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Here you go Mike.

JOHN J. TUMLINSON

Security Lower Guadalupe River
Siege & Battle of Bexar
Comanche Raid on Linnville 1840
The Battle of Plum Creek 1840 (unclear)

Tumlinson was born 19 Dec 1804 in probably NC (some records call him a native of Tennessee), was a military leader and Indian fighter involved in security of the DeWitt Colony, particularly the area around current Cuero covering most of current DeWitt County and northern Victoria County. He arrived in the DeWitt Colony in Dec 1829 with a family of 2 in land records and received a sitio on the east bank of the Guadalupe River adjacent to the Jose Valdez tract on which Cuero became located through purchase by Samuel Williams subsequent owners. He was commissioned by the Provisional Government of Texas in Nov 1835 to form a company of rangers for protection of an area northwest of current Austin and is considered one of the earliest "official" Texas Ranger captains. With his company, he served in the Siege and Battle of Bexar.

In Feb. 1836, Capt. Tumlinsons company was in the area when Mrs. Hibbins appeared at the Hornsbys after her escape from Comanches which had taken her and children captive after murdering her husband and brother (and subsequently her baby) while returning from a visit to her home in IL. Capt. Tumlinson knew Mrs. Hibbins well who had lived in the Cuero area where her previous husband McSherry was also murdered by Indians. Capt. Tumlinson gave immediate pursuit following Mrs. Hibbins description. According to author John Henry Brown, Tumlinson knew the country and was sure he could intercept the Indians further up the country. After traveling all night stopping only to rest his horses, he encountered the Indians about 9 AM just as they were breaking camp which Capt. Tumlinson described in his own words.

"The Indians discovered us just as we discovered them, but had not time to get their horses, so they commenced running on foot towards the mountain thickets. I threw Lieut. Joseph Rogers, with eight men, below them--and with the others I dashed past and took possession of their route above them. The Indians saw that the route above and below them was in our possession, and struck off for the mountain thicket nearest the side of the trail. I ordered Lieut. Rogers to charge, and fell upon them simultaneously. I saw an Indian aiming his rifle at me, but knew that he must be a better marksman than I had seen among them to hit me going at my horse's speed, and did not heed him till I got among them. Then I sprang from my horse quick as lightning, and turned towards him; at the same instant he fired; the ball passed through the bosom of my shirt and struck my horse in the neck, killing him immediately. I aimed deliberately and fired. The Indian sprang a few feet into the air, gave one whoop and fell dead within twenty-five feet of me. The fight now became general. Pell-mell we fell together. The Indians, thirteen in number, armed with bows and rifles, were endeavoring to make good their retreat towards the thicket. Several of them fell, and two of my men were wounded; when finally they effected an entrance into the thicket, which was so dense that it would have been madness to have attempted to penetrate it, and we were forced to cease the pursuit. I dispatched Rogers after the child, the horses and mules of the Indians, whilst I remained watching the thicket to guard against surprise. He found the child in the Indian camp tied on the back of a wild mule, with his robe and equipment about him fixed on for the day's march, and had to shoot the mule in order to get the child. He also succeeded in getting hold of all the animals of the Indians, and those they had stolen. My men immediately selected the best horse in the lot, which they presented to me in place of the one that was killed. We watched for the Indians a while longer and in the meantime sent a runner for the doctor to see to the wounded. I sent a portion of the men under the command of Rogers with the child, and the wounded men and I brought up the rear. The wounded were Elijah Ingram, shot in the arm, the ball ranging upwards to the shoulder; also Hugh M. Childers, shot through the leg. Of the Indians, four were killed. We arrived that night at Mr. Harrell's, where we found Mrs. Hibbins, the mother of the child. Lieut. Rogers presented the child to its mother, and the scene which here ensued beggars description. A mother meeting with her child released from Indian captivity, recovered as it were from the very jaws of death! Not an eye was dry. She called us brothers, and every other endearing name, and would have fallen on her knees to worship us. She hugged her child to her bosom as if fearful that she would again lose him. And---but tis useless to say more."

The following is the uncompleted roster showing dates of service of Capt Tumlinson's Rangers who participated in the rescue of the Hibbons child. The compilation was contributed by and is part of the ongoing research of James D. Gray. It has been compiled largely from records in the Texas General Land Office and Archives of the Audited Claims of the Republic of Texas. Capt. Tumlinson received his appointment as a result of the independence Consultation of November 1835 at San Felipe de Austin. As indicated on land claims, the troop was under command of Major Robert M. Williamson who was also appointed at the consultation.
OFFICERS
Captain John J. Tumlinson (28 Nov 1835-17 Aug)
1st Lt. Joseph Rogers (28 Nov 1835-9 Aug; Died 9 Aug)
2nd Lt. George M. Petty (28 Nov 1835-March 1836; resigned)
PRIVATES
Hugh M. Childress (17 Jan-18 July) (Wounded)
Joseph Cottle (3 Feb-26 Apr)
James Edmunston (9 Feb 1836 -)
Felix W. Goff (17 Jan-17 Apr)
James P. Gorman (3 Feb-3 May)
Daniel Gray (3 Feb-20 Jul)
Joshua Gray (4 Feb-27 Apr) (Died 27 Apr)
Thomas Gray (3 Feb-26 Apr)
James Haggard (3 Feb-27 Apr)
Howell Haggard (1 Feb-14 May) (Died 14 May)
Eligah W. Ingram (18 Jan-14 Feb)
(Badly wounded, discharged at Hornsby's)
Robert B. Owen (2 Feb-15 Mar)
Henry P. Redfield (10 Feb-15 May)
Noah Smithwick (29 Jan-29 Apr)
Joseph Weakes (8 Feb-15 Mar)

Ruben Hornsby/ Scout
Conrad Roarer (Rohrer)/ Wagon Master

By consensus, Capt. Tumlinson became the commander of companies led by Capt. Ben McCulloch from Gonzales and "Black" Adam Zumwalt from the Lavaca River settlements in pursuit of Comanches moving through the colony on to Victoria and Linnville on the coast.

Capt. Tumlinson served in Company F under Capt. Heard at San Jacinto. He was a farmer, rancher and land trader in addition to his role as a minuteman ranger in security of the colony against Indian and Mexican raids. His first wife Laura Cottle was the daughter of Stephen and Sarah Turner Cottle of the Austin Colony. Laura Cottle was the sister of Harriett Cottle, wife of Capt. Tumlinson's brother Andrew. After wife Laura and their son Joseph died, Capt. Tumlinson moved to the community of Clinton on the Chisholm tract across the Guadalupe River from current Cuero. Tumlinson married Delaney Aster then her sister Mary Ann Aster. John Tumlinson died in May 1853 leaving one known heir, daughter Amanda L. Tumlinson. She was raised by John's brother Peter in Atascosa County and married Cullen W. Edwards.

Roger, one of my Great Grandmother’s was a Edwards.
Looked up Cullin W Edwards, that Tumlinson’s daughter married on my Family Search .Org app and it appears we are distant cousins. 😬

Small world ! 🤠

Guess that Bowie knife I sold ya “stayed in the family, “ after all ! 😬

Yep. I bet his asswhole was puckering when his fast horse carried him ahead into the middle of the Comanche war party.
Good stuff ! 🤠

Pretty cool, I'd have to check but I believe the Captian's mother was my grandmother 5 back on my Dad's side, after her husband was killed by Waco Indians in 1821 on his way to San Antonio to with the alacade "governor"? to form the Rangers, she married Lewis Demoss and their Daughter married a Hunter.

Very cool thread. Too bad Bill is no longer with us. When I first visited with him right after I retired (he kindly invited me to his "graduate" school of all things Sharps & the "art" of Holy Black Powder after ET gifted me a Sharps on the occasion of my retirement), he showed me his knives and how and where he made them. I always wanted one of his knives and I eventually got on his waiting list, but unfortunately, he passed away. Gunner 500 I know has one of his knives, maybe he can post a picture.

My buddy Andy Babin has a couple as well Jorge.

Tumlinson built a blockhouse up north of Brushy creek. Up between present Cedar Park and Leander. (Blockhouse creek subdivision now). Furtherest white post to the NW in 1837!

Currently sells ng my place here and moving west. But This place is on the 1831 grant of the Lt. Joseph Rogers above. He was killed by a Comanche lance between Hornsby’s place and the Eastland blockhouse while running powder and ball from the blockhouse to Hornsby’s. Rogers was married to Edward Burleson’s sister. Their old cemetery is right up the road. Derelict. I showed Birdy where it was and often contemplated it was the final resting spot of James Burleson. Edwards father and second husband of Mary Christian-Burleson. Who’s first husband was killed and scalped in the famous Wilbarger massacre. James was a war of 1812 vet and vet of siege of Bexar and the famous grass fight. He succumbed to pneumonia right after siege of Bexar.

Conrad Rohrer was killed by Comanches while saddling his horse in the front yard of Mr. Moore’s cabin on Onion creek just south of the present Austin/Bergstrom Int. Airport. It was Rohrer who initially rode up to the Hibbuns boy, who was wrapped in a buffalo robe on horseback and tried to discharge his pistol i to the boy thinking he was a comanche. Luckily the pistol misfired.

Several of the stories of the Hibbins rescue state that Mrs Hibbins made her escape way up on Walnut creek. But this makes little sense. A more likely candidate would be Shoal creek that runs thru present central and downtown Austin as she stated she escaped when they got to the edge of the western “mountains”. And she kept these mountains to her right as she made her way south to the Colorado river.

Oops. Forgot to mention. Location of the Eastland blockhouse is about a mile west of the intersection of US 183 and MLK blvd in east Austin. One had to cross a well established crossing and road at Walnut Creek (route between Hornsby’s and the blockhouse) to get the Colorado. Had Mrs. Hibbins used walnut creek for escape she would have passed this crossing. It was just east of this crossing where Joseph Rogers was killed.

Mrs. Hibbins stated that when she got to the Colorado she got in the river and started traveling downstream. She only got out when she saw several milk cows watering at the bank. These were Reuben Hornsby’s cows. She knew she was close to a friendly spot then.

There is another good story from Eastland Blockhouse of the ranging company witnessing a large fire to the south approx. 5 or 6 miles off. They suspected it was a Comanche camp. They are pretty sure now it was the big hill where St. Edwards univ. is presently located. They immediately organized a patrol to investigate. But upon their arrival they discovered an empty camp as the Indians had left. But there was evidence they had had a large dance and gathering. Probably much better deal for the ranging company.

In the James Black wiki page, it mentioned that he went and set up a forge and a mill and was run off after the locals determined it to be Indian land. Im pretty sure I know where that is. It is a slough that is called Mill Slough where there was a known mill later in the 19th Century. But it is about five or six miles from what was then the main/only white settlement in the area on a river crossing of what was possibly the military road to Fort Towson. It would fit the same thing he did with his first shop. Move a few miles from the main settlement at a prominent location and wait for business.

I figure after the Indians were shuffled further west and someone was looking for a place to build a new mill, they just moved into a place where the pond and the courses had already been built.

Fort Towson is a cool place! We have events there.

I have one of those too! They are both cool and ridiculous at the same time. Someone included a poorly made sheath with mine, but it's not original to the knife. There is a fella in Saxis, VA that is an excellent sheath maker, I am going to have to send him a good outline of the blade and get a proper sheath made for it so I can never carry it anyway...

This is the quintessential Bowie, IMO.

I've been looking for one of his sub-hilts, if I find I would sell a gun or two to get it.

Conrad Rohrer was apparently a large, profane German. He’s the guy Smithwick recalls bashing in the skull of the Indian he shot after said Indian shot Tumlinson’s horse, narrowly missing Tumlinson.

If Smithwick’s account, delivered about sixty years after the fact, differs in some minor details from Tumlinson’s, time is unlikely to have obscured the details of Rohrer being the guy who scalped the dead Indian and tied the “loathsome trophy” to Smithwick’s saddle.

Two month’s later, Rohrer was a teamster with Sam Houston’s retreating army, and he was the big, tough guy bested by a Mrs Pamela Mann when she reclaimed her oxen, an incident long since ingrained in Texas folklore. See....

https://www.thc.texas.gov/blog/unheralded-heroes

I don’t know if the Robert Hancock Hunter from who’s eyewitness account the incident is drawn, also was a blood relative of Roger.

Further down the page, the Mexican General Manuel Fernandez Castrillon, who died at San Jacinto, was the same guy who reportedly offered his protection to the last group of survivors in the church at the Alamo ( possibly including David Crockett), only to be overruled by Santa Anna.

The other Mexican General mentioned, Juan Almonte, had been sent to school in New Orleans as a youth for his own safety while his father fought for Mexican independence and so spoke fluent English.

Almonte’s declining to open fire on the new Republic of Texas President Steven Burnett and his family even though Santa Anna was at that point desperate for any victory or any arrest at all, can only have added to Santa Anna’s decision to rush north to San Jacinto to cut off any possible escape attempt by Houston and his army on the ferry there.

B.E. hunter came to Texas in 1870 and married Isabella DeMoss, the earliest reference that I know of.

Where is it located, Bob ?

. Just across the river from Paris. And east of Hugo. When you cross the river turn right and go thru Frogville. Nice drive

Thanks. I’d never heard of it.

Here is an article about a knife identified by an expert as a probable James Black knife at known river crossing where elements of the Mexican Army crossed between the Alamo and San Jacinto.

It is a three part article with a link to the next part at the end of each. It’s pretty interesting to me as that I am familiar with most of the areas mentioned.

https://blademag.com/knife-history/the-sea-of-mud-knife-james-bowies-knife-found-pt-2/amp

Archaeologist son did a mitigation of a plantation site on Trammels Trace down by Tatum Texas. Found some cool stuff. Found a gunlock (flint) in the kitchen around the fire hearth they believe they were using as a fire starter. No other gun parts ( other than a tow worm) found. Just speculation. But interesting.