Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 4, Number 1, Spring, 1992 Page: 9
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among the inhabitants," eager to get a look at "Los
Diablos Tejanos" (the "Texas Devils") or, as they
were also known, "Los Tejanos Sangrientes" (the
"Bloody Texans").29
Indeed, the Texans not only fought hard but
also looked like the very devil. Their clothing was
probably the least uniform of any volunteer organization,
consisting mainly of soiled fringed buckskin
pants and coats, high leather boots, colorful bandanas,
and a wide assortment of headgear, from
Mexican sombreros to regular army blue wool forage
caps. In addition, their long, greasy hair and
unkempt, bushy beards, enhanced their appearance
as wild men.
Their reputation for violence was immediately
confirmed when one of the Rangers, riding in
Mexico City's main plaza, among 10,000 citizens,
bent down from his horse and took some candy from
the basket of a passing Mexican candy seller. Whether
the Texan intended to pay or not is unknown, but the
Mexican assumed he was being robbed. Picking up
a stone, he made as if to throw it at the man on
horseback but was shot dead by the Texan before the
rock could leave his hand. The gunfire so unnerved
the crowd that they panicked and nearly trampled
each other in their haste to get away. In an instant the
plaza was emptied.3'
The Texas Rangers quickly became the most
feared of all the American troops in Mexico City.
The Texans were quick to seek revenge on those
who crossed them. On one evening, the Rangers
reportedly killed eighty Mexicans in retaliation for
the murder of a Texan and the attempted murder of
two others. General Scott called Hays to his office
to take him to task over this incident, but after
conferring with the Texan leader merely sent him
away to warn his men that "they must watch their
step from now on."31
The Texans also suffered from a variety of
illnesses, as did other American troops. Indeed,
throughout the entire Mexican War, many more
Americans died of disease than were cut down by
enemy bullets. The Dallas company suffered its
share of casualties. Around Christmas 1847, several
Rangers succumbed, including Dallas County men
Stephen B. McCommas, Burke McCommas, and
George Mounts. Others in Company K who died in
Mexico from disease were James Barrow, Stephen
Conrad, Elijah and Christopher Carder, William
Herald, William Romme, William Shahan, JohnThomas, William and McKinsey Wilhite, and Harvey
Vanslyke. Some who were taken ill were discharged
and sent home, but not all made it. Thomas
Dykes died in New Orleans, and Hiram Shirley died
aboard ship and was buried at sea. Others got home
but succumbed shortly aftewards, like William C.
Jackson and George R. Counts. John McCommas
was luckier. He too was discharged and sent home,
but he recovered.32
A s MUCH TO GET them out of Mexico City,where
they were getting into trouble and taking ill,
as for any other reason, General Scott sent Hays and
his men on several excursions into the surrounding
countryside to look for guerrilla bands. These
expeditions, beginning in early 1848, continued
even after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was
signed on February 2, formally ending the war. The
Dallas company was especially active around the
town of San Angel, about ten miles south of Mexico
City. One of the foremost guerrilla leaders was
Mariano Paredes, who had for a time been president
of Mexico. Another was Padre Celedonia de Jaruata.
Neither man was captured, but men under their
command were engaged in battle by the Texans on
more than one occasion.
In the spring of 1848, the Texas Rangers had
to endure what was probably their most frustrating
experience of the war. General Antonio Lopez de
Santa Anna, the commander of the Mexican forces
at the Alamo and San Jacinto, who had resumed
power during the Mexican War, had been granted a
safe conduct out of the country into exile by General
Scott. When the Rangers heard he would be passing
their encampment at Jalapa, they became highly
excited and plotted to kill the former Mexican president.
It was all Hays could do to convince them that
such an act would dishonor and disgrace the State of
Texas. Eventually they calmed down but insisted on
talking to Santa Anna. Hays told them they could
not, but he did give them permission to line the road
as Santa Anna passed, telling them, "you must
observe profound silence while he is in hearing."
Reluctantly, they agreed.33
On the appointed day, the Texans sat on
horseback, lining the road which led to the coast.
"Rip" Ford later wrote that as Santa Anna came into
view, "the old warrior's face blanched a little at the
sight of his enemies of long standing." Riding in a
carriage with his wife and daughter and escorted by
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Dallas County Heritage Society. Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 4, Number 1, Spring, 1992, periodical, 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth35116/m1/11/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Historical Society.