Leander H. McNelly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leander H. McNelly
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McNelly in 1875.
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| Birth name | Leander Harvey McNelly |
| Born | March 12, 1844 Follansbee, Virginia, United States |
| Died | September 4, 1877 (aged 33) Burton, Texas, United States |
| Buried |
Mount Zion Cemetery
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| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Service/ |
 Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Unit | 5th Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers |
| Commands held | Texas Rangers |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War Las Cuevas War |
| Spouse(s) | Carey Cheek McNelly |
| Children | 2 |
Leander Harvey McNelly (born March 12, 1844 – died September 4, 1877) was a brave officer in the Confederate Army and a famous Texas Ranger captain. He is best known for leading a special group of Texas Rangers called the "Special Force." This group worked in south Texas from 1875 to 1876, bringing law and order to a wild frontier.
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Early Life and Health
Leander H. McNelly was born on March 12, 1844, in a place called Follansbee, which was then part of Virginia. When he was a child, McNelly was often sick with a lung illness. In 1860, his family moved to Texas. They hoped the warmer climate would help him get better. In Texas, McNelly worked with his family raising sheep, and his health did improve.
Serving in the Civil War
On September 13, 1861, McNelly joined the Confederate States Army. He was part of the Fifth Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers. After a battle called the Battle of Valverde, General Thomas Green made McNelly his special assistant.
After fighting in the Battle of Galveston, McNelly was sent to Louisiana. There, he became an officer on December 19, 1863. He led 100 scouts who worked behind enemy lines. Once, he even went on a spying mission dressed as a woman!
A Clever Capture
McNelly and his men were given a tough mission. They had to capture Brashear City, Louisiana, where 800 Union soldiers were stationed. After dark, McNelly and his small group of 40 soldiers walked back and forth across a long bridge leading to the city. They shouted loudly, pretending to talk to many unseen generals and colonels.
At dawn, McNelly and his small force rode into the Union camp. They carried a white flag, asking the Union soldiers to surrender without a fight. The Union officers believed the loud noises they heard meant a huge Confederate army was outside. So, they surrendered right away! McNelly and his few men were able to capture all 800 Union soldiers.
In April 1864, McNelly was hurt at the Battle of Mansfield. Even so, he never took a break or sick leave during his four years of fighting. In the last months of the war, he led scouts who rounded up soldiers who had left the army. His unit was one of the very last Confederate groups to stop fighting. After the war, McNelly moved to Brenham, where he got married and had two children.
Becoming a Lawman
On July 1, 1870, the governor of Texas, Edmund J. Davis, created a new police force called the Texas State Police. McNelly was chosen as one of its four captains. This new police force had a difficult start. Many officers were accused of bad behavior.
McNelly's most important job with the State Police was in Walker County. He investigated the murder of a man named Sam Jenkins. McNelly arrested four men for the crime. While taking them to jail, McNelly was shot and wounded. The State Police force was eventually closed down on April 22, 1873.
Joining the Texas Rangers
In 1873, the Democratic Party took control of Texas again. In 1874, the new governor, Richard Coke, decided to fight the growing lawlessness. He created two groups of Texas Rangers. One was the Frontier Battalion, and the other was a special group led by McNelly. This "Special Force" was paid for by cattle ranchers.
McNelly's special group had a specific job: to bring order to the Nueces Strip. This area was full of cattle thieves and bandits. A Mexican military leader named Juan Cortina was also causing trouble there.
One of McNelly's first missions was to help end a long-running fight between the Sutton and Taylor families in DeWitt County. McNelly and 40 Rangers stayed in Clinton, Texas, for four months. They made sure that a man named Taylor and the people who spoke against him were safe during his trial. After this, McNelly became ill and went home to rest on his farm near Burton.
Patrolling the Nueces Strip
In April 1875, Governor Coke ordered McNelly to form his special force and go to Nueces County. In just two days, McNelly found 41 men to join him. He chose men who were not from Texas so they wouldn't have to fight against their own friends or family. His group became very loyal to him and called themselves the "Little McNellys."
McNelly was known for being very tough in his methods. He recovered many stolen cattle and fought hard against lawlessness near the Mexican border. He also gained a reputation for being very strict with prisoners. Sometimes, he even crossed into Mexico without permission to catch criminals. His actions were very effective, and he helped stop the problems with Mexican bandits and cattle rustlers along the Rio Grande that had been happening for years.
Facing the Bandits
In 1875, McNelly had to deal with several dangerous bandit gangs. One leader was Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, who had been a general in the Mexican army. For years, Cortina had raided towns near Brownsville, Texas. He would always escape back across the Rio Grande into Mexico to avoid Texas lawmen. Cortina came from a rich family and commanded a force of over 2,000 armed men.
Further north, McNelly faced another gang led by Juan Flores Salinas. This gang was smaller but just as dangerous. Their base was in Camargo, Mexico, right across the border from a U.S. Army outpost near Rio Grande City.
Among American outlaws, McNelly's biggest challenge was a Texas gunman named King Fisher and his gang. Fisher's gang mostly stole cattle from Mexican ranchers across the border. This caused more tension and gave Mexican bandits a reason to raid in the United States.
McNelly moved south to stop these bandit gangs. Within a year, he had largely broken up both Cortina's and Salinas's gangs. He did this by repeatedly crossing the border into Mexico, even when he was told not to. King Fisher's gang also broke up. Fisher himself became a rancher after McNelly arrested him. They made an agreement that Fisher's raids across the border would stop. Fisher later became the Sheriff of Uvalde County.
The Palo Alto Fight
The first big gunfight between the Rangers and Mexican bandits happened in June 1875. McNelly's Rangers surprised sixteen Mexican cattle thieves and one American man. They were driving about 300 stolen cattle toward the Rio Grande. These were some of Cortina's best men, who boasted they could handle any lawmen.
Captain McNelly gave clear orders: "Don't shoot to the left or right. Shoot straight ahead. Don't shoot until you have a good aim. Don't go near a wounded man. Don't pay attention to a white flag; that's a trick bandits use. Don't touch a dead man, except to identify him."
When they saw the Rangers, the bandits ran, pushing the cattle ahead of them. They reached a small island in a salt marsh. The Mexicans then turned and waited for the Rangers to cross the shallow, muddy water. But McNelly expected an ambush. He stopped to give his men a pep talk: "Boys, across this resaca are outlaws who think they are above the law. We will either win completely, or we will lose completely."
The battle, sometimes called the "Red Raid," or the "Second Battle of the Palo Alto," lasted almost all day. It was a series of close-up fights. Many Mexican bandits and horses were killed across a wide area. All the Mexican cattle drivers were killed, as well as an American named Jack Ellis. Two hundred and sixty-five stolen cattle were found and returned to their owners.
Sadly, one Ranger, 17-year-old L. Berry Smith, also died. He was the youngest Ranger ever to die while on duty. Smith got too close to a wounded Mexican bandit, who killed him before Smith knew what was happening. Berry Smith was buried with full military honors on June 16 in the Brownsville cemetery.
The Las Cuevas War
One of Leander McNelly's most famous actions was when he went into Las Cuevas, Mexico, to get back stolen cattle. McNelly and his Rangers entered Mexico on November 20, 1875. They moved quietly on foot to General Juan Flores Salinas's stronghold. During the gunfight, McNelly was shot through both hands.
After resting, Captain McNelly moved his men to the Texas side of the Rio Grande, directly across from Camargo. In another bold move, about a dozen Rangers, not including McNelly, crossed the river in a rowboat. McNelly marched to the customs house and demanded the cattle. When the Mexican Captain tried to delay, McNelly took him prisoner and brought him to the Texas side. He told the Mexican leader to get the cattle back to the U.S. side within an hour, or he would die. The plan worked, and more than 400 cattle were returned to Texas.
Later Life and Death
McNelly suffered from a serious lung disease called tuberculosis. Because his health was getting worse, he retired in 1876. He died on September 4, 1877, in Burton, Texas. He was survived by his wife, Carey Cheek McNelly, and his two children. He is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery near Burton.
Legacy
In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS L. H. McNelly was named in his honor.
