Question: Do you know how, or if, this skirmish is remembered by historians?
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William Franklin "Matt" Guthrie (1846 Franklin Co TN-1929 Knox Co TX) wrote/dictated in 1929, just before he died, a six-page article about his experiences as a soldier. The problem is that his 1929 article has a few errors and omissions.
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In June 1860, W.F. "Matt" Guthrie was mustered into Capt. Ed Burleson Jr.'s Company A, Mounted Rangers (Jan 1860-Jan 1861 with this job title per Texas Ranger Museum website).
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So that the reader can sort of understand the context of my question, I have assembled a rather lengthly web page that includes facsimiles of his and his widow's CSA pension, his 1929 article, and articles about two of the several skirmishes in which he participated. I suggest that you first scroll down this web page to get an idea of its contents. About half way down the web page in "Reminiscences of a Texas Ranger" is his explanation, with my edits, of the skirmish in question.
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http://www.bourlandcivilwar.com/GuthrieBourlandsRegtCoD.htm
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Burleson ordered First Lieutenant J. E. McCord to take twenty five men with light packs and go to the Rio Grande River above the Big Bend and reinforce Captain [J.S.] Ford, who was having a hard time trying to keep the Mexican bandits on the other side of the river. Captain Ford told Lt. McCord to scout up the river and kill every damned "greaser" he caught up with. The third day out our scout reported a band of Mexicans at Willow Springs [maybe Fayette County]. McCord told us to unsaddle and rest. Just before day light, we surrounded them with orders to take no prisoners. There were twenty-eight killed and ten or twelve surrendered, who were later lined up and shot. We captured forty head of horses and some arms and ammunition. We scouted up and down the River for about thirty-eight days, away back from Junction City [Kimble County] on the big Saline River [maybe Llano River]. We had a running fight with about twenty-five or thirty Indians in which we killed three Indians and captured about seventeen ponies, after which they scattered to the mountains.
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There is a Willow Canyon in Presidio Co TX.
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Question: Do you know how, or if, this skirmish is remembered by historians?
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In June 1860, W.F. "Matt" Guthrie was mustered into Capt. Ed Burleson Jr.'s Company A, Mounted Rangers (Jan 1860-Jan 1861 with this job title).
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Please help make sense of this 1929 article. W.F. Guthrie was one of the fifteen of Bourland's Company D who was in the Oct 13, 1864 Battle of Elm Creek, Young Co TX where five of Bourland's men were killed.
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Patti, prochette@Juno.com
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