Texas Adjutant General's Department:

An Inventory of Departmental Correspondence at the Texas State Archives, 1846-1943 (bulk 1861-1933)

Agency History

On November 13, 1835, the Consultation created the office of Adjutant General, as one of five heads of departments under the Commander-in-Chief of the Texian Army (the other offices being Inspector General, Quartermaster General, Surgeon General, and Paymaster General). On December 20, 1836, the 1st Congress passed "an Act to organize and fix the Military establishment of the Republic of Texas," which in addition to the aforementioned bureaus, created a Commissary General of Subsistence, a Commissary General of Purchases, and a Colonel of Ordnance, all of whom answered to the Secretary of War. On December 18, 1837, Congress passed--and later passed again over President Sam Houston's veto--an act making the Adjutant General a position elected by the Congress; the first man so elected was Hugh McLeod. This arrangement lasted less than two years, however, with subsequent Adjutant Generals--beginning with McLeod on January 30, 1839--being appointed by the President. Congress combined the offices of Adjutant General and Inspector General on January 28, 1840, and technically abolished this position on January 18, 1841. Yet Peter Hansborough Bell served as Adjutant General of Militia soon thereafter; and in legislation of February 1842, there is a reference to an Acting Adjutant General.

The Texas Navy at first operated under a separate Secretary of the Navy, appointed by the President as authorized by an act of Congress approved October 25, 1836. On January 18, 1841, Congress abolished this office and created a Naval Bureau under the Secretary of War and Marines. Of course, the end of the Republic in 1846 meant the end of the Texas Navy as well.

Whereas under the Republic the Adjutant General was subservient to the Secretary of War, under statehood the position was elevated to that of head of all military departments. After annexation, the 1st Legislature provided for an Adjutant General to be appointed by the Governor, in "an Act to organize the Militia of the State of Texas" (April 21, 1846). The duties which fell to the Adjutant General included the issuance of all military orders; the maintenance of records of appointments, promotions, resignations, deaths, commissions, etc.; the receipt of monthly and annual returns, and muster rolls from the various military units; the keeping of the records of general courts martial; recruitment and enrollment of Rangers and militiamen; and now, the issuing of all bounty and donation land warrants on the basis of military service to the Republic. This last duty was assumed by the Commissioner of Claims, pursuant to an Act of the legislature passed August 1, 1856; the office of the Adjutant General had been the victim of apparent arson in October 1855, allegedly by persons engaged in land certificate fraud. The position of Adjutant General was itself reestablished by the Militia Law of February 14, 1860, by which act he also assumed the duties of Quartermaster General and Ordnance Officer of the State.

With the Civil War came the reorganization of the office, an act of December 25, 1861 creating an Adjutant and Inspector General, who would also serve as Quartermaster and Commissary General, and Ordnance Officer. Oversight of the 33 Brigades of the Texas State Troops plus the Frontier Regiment fell to this office, just as later Adjutant Generals would split their time between the Militia and the Rangers (whatever the prevailing terminology). The demands of the Confederate States Army, often conflicting with the needs and desires of the State of Texas, would affect the entire period of the War.

During the Congressional phase of Reconstruction, the military affairs of the State of Texas, and many aspects of civil government, were controlled by the commander of the District of Texas (1866-1868), or of the 5th Military District (1868-1870). Within months of Texas' readmission to the Union under Radical Republican Governor Edmund J. Davis (1870), the Legislature created the Frontier Forces (June 13), the State Guard and Reserve Militia (June 24), and the State Police (July 1), all of which were commanded by a newly restored state Adjutant General. On November 25, 1871, the Legislature added a fifth organization, the Minute Men. The first Adjutant General so appointed, James Davidson, absconded with over $37,000 of state funds in 1872. The State Guard and Reserve Militia were merged into a simple state militia on March 19, 1873, and the State Police force was abolished April 22, 1873.

The place of the Frontier Forces was taken in 1873 and 1874 by the Rangers and the Frontier Men, and finally by the Frontier Battalion, organized by an act passed April 10, 1874. At about the same time one can date the evolution of the Texas Volunteer Guard as the definitive militia organization for the state. On July 22, 1876, "an Act to suppress lawlessness and crime in certain parts of the state" authorized the creation of the Special State Troops, commanded first by Captain Leander McNelly and subsequently by Captain J. L. Hall. In the last year of the operation of this Special Force (1880-1881), it was commanded by Captain Thomas L. Oglesby.

The Spanish-American War (1898) saw the nationalization of the Texas Volunteer Guard, which was organized into four regiments of infantry and one of cavalry, and designated the Texas Volunteers. After the war they were de-nationalized, and reorganized on April 1, 1903 as the Texas National Guard. On August 5, 1917, the Texas National Guard was drafted into federal service, forming the 36th Division, which was to be mobilized during World War II as well.

The Frontier Battalion was reorganized as the Ranger Force by an act of the Legislature on March 29, 1901. From time to time this regular force was supplemented by specially commissioned Special Rangers, Railroad Rangers, Cattlemen's Association Rangers, and Loyalty Rangers. Finally, on August 10, 1935, the Ranger Force was transferred to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

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Scope and Contents of the Records

These records consist of the Texas Adjutant General's departmental correspondence (mostly incoming letters until the 20th century), 1846-1943; letter books and letterpress books (outgoing letters), 1861-1863 and 1871-1905; registers of letters received, 1870-1883; and indexes to letters received, 1870-1899. Total dates covered are 1846-1943 (bulk 1861-1933). The Texas Adjutant General's office received letters, telegrams, and postal cards from, and sent letters and telegrams to, a wide variety of persons and entities: public officials, the officers and enlisted men of all of the state militia units in Texas, Rangers and Ranger captains, high-ranking officers of the United States army, representatives of businesses and corporations, and private citizens of Texas and of other states. Although this series represents the bulk of the Adjutant General's correspondence, further correspondence is contained within other series of this record group. Thus, for example, correspondence of the Civil War era exists both in Departmental correspondence and in Texas State Troops Brigade correspondence; outgoing letters concerning the State Police are found in the Letter books and letterpress books subseries, but also in letterpress books specifically maintained for the State Police; Ranger correspondence is located in this Departmental correspondence series as well as in specific subseries in the Ranger records series.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

Letterpress books are extremely fragile; pages are tissue-thin and bindings are either broken already or ready to break. Therefore they may not be photocopied, and must be treated with great care.

Technical Requirements

None.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Departmental correspondence, Texas Adjutant General's Department. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1933/001 and unknown others

Accession data is incomplete, but about two-thirds of these records (those dating 1850-1910) were transferred to the Texas State Archives by the Texas Adjutant General's Department on February 21, 1934. The remainder was apparently transferred sometime after 1946.

Processing Information

Tony Black, January 1986, May 1988

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Detailed Description of the Records