Texas Adjutant General's Department:

An Inventory of Adjutant General's Department Service Records at the Texas State Archives, 1836-1845, 1854-1865, 1870-1935

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.

Scope and Contents of the Records

The Texas Adjutant General's Department created and maintained records that have served as proof of the service of specific individuals in the various military, militia, and ranger units of the Republic and of the State of Texas. These records consist of a variety of types of documents, including enlistment certificates, discharge certificates, certificates of appointment, applications, descriptive lists, warrants of authority, oaths of service, affidavits of service, paymaster's certificates, final statements, vouchers, receipts, powers of attorney, copies of orders and special orders, clothing charts, and correspondence and memoranda to and from state and federal military and pension authorities. They comprise the service records (sometimes artificially constructed) for members of the various military, militia, and ranger organizations which have served in Texas, 1836-1845, 1854-1865, 1870-1935. They do not, however, represent all of the persons who have served in these organizations.

Within each military organization, files are arranged alphabetically by the name of the person. There is an alphabetical union list that gives the name of the individual, the two- or three-letter code indicating the military organization, and the box number. This union list is available in two binders in the State Archives' search room. The online search engine ( http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/service/index.php) links to the scanned images of each service record.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Service records have been scanned and made available online. If neither the researcher nor an Archives staff member can read or decipher the online image, the Archives staff member will consult the original and report the results back to the researcher.

Texas National Guard service records contain medical information certified by an examining surgeon, constituting "a record of the identity, diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of a patient by a physician". (V.T.C.A., Occupations Code, §159.002(b) and (d)). The medical information is confidential for 100 years from the date of its creation. All other records are unrestricted.

No folder listing of Texas National Guard service records has been made available for the State Archives search room, and these individuals are not listed in the alphabetical union index. Nor will they be scanned.

Restrictions on Use

When necessary, Texas National Guard service records will be redacted to comply with the Occupations Code (medical records).

Technical Requirements

The Service Record documents have been scanned and saved as Portable Document Format (PDF) images. PDF is a format that displays documents as navigable images. In order to view a PDF document you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader loaded onto your computer. Click on http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/service/introhelp.html for more information.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

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

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1933/001 and unknown others

These records were transferred to the Texas State Archives by the Texas Adjutant General's Department (and probably by other state offices as well) on February 21, 1934, and on various unknown dates.

Processed By

Archives staff, unknown dates

Tony Black, August 2000

Other Formats for the Records

These records have been scanned and saved as Portable Document Format (PDF) images. Click on http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/service/index.php to access the search engine. See Restrictions on Access and Technical Requirements for additional information.

Detailed Description of the Records