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Fight of Ben McCulloch’s Men on the Llano

Michael has a BA in History & American Studies and an MSc in American History from the University of Edinburgh. He comes from a proud military family and has spent most of his career as an educator in the Middle East and Asia. His passion is travel, and he seizes any opportunity to share his experiences in the most immersive way possible, whether at sea or on the land.

Llano County, Texas

    During the spring of 1841, the Indians made a night raid in the vicinity of Gonzales and drove away a number of horses. The venerable Ben McCulloch hastily called for volunteers. Sixteen men of the neighborhood immediately offered their services and were soon following the Indian trail. Realizing, however, the difficulty of overtaking the retreating savages, Ben McCulloch and his men decided to wait until they were unsuspicious of being followed by the citizens and then proceed.

    When the opportune time arrived the Indian trail was pursued in a northwesterly direction. The rangers realized when they reached the mouth of the Llano they were in close proximity to the Indians and true to expectation, their camp was soon discovered. The Texans, at an unexpected moment, stormed their encampment. When the short conflict was over, five warriors lay dead on the ground and half of the remainder were wounded. Only about eight of the original twenty-two escaped unharmed. Ben McCulloch and his men also captured the Indians' horses, saddles, equipage, blankets, robes and other articles.

The above story is from the book, The West Texas Frontier, by Joseph Carroll McConnell.

Ben McCulloch by Wilbarger

The above description is from the book Indian Depredations in Texas by J.W. Wilbarger.

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