John Joel Glanton facts for kids

John Joel Glanton (born in 1819, died in 1850) was an early settler in Mexican Texas. He was a Texian who fought for Texas independence. Later, he became a Texas Ranger. After the Mexican–American War, he worked as a soldier-for-hire. He led a group called the Glanton Gang, who were known for hunting scalps in the Southwestern United States.

Biography

Early Life and Moves to Texas

Glanton, whose name was sometimes spelled "Gallantin," was born in Edgefield County, South Carolina, in 1819. Some reports say he got into trouble in Tennessee, where his family lived before moving to Texas. He was involved in fighting from a young age.

In 1835, when Glanton was 16, he lived with his parents in Gonzales, Texas. Some stories say he was engaged to be married, but a personal tragedy occurred that year involving the Lipan Apaches.

Military Service and Ranger Days

Glanton took part in early military actions in Texas and the Southwest. He fought in the Texas Revolution and the Mexican–American War. While he was a Texas Ranger in Walter P. Lane's company during the Mexican–American War, an incident happened in 1847. While Glanton was on guard duty in Magdalena, a civilian was harmed. Glanton said the civilian did not stop when he was told to. This event caused problems between Walter P. Lane and General Zachary Taylor. Glanton avoided being arrested by the American army police. He then joined John Coffee Hays's second regiment of the First Texas Mounted Rifles. He fought with Winfield Scott's army in central Mexico.

The Glanton Organization

After the summer of 1849, Glanton and his group were hired by Mexican officials. Their job was to deal with troublesome Apache groups in northern Mexico and what is now the American Southwest. To earn more money, the group started harming peaceful Native Americans and Mexicans. They did this to claim rewards offered for scalps. A soldier named Samuel Chamberlain wrote in his memoir that he was part of this group. According to Chamberlain, Glanton's second-in-command was a Texian known as Judge Holden.

The state of Chihuahua later decided that Glanton's group had broken their agreements. In December 1849, Chihuahua declared them outlaws and offered a reward for their capture. Chihuahuan officials forced them to leave for Sonora. Eventually, they were no longer welcome in Sonora and moved north into the Arizona territory.

The Glanton Massacre

In Arizona, the Glanton group became partners in a ferry business. This ferry was at the Yuma Crossing of the Colorado River. It was a popular spot for settlers and gold prospectors traveling to and from California during the California Gold Rush. There were accusations from other ferry operators that the Glantons sometimes harmed travelers returning from the gold fields to steal their money and goods. Other dramatic stories claim they destroyed a boat and harmed some Quechan people who ran a rival ferry near Pilot Knob.

At dawn on April 23, 1850, a group of Quechans led by Caballo en Pelo attacked the Glanton organization. Most of Glanton's group were killed in this attack. The Quechans did this to make sure their tribe had control of the ferry business. When California officials heard about the attack, they formed a militia. This led to the Gila Expedition, which was an unsuccessful mission against the Quechan tribe.

In Popular Culture

Books and Stories

• Jeremiah Clemens (1814–1865) included Glanton as a character in his novel Bernard Lile (1856). This was one of the first fictional books about the Texas Revolution.
• Samuel Chamberlain (1829–1908) claimed to have been a member of Glanton's gang. He wrote about their activities in his memoir, My Confession.
• Glanton, under the name Gallantin, appears in George MacDonald Fraser's book Flashman and the Redskins (1982). This book is part of The Flashman Papers series of funny novels.
• A fictional version of Glanton and his gang is a big part of Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian (1985). Many events in this book are based on Chamberlain's story. McCarthy made the mysterious Judge Holden (who was Glanton's second-in-command in Chamberlain's memoirs) the main bad guy in his book.
• Glanton, along with another historical scalp hunter named James Kirker, appears briefly at the start of Larry McMurtry's novel Dead Man's Walk (1995). This book is the first part of McMurtry's Lonesome Dove series of four books.
• The seven-page story "A Scalp for a Scalp" was drawn by Russ Heath and written by John Whalen. It is also based on Chamberlain's memoir. This story was included in The Big Book of the Weird Wild West, published by Paradox Press in 1998.
• Hugues Micol [fr]'s graphic novel Scalp: La Chevauchée funèbre de John Glanton et de ses compagnons de carnage was published in 2017. It is also based on Chamberlain's book.

Television Shows

• A 2005 episode of the History Channel series Wild West Tech told the story of the Glanton Gang. It focused on Glanton's actions as a scalp hunter. These scenes were filmed at Old Tucson Studios near Tucson, Arizona.