Texas Adjutant General's Department:

An Introduction to Military Rolls at the Texas State Archives, 1835-1915, 1917, 1935, undated

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 muster rolls, muster-in rolls, muster-out rolls, muster and payrolls, payrolls, receipt rolls, and lists of officers and/or men, for the various military and para-military organizations (primarily Rangers and Militia units), of both the Republic and the State of Texas. They date 1835-1915, 1917, 1935, and undated. Except for some of the Republic rolls which were drawn up after the fact, these military rolls were compiled at the time, usually by the company commanders. The information contained on the rolls varies considerably, ranging from mere lists of names to detailed physical descriptions. Most of the rolls are in the form of oversize single sheets, and are housed in oversized boxes or drawers; twentieth century rolls tend to be stapled or sewn booklets. There are also some bound volumes, for official copies of Union troops in Texas during the Civil War, and for Spanish-American War muster-out rolls. The Texas State Archives retains approximately 7,972 individual military rolls: approximately 664 of these date from the Republic, approximately 1,500 from the Civil War, and approximately 5,808 from statehood (excluding the Civil War).

Note: Occasionally a researcher knows the name of a company commander, but does not know which military unit (Ranger or militia or otherwise) he commanded, or where to search for the appropriate military roll. Researchers using the finding aid electronically may search for names of captains. For researchers using a print copy, an alphabetical list of captains is provided in the Texas State Archives search room, matching the captain with the military organization. All of the non-Civil War military rolls (muster rolls, payrolls, etc.) held in the Texas State Archives are included in this index. To repeat, this index of company commanders does NOT include Civil War units except for Union troops, listed as Army of the United States (1860-1861, 1864-1865). For non-Union Civil War rolls, there is a set of index cards in the Archives search room listing these military rolls by captain and by organization.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Some Civil War military rolls have been determined too fragile for retrieval, and the numbers of those do not appear in the inventory for that series. No other restrictions on access.

Restrictions on Use

Civil War military rolls are very fragile. The names on almost all of the Civil War rolls have been abstracted onto 3-by-5 inch index cards in the Texas State Archives' search room, giving all of the information that is found on the roll itself for that individual. Researchers are encouraged to use the abstracts, and/or to request copies of the abstracts, in lieu of the actual military rolls themselves. The photocopying of rolls may also be restricted by their physical condition.

Since the Civil War rolls are often too fragile to photocopy, copies of the index cards have always been accepted as proof of service by organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Some of the military rolls in other series may also be too large and/or too fragile for photocopying.

Technical Requirements

None.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

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

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1933/001, 1933/003, 1937/004, 1976/048, 1988/130, and unknown others

Although accession records are sketchy, military rolls were probably the earliest records transferred from the Texas Adjutant General's office to the Texas State Archives. The earliest transfer recorded (in the Reports of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, and History) was in 1905, of Republic muster rolls dated 1842. In 1920, approximately 800 muster rolls and payrolls, dating 1860-1886, were transferred by the Texas Adjutant General's office to the Texas State Archives. On February 21, 1934, the following groups of military rolls were transferred: "miscellaneous" rolls from 1835-1844 and 1848; Civil War; Frontier Regiment; State Police; State Guard; Reserve Militia; Frontier Forces; Frontier Battalion; Special State Troops; Texas Volunteer Guard; Spanish-American War; and Texas National Guard. On February 27, 1934 eight muster rolls for Captains Tobin, A. C. Hill, Littleton, and Harrison (1859-1861) were transferred to the Texas State Archives by the Bureau of Records, Board of Control. On February 28, 1938, the Texas Secretary of State's office transferred the volume of Official Copies from the War Department of Texas Troops in the Rebellion. On December 4, 1975, the Texas Adjutant General transferred payrolls for three captains in the Ranger Force, 1913-1914.

Twenty-eight rolls, all of Lt. Henry Schwethelm's company from Kerr County, dated November 1874 through 1877 (the only rolls dating after mid-1874), were donated to the Texas State Archives on October 22, 1920 by Mr. August Fischer, a former member of that company. All bear the stamp "U. S. Pension Office, October 26, 1920." A second accession document lists the Texas Adjutant General's Office as transferring these same rolls back to the Archives on March 8, 1921. These were assigned accession number 1988/130 for purposes of control.

Processing Information

Tony Black, July 1986, April 1988, September 1988

Other Formats for the Records

The names on almost all of the Civil War rolls have been abstracted onto 3-by-5 inch index cards in the Texas State Archives' search room, giving all of the information that is found on the roll itself. Many of the other military rolls (e.g. Ranger rolls) have also been abstracted onto 3-by-5 inch index cards, with varying degrees of detail as to the other information on the roll.

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Detailed Description of the Records

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