Rip Ford’s Texas
The Republic of Texas was still in its first exultation over independence when John Salmon "Rip" Ford arrived from South Carolina in June of 1836. Ford stayed to participate in virtually every major event in Texas history during the next sixty years. Doctor, lawyer, surveyor, newspaper reporter, elected representative, and above all, soldier and Indian fighter, Ford sat down in his old age to record the events of the turbulent years through which he had lived. Stephen Oates has edited Ford's memoirs to produce a clear and vigorous personal history of Texas.
John Salmon Ford (1815–1897) was a charter member of the Texas State Historical Association.
Stephen B. Oates (1936–2021) was a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
- Statement of Purpose
- John Salmon "Rip" Ford
- Prologue
- I. My Fighting Stock
- Book 1 : The Wilderness
- II. Old Texians
- III. Pagan Uprisings
- IV. The Continuing War
- V. Star Light, Star Bright
- Book 2: The Valley
- VI. War Begins
- VII. To the Valley of Mexico
- VIII. Los Diablos Tejanos!
- IX. Hunting Guerrilleros
- X. The Magnanimity of Texians
- Book 3: The Trail
- XI. West to El Paso
- XII. The Savage
- XIII. They Did Right Because It Was Right
- XIV. Ready, Aye, Ready
- XV. Savoring of the Superhuman
- XVI. The Tie That Binds
- Book 4: Between Two Rivers
- XVII. El Plan de la Loba
- XVIII. The Era of Suspicion
- XIX. On to the Canadian
- XX. Sleepless Vigilance
- XXI. The Reason Why
- XXII. The Rise of Cheno Cortina
- XXIII. That Vengeful War Cry
- XIV. High Carnival in the Valley
- Book 5: Distant Horizons
- XXV. My Section Is My Country
- XXVI. Rebel Border
- XXVII. Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight!
- XXVIII. The Cavalry of the West
- XXIX. Confederate Revival
- XXX. The Ring of Deceit
- XXXI. Anthem
- Book 6: The Desert and Beyond
- XXXII. Aftermath of Defeat
- XXXIII. Cortina Again
- XXXIV. The End of Innocence
- Appendices
- I. Shapley P. Ross and Times in Old Texas
- II. Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy: The Business Wizards of South Texas
- Bibliography
- Index
