Published: May 09, 2008 10:01 am         

The bloodiest and longest time in Texas History

During the great Civil War, Texas was spared the destruction other Southern states had to endure. There were no major battles fought here and with the peace signed at Appomattox, the state should have been on the road for a prosperous future, but unrepentant rebels would not allow it. One of the bloodiest and violent episodes which lasted almost thirty years was the “Taylor - Sutton feud.” Occurring in nearly forty-five counties of Texas, this attempt to reestablish life as it was before the defeat of the South was a continuation of the Civil War. This bloody saga is well told in The Feud That Wasn’t written by James M. Smallwood published by Texas A&M University Press.

At the end of the war, Union troops occupied Texas. Their presence and the freedom of former slaves caused a spark of resentment that soon grew into a fire storm. Creed Taylor and his family roamed the country, killing and stealing at will. Particular targets included Union loyalists and freedmen. Their actions were often enforced by John Wesley Hardin, the notorious gun fighter, a murderer with a reputation of killing a man while he slept because he “snored too loud.”

Pro-Union law officers, mainly the newly created State Police tried to stop the violence, but with few and often inexperienced officers, the Taylor outlaws roamed at will. Their opposition was mainly a group led by William Sutton, a Karnes County deputy sheriff. Both sides committed crimes in the name of self-protection and law enforcement. Usually, the killings were ambushes or by trickery. One killing resulted in the side killing one or more of their rivals.

Finally after the murder of Jim Taylor, the feud ground to a halt. The death of John Wesley Hardin by John Selman in El Paso brought the “feud” to an end. Thousands of dollars in property and cattle had been stolen or destroyed and hundreds of men, often innocent were killed.

The Feud That Wasn’t is an excellent book. It mentions the postwar activities which occurred after the war in Limestone County. The book will interest anyone interested in Texas history. 6x9, 256 pages, 13 b/w photos, 6 maps, It can be ordered at 800-826-8911.