
The history of the Arizona Rangers is one of integrity, pride, and unequaled law enforcement service. Our long commitment to the history of Arizona is built upon the dedication of men and women who, over the decades, committed themselves to a life of public service. No matter how distant, how difficult, or how dangerous, the Arizona Rangers has always answered the call for service.
The Arizona Rangers had been preceded by the organization of the Arizona Territorial Rangers in 1860. This group was formed by the 1860 Provisional Territorial Government, principally to protect against Apache raids. The intent was to have three companies of Territorial Rangers; two were formed in the mining camp of Pinos Altos, known as the Arizona Guards and the Minute Men, and another, the Arizona Rangers, in Mesilla by Captain James Henry Tevis. With the arrival of Baylors Confederate Army in Mesilla and his declaration of a Confederate Territory of Arizona in early 1862, the Arizona Territorial Rangers were disbanded by Captain Tevis who joined the San Elizario Spy Company in the Confederate Army.
The Confederate Territorial Governor, General Baylor eventually saw the need for the Rangers and formed Company A, Arizona Rangers as the first of three companies for the defense of Arizona Territory. It was commanded by Captain Sherod Hunter and Second Lieutenant James Henry Tevis. The Arizona Rangers were sent to Tucson to defend western Arizona Territory.
When the California Column drove the Confederates out of Arizona Territory, plans for organizing the Arizona Rangers were put off for years. In the early 1880’s, Arizona was not only having an Indian war , but border crimes and killings were making Arizona unfit to live in. Upon taking office, Governor Frederick Augustus Tritle faced a problem of lawlessness within the territory caused by outlaw cowboys and hostile natives. On April 24, 1882 he authorized formation of the 1st Company of the Arizona Rangers in Tombstone making John H. Jackson its Captain. They were to be similar to Texas Rangers and combat outlaws and hostile Indians. His first assignment to the Rangers was to scout near the border of the territory for Indians, and for those who recently killed a teamster there.
The Rangers Captain was only able to pay the first month’s wages, and the Governor despite his best efforts was never able to get them funded by the Territorial Legislature or Congress. On May 20, 1882 the Governor wrote his last known letter to Captain Jackson concerning the Arizona Rangers.
The approval to organize a company of Arizona Rangers arrived in the form of a bill approved in 1901 by the twenty-first Arizona Legislative Assembly. The current Governor, Nathan Oakes Murphy, succeeded in getting funding where the 1882 attempt failed.
On March 21, 1901, the legislative act became effective authorizing the organization of a company of Rangers. Fourteen men staffed the organization; One Captain hired at $120.00 per month, one Sergeant hired at $75.00 per month, and twelve Privates hired at $55.00 each per month.
Modeled after the Texas Rangers, the Arizona Rangers were created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901, and subsequently disbanded in 1909. They were created to deal with the infestations of outlaws, especially rustlers, in the sparsely populated Territory of Arizona, especially along the Mexican border. The Rangers were an elite, well trained, and secretive agency mounted on the best horses money could buy and well equipped with modern weapons at State expense. They were very effective in apprehending members of outlaw bands, often surprising them by descending on them without warning.
On August 30, 1901, Burton C. Mossman of Bisbee, Arizona became the first Captain of the Arizona Rangers. Mossman, who had previously been manager of the two million acre Aztec Land and Cattle Co., also called the “Hash Knife outfit,” in northern Arizona near Holbrook and Winslow, had some success in controlling rustling of his company’s cattle. He spoke Spanish, was a rough rider and was a great storyteller.
In July 1902 after successfully recruiting and organizing the original Rangers, Mossman resigned, returning to the cattle business. Rumors had it that Mossman did not want to work under a new governor. The second Captain was Thomas Rynning, who had been enlisted in the Eighth Cavalry, rode with General Miles, was a track and field competitor, also a Rough Rider as his predecessor, and had been building railroad bridges for Southern Pacific before joining the Arizona Rangers.
Badges of the Arizona Rangers were first issued in 1903 under Rynning’s command. They were solid silver five-pointed ball-tipped stars, lettered in blue enamel with engravings etched in blue, and are a valuable collectible. An officer’s badge was engraved with the Ranger’s name, while badges for enlisted men were numbered. Upon resignation, a Ranger returned his badge, which was then available to be assigned to a new Ranger. In March 1903, the authorized force was increased to 26. The Rangers, many of whom in the early years were veterans of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, were skilled horsemen, trackers and marksmen. Rynning started a thorough training program with the Rangers. Captain Rynning resigned on March 20, 1907.
On February 15, 1909 the act establishing the Arizona Rangers was repealed. During the seven and a half years of its existence, 107 men served in the Rangers (see appendix). The vote to disband was vetoed by republican Territorial Governor Joseph Henry Kibbey, but the democratic-dominated assembly overrode the veto, backed by political pressure from county sheriffs and district attorneys in northern Arizona. The Arizona Rangers were extremely capable men whose exploits were extensively reported by the newspapers of the day. After the Arizona Rangers disbanded, many of the former Rangers stayed in law enforcement. Tom Rynning was a prison warden in Yuma Arizona. Harry Wheeler became the Sheriff of Cochise County.
Re-established in 1957 by a few surviving original Territorial Arizona Rangers, the present day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the state of Arizona in 2002, when Arizona Governor Jane Hull signed Legislative Act 41. The purpose of this act was “to recognize the Arizona Rangers, who formed in 1901, disbanded in 1909 and reestablished in 1957 by original Arizona Rangers.”
The present day Arizona Rangers are an unpaid, all volunteer, non-profit 501(c)(3), law enforcement support and assistance civilian auxiliary in the State of Arizona who work cooperatively at the request of and under the direction, control, and supervision of established law enforcement officials and officers. They also provide youth support and community service and work to preserve the tradition, honor, and history of the 1901–1909 Arizona Rangers. The Arizona Rangers operate throughout the State of Arizona through nineteen satellite companies, which are the equivalent of separate posts of the same organization. In other words, the Companies are not separate legal entities. The Companies are known by the name of the organization and the geographical areas from which a particular Company draws its members. For example, the Company primarily based in the Tucson area is known as the Arizona Rangers – Tucson Company.
Today’s Arizona Rangers receive extensive training and are well prepared to supplement law enforcement when called upon.
The Arizona Rangers had been preceded by the organization of the Arizona Territorial Rangers in 1860. This group was formed by the 1860 Provisional Territorial Government, principally to protect against Apache raids. The intent was to have three companies of Territorial Rangers; two were formed in the mining camp of Pinos Altos, known as the Arizona Guards and the Minute Men, and another, the Arizona Rangers, in Mesilla by Captain James Henry Tevis. With the arrival of Baylors Confederate Army in Mesilla and his declaration of a Confederate Territory of Arizona in early 1862, the Arizona Territorial Rangers were disbanded by Captain Tevis who joined the San Elizario Spy Company in the Confederate Army.
The Confederate Territorial Governor, General Baylor eventually saw the need for the Rangers and formed Company A, Arizona Rangers as the first of three companies for the defense of Arizona Territory. It was commanded by Captain Sherod Hunter and Second Lieutenant James Henry Tevis. The Arizona Rangers were sent to Tucson to defend western Arizona Territory.
When the California Column drove the Confederates out of Arizona Territory, plans for organizing the Arizona Rangers were put off for years. In the early 1880’s, Arizona was not only having an Indian war , but border crimes and killings were making Arizona unfit to live in. Upon taking office, Governor Frederick Augustus Tritle faced a problem of lawlessness within the territory caused by outlaw cowboys and hostile natives. On April 24, 1882 he authorized formation of the 1st Company of the Arizona Rangers in Tombstone making John H. Jackson its Captain. They were to be similar to Texas Rangers and combat outlaws and hostile Indians. His first assignment to the Rangers was to scout near the border of the territory for Indians, and for those who recently killed a teamster there.
The Rangers Captain was only able to pay the first month’s wages, and the Governor despite his best efforts was never able to get them funded by the Territorial Legislature or Congress. On May 20, 1882 the Governor wrote his last known letter to Captain Jackson concerning the Arizona Rangers.
The approval to organize a company of Arizona Rangers arrived in the form of a bill approved in 1901 by the twenty-first Arizona Legislative Assembly. The current Governor, Nathan Oakes Murphy, succeeded in getting funding where the 1882 attempt failed.
On March 21, 1901, the legislative act became effective authorizing the organization of a company of Rangers. Fourteen men staffed the organization; One Captain hired at $120.00 per month, one Sergeant hired at $75.00 per month, and twelve Privates hired at $55.00 each per month.
Modeled after the Texas Rangers, the Arizona Rangers were created by the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1901, and subsequently disbanded in 1909. They were created to deal with the infestations of outlaws, especially rustlers, in the sparsely populated Territory of Arizona, especially along the Mexican border. The Rangers were an elite, well trained, and secretive agency mounted on the best horses money could buy and well equipped with modern weapons at State expense. They were very effective in apprehending members of outlaw bands, often surprising them by descending on them without warning.
On August 30, 1901, Burton C. Mossman of Bisbee, Arizona became the first Captain of the Arizona Rangers. Mossman, who had previously been manager of the two million acre Aztec Land and Cattle Co., also called the “Hash Knife outfit,” in northern Arizona near Holbrook and Winslow, had some success in controlling rustling of his company’s cattle. He spoke Spanish, was a rough rider and was a great storyteller.
In July 1902 after successfully recruiting and organizing the original Rangers, Mossman resigned, returning to the cattle business. Rumors had it that Mossman did not want to work under a new governor. The second Captain was Thomas Rynning, who had been enlisted in the Eighth Cavalry, rode with General Miles, was a track and field competitor, also a Rough Rider as his predecessor, and had been building railroad bridges for Southern Pacific before joining the Arizona Rangers.
Badges of the Arizona Rangers were first issued in 1903 under Rynning’s command. They were solid silver five-pointed ball-tipped stars, lettered in blue enamel with engravings etched in blue, and are a valuable collectible. An officer’s badge was engraved with the Ranger’s name, while badges for enlisted men were numbered. Upon resignation, a Ranger returned his badge, which was then available to be assigned to a new Ranger. In March 1903, the authorized force was increased to 26. The Rangers, many of whom in the early years were veterans of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, were skilled horsemen, trackers and marksmen. Rynning started a thorough training program with the Rangers. Captain Rynning resigned on March 20, 1907.
On February 15, 1909 the act establishing the Arizona Rangers was repealed. During the seven and a half years of its existence, 107 men served in the Rangers (see appendix). The vote to disband was vetoed by republican Territorial Governor Joseph Henry Kibbey, but the democratic-dominated assembly overrode the veto, backed by political pressure from county sheriffs and district attorneys in northern Arizona. The Arizona Rangers were extremely capable men whose exploits were extensively reported by the newspapers of the day. After the Arizona Rangers disbanded, many of the former Rangers stayed in law enforcement. Tom Rynning was a prison warden in Yuma Arizona. Harry Wheeler became the Sheriff of Cochise County.
Re-established in 1957 by a few surviving original Territorial Arizona Rangers, the present day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the state of Arizona in 2002, when Arizona Governor Jane Hull signed Legislative Act 41. The purpose of this act was “to recognize the Arizona Rangers, who formed in 1901, disbanded in 1909 and reestablished in 1957 by original Arizona Rangers.”
The present day Arizona Rangers are an unpaid, all volunteer, non-profit 501(c)(3), law enforcement support and assistance civilian auxiliary in the State of Arizona who work cooperatively at the request of and under the direction, control, and supervision of established law enforcement officials and officers. They also provide youth support and community service and work to preserve the tradition, honor, and history of the 1901–1909 Arizona Rangers. The Arizona Rangers operate throughout the State of Arizona through nineteen satellite companies, which are the equivalent of separate posts of the same organization. In other words, the Companies are not separate legal entities. The Companies are known by the name of the organization and the geographical areas from which a particular Company draws its members. For example, the Company primarily based in the Tucson area is known as the Arizona Rangers – Tucson Company.
Today’s Arizona Rangers receive extensive training and are well prepared to supplement law enforcement when called upon.