. Firearms put food on the table and kept marauding Indians out of frontier dooryards. In this book, Carroll Holloway introduces us to the men who made the guns that shaped Texas. He walks us through firearm technology throughout our Lone Star history, from Spanish & Mexican rule, through the weapons of the Texas Revolution and the Republic. This non-technical treatise demonstrates clearly the role of the gun in 19th century westward expansion and Texas history.