Red Sky Morning: The Epic True Story of Texas Ranger Company F
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-20 19:21:40
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Joe Pappalardo
- ISBN：1250275245
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Summary
The explosive and bloody true history of Texas Rangers Company F， made up of hard men who risked their lives to bring justice to a lawless frontier。
Between 1886 and 1888， Sergeant James Brooks， of Texas Ranger Company F， was engaged in three fatal gunfights， endured disfiguring bullet wounds， engaged in countless manhunts， was convicted of second-degree murder， and rattled Washington， D。C。 with a request for a pardon from the US president。 His story anchors the tale of Joe Pappalardo's Red Sky Morning， an epic saga of lawmen and criminals set in Texas during the waning years of the “Old West。”
Alongside Brooks are the Rangers of Company F， who range from a pious teetotaler to a cowboy fleeing retribution for killing a man。 They are all led by Captain William Scott， who cut his teeth as a freelance undercover informant but was facing the end of his Ranger career。 Company F hunted criminals across Texas and beyond， killing them as needed， and were confident they could bring anyone to “Ranger justice。” But Brooks’ men met their match in the Conner family， East Texas master hunters and jailbreakers who were wanted for their part in a bloody family feud。
The full story of Company F’s showdown with the Conner family is finally being told， with long dead voices being heard for the first time。 This truly hidden history paints the grim picture of neighbors and relatives becoming snitches and bounty hunters， and a company of Texas Rangers who waded into the conflict only to find themselves over their heads – and in the fight of their lives。
Between 1886 and 1888， Sergeant James Brooks， of Texas Ranger Company F， was engaged in three fatal gunfights， endured disfiguring bullet wounds， engaged in countless manhunts， was convicted of second-degree murder， and rattled Washington， D。C。 with a request for a pardon from the US president。 His story anchors the tale of Joe Pappalardo's Red Sky Morning， an epic saga of lawmen and criminals set in Texas during the waning years of the “Old West。”
Alongside Brooks are the Rangers of Company F， who range from a pious teetotaler to a cowboy fleeing retribution for killing a man。 They are all led by Captain William Scott， who cut his teeth as a freelance undercover informant but was facing the end of his Ranger career。 Company F hunted criminals across Texas and beyond， killing them as needed， and were confident they could bring anyone to “Ranger justice。” But Brooks’ men met their match in the Conner family， East Texas master hunters and jailbreakers who were wanted for their part in a bloody family feud。
The full story of Company F’s showdown with the Conner family is finally being told， with long dead voices being heard for the first time。 This truly hidden history paints the grim picture of neighbors and relatives becoming snitches and bounty hunters， and a company of Texas Rangers who waded into the conflict only to find themselves over their heads – and in the fight of their lives。
Reviews
John
，
Thanks to the publisher， St。 Martin’s Press， and to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review。 This is the story of Texas Rangers Company F and their role in Texas history。 Company F was formed after the Mexican War， Civil War and most of the Indian wars。 Company F was created for one purpose， to chase robbers， killers， rustlers and fence cutters， and they did their job well。 The primary focus is on two Rangers， James Brooks and Captain Wil Thanks to the publisher， St。 Martin’s Press， and to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review。 This is the story of Texas Rangers Company F and their role in Texas history。 Company F was formed after the Mexican War， Civil War and most of the Indian wars。 Company F was created for one purpose， to chase robbers， killers， rustlers and fence cutters， and they did their job well。 The primary focus is on two Rangers， James Brooks and Captain William Scott。 It details Brooks involvement in a shooting in the Indian Territory and subsequent trial in Fort Smith， Arkansas。 In even more detail it follows the long search for the feuding Connor family in Sabine county， Texas that involved a major shootout with the Rangers。 In between it touches on the fight against fence cutters and the bitter fight in Texas between the small ranchers who favored an open range and the larger ranchers who supported fences。 At times it reads like a genealogy book as the author goes into painful detail of every character’s family history and who begat who。 And in the middle of the book he throws in a chapter on the modern idiocy of removing a Ranger statue by the woke crowd。 That would have been better held until the end。 On the positive side he does a wonderful job of bringing in historical detail on the old west。 Following a remote shootout where several Rangers were badly injured he discussed field surgeries and roles of the local country doctors in great detail。 I found that fascinating。 There was also much interesting details about the famous court in Fort Smith and the fence cutting war。 But continuing that genealogy bent rather than ending the book with the retirement of the Rangers and end of the company， he follows their post Ranger lives in painful detail until their deaths。 That made the end drag and could have been shortened considerably。 Overall it was an interesting book for anyone interested in Old West， Texas Ranger or Texas history。 。。。more
Ron Baumer
，
A truly interesting look at the Texas Rangers。 The story was intriguing and really holds your interest。 A great book for the western fan。Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review。
Patricia Romero
，
The Texas Rangers cast a big shadow。 One of myth and legend but not many known facts。This is the story of one group of Rangers。 They did a lot more than hunt down bad guys。 There were land disputes， cattle disputes， Indian problems， and even family feuds。Sergeant James Brooks was with Company F， and between 1886 and 1888， he was in three fatal fights， had many bullet wounds， chased down countless outlaws， and was even convicted of murder！While they may have had a larger-than-life presence， when The Texas Rangers cast a big shadow。 One of myth and legend but not many known facts。This is the story of one group of Rangers。 They did a lot more than hunt down bad guys。 There were land disputes， cattle disputes， Indian problems， and even family feuds。Sergeant James Brooks was with Company F， and between 1886 and 1888， he was in three fatal fights， had many bullet wounds， chased down countless outlaws， and was even convicted of murder！While they may have had a larger-than-life presence， when they meet the Conners， they may be in over their heads。This was a challenge to read。 Timelines jumped。 Obviously， the author did his research， but it just didn’t feel organized to me。 And I did feel lost a few times。NetGalley/June 28th， 2022 by St。 Martin’s Press 。。。more
Jeremy Booty
，
This book is a compelling and interesting history of the Texas Rangers， life on the frontier as it lurched toward the 20th century and the murderous feuds that were then part of life in east Texas。 However， the book is so poorly edited as to make it nearly unreadable。 At every point where the narrative really begins to move it comes to a screeching halt because we are taken back another ten or twenty years to tell yet another story。 This is no more true than at what would have been the natural e This book is a compelling and interesting history of the Texas Rangers， life on the frontier as it lurched toward the 20th century and the murderous feuds that were then part of life in east Texas。 However， the book is so poorly edited as to make it nearly unreadable。 At every point where the narrative really begins to move it comes to a screeching halt because we are taken back another ten or twenty years to tell yet another story。 This is no more true than at what would have been the natural end of the story-the retirement of the main characters-we are forced endure what they did literally until they were buried。 It is as if the author， having gathered so much material， felt compelled to use all of it whether or not it contributed to the book。 This book can only be gotten through by liberal page skipping， which is a shame because at the core of the book there lies a terrific story 。。。more
David
，
This book tells a lot of engaging stories about Company F of the Texas Rangers in its heyday， and honestly it makes me more interested in finding a more broad and general history of the Rangers as an overall organization。 I would say that the book could have used a firmer editorial hand when it comes to structure and content。 It meanders a bit and could stand to be tightened up somewhat。 Still， an enjoyable read。Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity！
Dan
，
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher St。 Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this history and biography featuring the Texas Rangers。Texas Rangers exist in that netherworld of both fact and whole lot more known better fiction in the thoughts of most Americans。 Many might know the "One riot， one ranger" comment， but it could have been said by Walker， Texas Ranger。 Many know Bonnie and Clyde， but not know about Frank Hamer who led the posse that led to their death。 And few probably know My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher St。 Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this history and biography featuring the Texas Rangers。Texas Rangers exist in that netherworld of both fact and whole lot more known better fiction in the thoughts of most Americans。 Many might know the "One riot， one ranger" comment， but it could have been said by Walker， Texas Ranger。 Many know Bonnie and Clyde， but not know about Frank Hamer who led the posse that led to their death。 And few probably know about the Porvenir massacre where a group of Rangers， ranchers and some calvary killed 15 unarmed men and boys from Mexico。 The Texas Rangers are in the minds of many brave men who fought gutless desperados and tamed a wild west。 Not men who stood trial for murder， were used as tools by the powerful to close off the west， and at one point planted dynamite traps to stop barbed wire cutters。 These stories and more are told in Joe Pappalardo's Red Sky Morning: The Epic True Story of Texas Ranger Company F， about just one group of rangers and their adventures in slowly changing west。The book focuses on the two Rangers in particular， James Brooks who was a tough as they came with the wounds to show and a murder trial to prove it。 And Captain William Scott who led the Company F in their pursuit of rustlers and fence cutters who fought against the closing of the west by fencing the plains。 Their opposite would be the Connor family， a brutal group whose father had no problem shooting first， and shooting to kill。 These two groups were fated to meet in a way that would change most of their lives forever。 The book takes on a lot of history not just of the Rangers， but of Texas， cattle industry， free range， barb wire cutting， law politics， rustling， the use of informers in law enforcement。 A lot。 The book is interesting but the amount of characters and the points of view changing can get a little much， and might be a tad tough to follow。 I enjoyed the book， but I do have to admit I might have gotten lost a time or two。 There is a lot of detail for just a biography on Company F， and I can see where people might have problems。 Though again， I still admit I liked it。Recommended for Fathers who like the west， and want something more than a good guys， bad guys story。 For readers of Jeff Guinn's The Last Gunfight， or War on the Border， Nathan Gorenstein's The Guns of John Moses Browning， even Bryan Burroughs Forget the Alamo。 。。。more
William Harris
，
I have just finished the rather arduous task of wading through Joe Pappalardo's "Red Sky Morning: The Epic True Story of Texas Ranger Company F" from an ARC graciously provided to me by St。 Martin's Press。 Candidly， I am somewhat at a loss for how to respond here。 In fairness， there is a lot of detail about life in Texas in the late 19th Century here。 On the other hand， and far more important to this reviewer， the ramshackle approach to the narrative structure makes this a tedious read indeed。 I I have just finished the rather arduous task of wading through Joe Pappalardo's "Red Sky Morning: The Epic True Story of Texas Ranger Company F" from an ARC graciously provided to me by St。 Martin's Press。 Candidly， I am somewhat at a loss for how to respond here。 In fairness， there is a lot of detail about life in Texas in the late 19th Century here。 On the other hand， and far more important to this reviewer， the ramshackle approach to the narrative structure makes this a tedious read indeed。 It puts me in mind of a Master's Thesis in search of a thesis。 Its jumping off point， and occasional touchstone， is Company F of the Texas Rangers and their involvement in a number of cases but principally one that reads like a kind of Hatfield and McCoy story set in East Texas with a large cast of colorful characters。 That said， the author's narrative structure often defeats whatever point it is he thinks he is making。 Confusing time jumps， shifts in tense and the extremely disjointed and anecdotal presentation of the information available simply makes this text a "bridge too far" for this reader。 There is useful information here， and the author has made an obvious attempt to document his facts， but the organizational failures here obscure and interfere with any emergent narrative that may be present。 。。。more
Natalie
，
Red Sky MorningBy Joe PappalardoThis is a work of non-fiction purportedly about the Texas Ranger Company F in the late 1800s。 Through a string of loosely strung together anecdotes， the author presents bits and pieces of stories about various Texas Rangers at the time - but much more about family feuds， outlaws， the closing off of the open range in Texas and other stories having little direct relevance to the Rangers。There is much information about the Connor family， many of whom were involved in Red Sky MorningBy Joe PappalardoThis is a work of non-fiction purportedly about the Texas Ranger Company F in the late 1800s。 Through a string of loosely strung together anecdotes， the author presents bits and pieces of stories about various Texas Rangers at the time - but much more about family feuds， outlaws， the closing off of the open range in Texas and other stories having little direct relevance to the Rangers。There is much information about the Connor family， many of whom were involved in killings and feuds and several of whom landed in prison for years。 The author spends a great deal of time giving background details about husbands and wives， fathers and sons， and various other family members and neighbors， friends and foes: How long they lived， when they died， where they were buried etc。 The cast of characters becomes unwieldy and I found myself mired down in all this and lost track often of who these people even were。If you are really interested in background about the Texas Rangers of that period， I don't think you will find much to interest you here。 This is just a compendium of extraneous information about life in Texas （Sabine County） and Louisiana during that time。 。。。more
Bonnye Reed
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