YOURS TO COMMAND; THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF TEXAS RANGER CAPTAIN BILL MCDONALD. University of North Texas Press Frances B. Vick Series, Number 5.

Weiss, Harold J., Jr. [Bill McDonald - William Jesse McDonald, 1852-1918.]

ISBN 10: 1574412604 / ISBN 13: 9781574412604

Published by Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press - UNT Press, 2009., 2009

About this Item

First edition, first printing (with latter indicated by publisher's number line upon copyright page). xii, 436 pages. Hardcover: H 23.5cm x L 15.75cm. Dust jacket rubbed; bumping at rear panel's top left; rear flap creased. Red cloth with vibrant gilt stamping to spine. Several small light stains to text block edges with a few leaves fractionally affected at margins; interior pages are otherwise clean. Binding retains some crispness. ISBN 9781574412604.

Seller Inventory # Z626X-9275

Bibliographic Details

• Title: YOURS TO COMMAND; THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF TEXAS RANGER CAPTAIN BILL MCDONALD. University of North Texas Press Frances B. Vick Series, Number 5.
• Publisher: Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press - UNT Press, 2009.
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1574412604
• ISBN 13: 9781574412604
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • Americana-Regional

About this title

Synopsis

Captain Bill McDonald (1852–1918) is the most prominent of the "Four Great Captains" of Texas Ranger history. His career straddled the changing scene from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries. In 1891 McDonald became captain of Company B of the Frontier Battalion of the Texas Rangers. "Captain Bill" and the Rangers under his command took part in a number of incidents from the Panhandle region to South Texas: the Fitzsimmons-Maher prizefight in El Paso, the Wichita Falls bank robbery, the murders by the San Saba Mob, the Reese-Townsend feud at Columbus, the lynching of the Humphries clan, the Conditt family murders near Edna, the Brownsville Raid of 1906, and the shootout with Mexican Americans near Rio Grande City. In all these endeavors, only one Ranger lost his life under McDonald's command. McDonald's reputation as a gunman rested upon his easily demonstrated markmanship, a flair for using his weapons to intimidate opponents, and the publicity given his numerous exploits. His ability to handle mobs resulted in a classic tale told around campfires: one riot, one Ranger. His admirers rank him as one of the great captains of Texas Ranger history. His detractors see him as an irresponsible lawman who accepted questionable information, precipitated violence, hungered for publicity, and related tall tales that cast himself in the hero's role. Harold J. Weiss, Jr., seeks to find the true Bill McDonald and sort fact from myth. McDonald's motto says it all: "No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on 'a-comin'."

About the Author

HAROLD J. WEISS JR. is Emeritus Professor of History, Government, and Criminal Justice at Jamestown Community College. He received his doctorate in history from Indiana University at Bloomington. Weiss has published numerous articles and essays on the Texas Rangers and western law and order in the Journal of the West, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, and South Texas Studies.He lives in Leander, Texas.