A.J. recovering from his leg wound received in one of the last battles of the war at his father’s farm on Flat Fork Creekwas getting restless…but so was the rest of Texas!

On April 11, 1844, Texas and the U.S. signed a treaty calling for the annexation of Texas by the United States. In February of 1845, Congress approved a resolution that would bring Texas into the Union as a state. In December 1845, James Truitt was elected to the first state legislature of Texas. On February 19, 1846, Texas became the 28th star on the U.S. flag.  But A.J. was apprehensive as he did not know how the annexation would affect the warrant that was out for his arrest.

The events of early 1846 would help take A.J. mind off the arrest question as there was a dispute over the southern boundary of Texas. Several skirmishes broke out between the American troops and their Mexican counterparts, and in April Mexico declared a defensive war against the United States.

As the U.S. prepared for the war with Mexico, the men of Shelby County began to gather in Shelbyville to volunteer for the regiment, “East Texas Rangers”.  The group of men soon fell into two groups, ex-Regulators, and ex-Moderators.

On May 21, 1846, the volunteers gathered at Shelbyville to begin their ride to San Antonio that afternoon. Captain Johnson of the Regulators company turned down Watt Moorman’s request to enlist.  Moorman then approached A.M. about joining the Moderator group but was again turned down. The two companies of about 100 men began their journey to San Antonio arriving at Pt. Isabel on July 12, 1846.

On August 7th, the unit received marching orders to ride to San Fernando about 130 miles southwest of Matamoros. The Rangers were to be the eyes and ears of the federal army. On the march from China to Cadereyta, just east of Monterrey, Lee Truitt’s horse spooked by a rattlesnake, and it was determined by the field hospital in CarmargoLee’s shoulder was badly broken. Lee received a disability discharge on September 5, 1846, and sent back home. A.J. felt bad for Mint, who was Lee’s brother and only seventeen. A.J. took Lee’s place and took Mint under his wings.

Just after noon on Sunday, September 12, 1846, Col. Hays led a hand-picked group of men made up of two companies. One of the companies was A.M.’s. The ex-Moderators were excited about the anticipated encounter with the Mexicans. As the unit advanced, Col. Hays saw Mexican reinforcements moving toward the hill. The companies attacked the Mexicans on the hill, and, during the heaviest part of the fighting, A.J. had his horse shot out from under him. Using his horse as a shield, A.J. continued firing at the Mexicans. The first skirmish involving the East Texas Rangers had just taken place, and the only casualty was A.J.’s horse.

Col. Hays learned Gen. Taylor was planning to lay siege to the city of Monterrey and force the Mexicans to surrender. The East Texas Rangers were infuriated, and they were not about to sit around idly while the regulars bombarded the city.  The Rangers the next morning began to attack Independence Hill, and, just before noon, routed the Mexicans. A.J.’s company veered off the main street and began advancing toward the central plaza. All this time, Mint stayed close to A.J. as they would empty their revolvers at the retreating Mexicans. They would duck into doorways to reload and jump out and fire again. The Rangers’ success was intoxicating.  The Mexican general raised the white flag of surrender when Gen. Taylor began bombardment and the advance of the Rangers.

The battle for Monterrey was over. The Mexicans were given a two-week truce to withdraw their troops. The brief battle did not slake their thirst for revenge against their old foe. (Note: Many of the Rangers shouted, “Remember the Alamo and Goliad.”) Their idleness during the two-week truce caused many of them to scour the city and countryside in search of souvenirs and bounty. A.J. was no exception. A.J. stole a magnificent Mexican bowie knife from a lancer at gun point. It had an ivory hand with a Mexican eagle carved on each side of the blade. Mint took a sword and fine Mexican saddle as his souvenir.

After the battle of Monterrey, many of the men were homesick but A.J. wasn’t. He yearned for more adventure. Taylor though the Mexicans would sue for peace after the American victory. Instead, San Anna again gained control of the government and led an army north of Monterrey. The battle of Buena Vista was fought where the Mexicans were decisively defeated and on February 23, 1847, Santa Anna began a retreat to Mexico City.

A.J., A.M. and Mint all returned to Shelby County in time to finish the fall plowing. A.J., with the help of James’ slaves began to clear his land on Flat Fork Creek.  Gen. Taylor was having a hard time with the Mexican guerrillas cutting his supply and communication lines. Gen. Taylor so dislike of the Rangers he refused to issue a call for their services. This was one of the reasons President Polk lost confidence in Taylor and instructed Gen. Winfield to proceed to Vera Cruz and capture the city for a campaign against Mexico City. Scott landed at Vera Cruz, and the city surrendered after an18-day siege. He immediately started the overland march to Mexico City when Santa Anna and his army appeared. Gen. Scott defeated the Mexicans the battle of Cerro Gordo on April 18, 1847. Scott asked President Polk to re-enlist the Ranger into federal service. The word soon reachedShelby that Col. Hays wanted the Rangers back in Mexico. On May 12th, 1847, a company of volunteers was again raised, and A.M. was again elected Captain. A.J., Mint, and this time Joshua Hall (J.H. the younger brother) were allowed to enlist.

After a night of boredom, A.J., Joshua Hall and Mint began to drink,becoming very intoxicated.  Mint was showing J.H. his prowess with his new Colt revolver when he dropped the weapon, and it discharged. The .45 round hit Mint in the back of his hand and literally ripped his palm out where the bullet exited.  Mint was later sent by ship to Vera Cruz to the army hospital where his wound was serious enough for the army to give him a disability discharge on December 14, 1847. A.M.’s company was soon ordered to proceed to Ranchito about 20 miles south of Matamoros to escort a supply train for Gen. Taylor’s troop. Disgusted, the Rangers prepared to move out the next morning.  The company had to reorganize because nine men had deserted during the night. A.J. was elected third sergeant to replace John Haley, who deserted. New orders were received for the company to go to Brazos De Santiago, on the Gulf, to be transported to Vera Cruz.

The interior city was full of escaped felons and “leperos” who were petty criminals who preyed on the helpless Mexicans citizens. One of these brave “leperos” picked up a stone and threw it at the column hitting A.J. on the head and knocking his hat off. The retaliation was instant as A.J.’s colt exploded. As the assailant fell dead, A.J. calmly re-holstered his pistol and dismounted to retrieve his hat. After the gunshot, the only sound in the city streets were the horse’s hoofs.

During the Christmas holidays of 1847, the Rangers were preparing to move out into the countryside and confront the guerrillas. The most famous guerrilla was Padre Jaranta, and the Rangers clashed several times with his men.  One of clashes was at San Juan Teotihuacan just after New Year’s Day. That night Joshua Hall was posted on guard duty but became seriously ill with fever. Soon all hell seemed to break loose when the guerrillas attacked the buildings, everywhere at once. A.J. was in the plaza when the attack occurred, and he scrambled into a doorway for cover. He quickly used his bullets and called for more ammunition. John Joel Glanton darted across the plaza bringing bullets and powder for A.J. There wasaninstant friendship between A.J. and John Joel.

J.H. Truitt got worse. His flu quickly turned into pneumonia, and he was sent to the hospital in Vera Cruz. He eventually recovered but was not fit to continue his enlistment. He was discharged January 13, 1848, with a certificate of disability. So out of the five Truitt boys from Shelby County that volunteered to fight in Mexico, only two were left. A.J. and A.M.!

The Treaty of Guadalup Hildalgo ended the war on February 2, 1848, that is, the conventional war. The war with the bandits and guerrillas continued.

With the Mexican War ended, many men began their trip home. A.J. and Glanton decided to enjoy some of the nightlife in San Antonio before going home to their families. The men soon heard of the discovery of gold in California and immediately began to make plans for the excursion to the gold mines. Neither an had the money for the long trip. A quest was begun for a way to finance their trip to California. A.J. rode the eighty miles to Austin to locate his father as the Legislature was in session to get money. A.J. met his brother, A.M., while visiting his father. A.J. was still trying to get a grubstake for his trip to go to the gold mines so A.J. offered to sell A.M. his war souvenirs, the cane, the silver tea set, and the silver snuff box that once belonged to Santa Anna. They settle on the price after some haggling. Both brothers were homesick and decided to go back to Shelby County for a while. A.J. still didn’t have enough money for the gold mines but the problem was solved on their way home. The Congress pass a law giving all veterans of the Mexican war a bounty land certificate for 160 acres. A.J. agreed to sell his certificate to A.M. for 160 dollars. A.J. now had enough money!

A.J. was shocked when he saw the condition of his mother, Sarah. She had regressed badly in the year they had gone. A.J. felt this might be the last goodbye when he told her of his plans to go California. First A.J. had to take care of some legal matters transferring the bound land certificate to A.M. and leasing his farm for one year to A.M. after he paid the taxes on it.

Once again A.J. was on the move meeting Glanton in San Antonio. Glanton did not have his money to finance the trip to Mexico. He convinced A.J. to go to the northern part of Mexico where the state of Chihuahua was offering a bounty of 150 to 250 dollars for Apache scalps. A.J. did not like the idea, but he liked even less the idea of traveling alone to California. Seventy-five miles south of El Paso, a group of three Mexican bandits attempted to rob them. A.J. and Glanton did not blink an eye as their army colts roared their defiance at the bandits. As the bandits lay dead on the ground, Glanton started going through their pockets. He found a few small gold pieces and calmly shoved them into his pocket, never offering any of the booty to A.J. Glanton then ask A.J. if he could tell the difference from a Mexican’s hair and an Indian’s hair. A.J. said, “No!”  Glanton said he didn’t think the officials could either and then proceeded to lift the scalps from the dead Mexican bandits. After arriving in Chihuahua, they asked where the nearest government office was where they were paid $600 in gold for the scalps. They soon met up with a group of men down on their luck. Glanton came up with a plan to organize these men into a group of scalp hunters and finance everyone’s way to California. Glanton and the group of bounty hunters soon devised a plan to massacre the inhabitants of the village for their scalps as the group could not find the elusive Apache Indians as the Indians would attack then hide. Glanton and A.J. argued over killing the innocents Mexicans. (Note: The moral character of A.J.’s wouldn’t permit him to do this terrible deed). The next morning A.J. packed his equipment and sold one of his pack mules to Glanton. Glanton mentioned he would like to ride a distance with A.J. and bid him farewell. About a mile from camp, Glanton pulled hiscolt and ordered A.J. from his horse to rob A.J.The pistol was aimed at A.J.’s forehead when Glanton pulled the trigger; A.J. tumbled backwards and rolled down the side of the trail. Blood was everywhere. Glanton briefly thought about scalping A.J. but realized A.J.’s hair wasn’t coarse enough to pass for an Apache scalp. Glanton was convinced he had killed his one-time Ranger friend. He then took all A.J.’s possessions, the pack mule, and started down the mountain toward the bounty hunter’s camp.

When A.J. came to, it was pitch dark. The ball had only grazed the right side of his forehead taking a chuck of flesh, thus the cause of the profuse bleeding. As he was trying to clear his head, trying to get his bearing, he was amazed he could not remember how he got in this God-forsaken country, or why, he was here. All he realized was how bad his head hurt and thirsty he was.

A.J. soon came upon a group of men who were ex-soldiers of the War on their way to the California via the famous Gila Trail. A.J. soon began to recognize some of the men in the group. There was Ballard Lee from Cedar Yard and Walter Beard from Shelbyville, and Lucien Hall, Dick Tucker, and John W. Smith, who all served with A.J. and the Rangers in Mexico. The company decided to bring A.J. along and provide him with a mount and he could repay them when they found gold. So A.J. tagged along as there was safety in numbers. All A.J. had on his mind was to find Glanton and to kill him!

Once the group got to the Mokelunne River, A.J. staked his claim. It was back breaking work. He managed to make some money, but it was taking a toll on his body. He had arrived at Sonora in December 1848, and was in fairly good physical condition except for his head wound. But after ten months in the gold fields, he had lost about twenty-five pounds and could no longer work a ten-hour day.

In October 1849, A.J. was longing to return to Shelby County. He sold his claim and his tent with his mining tools and decided to go home. He had about $500 in cash, so he purchased a mule to go with his horse for the six-month journey home.

Across the San Bernardino Mountains was the small town of Vellecito where A.J. made camp. There he talked to some Mexicans who were complaining about the ferry at Yuma. It seemed a man and his gang had taken over the ferry from a group of Indians and were chargingan exorbitant fee. The leader was none other than John Joel Glanton! A.J. formulated a plan with the help of Jose Maria, chief of the Yumas. The chief was reluctant to help with the plan because of the army. A.J. explained they could take the bodies into the desert and bury them explaining to the army the men had finally succumbed to the fever of the gold mines. The ferry landing was scouted and told A.J. that all the men except three slept in an old shack on the California side of the river. On January 28th, 1850, the plan was executed.  A.J. would silently kill the rest of the gang as they slept in the shack all except Glanton who wasn’t there. While A.J. waited for the ferry to cross the river and they could hear three men cursing. A.J. recognized John Joel Glanton in the moonlight! A.J. eased on the ferry with his colt drawn and announced for Glanton to drop his gun belt. A.J. colt soon lit up the night and the sound seemed to have matched the roaring river. Glanton let out a grunt, sank to his knees, still trying to see who it was that had shot him. When A.J. announced“A.J. Truitt, from Shelby County, Texas”. Glanton said, “You have killed me now.” “That is correct.” A.J. said as Glanton toppled over and landed on the side of his face and didn’t move. A.J. walked over to the man and fired twice more into the back of Glanton neck just to be sure. He took the two Colts Glanton had thrown down to see if they were his. He was sure of one thing though; the Bowie knife was his. He sat down and rested before he performed the ultimate act of any savage…he scalped Glanton.

These are just a few oftheexploits A.J. did during his lifetime.He met and married Elizabeth Johnson in December 1850. The newlyweds spent the weekend in Dallas on their honeymoon and started on their journey to Shelby County. A.J. was determined he would mend his rowdy ways to be more acceptable to his new wife. A.J. led a peaceful life farming for a while.  Elizabeth and A.J. divorced at the end of 1857.

In the summer of 1858 A.J. realized he was not helping Mint and his ranching business so A.J. decided to go to Stephensville. While in town he was arrested by the sheriff for stealing some cattle and was thrown into jail. Mint drove into town late one night to break A.J. out of jail by tying a rope around the jail windows. Mint urged the mules on, and the plan worked as the bars in the window were pulled out along with the whole wall.Now A.J. was an escaped prisoner.

In late December 1859 while living in Erath County, A.J. and Mint became Indian fighters known as “Rangers.”A.J. was now 40 years old with nothing to show for his forty years of existence on this earth.

When the civil war broke out, A.J. old Company C of the 1st Texas (McCulloch’s) calvary was reorganized. So now A.J. was a soldier. His enlistment ended on July 25, 1862. After the Conscription Act of 1862, A.J. hired out as a conscription substitute for J.P. King who offered A.J. fifty U.S. double eagles ($1000) to be paid one half up front and the other half when his term of enlistment was up. After the defeat of the Confederates on July 11, 1863, in the battle of Vicksburg, A.J. was paroled and decided to go back to Shelby County. When A.J. arrived home, A.M. was home with his wife, Susan. A. M. had resigned his commission as Quartermaster because he had contracted tuberculosis and was seriously ill.

A.J. went back to Tarrant Countyto help his sister on her farm where he met and married Elizabeth “Julie” Gibson, the younger sister of his old buddy, James Gibson, in the spring of 1865. A.J. once again went to J.P. King to get the rest of his substitute moneyat the end of the war in April 1865 but by this time King was broke. The only thing that came about when A.J. confronted King was that A.J. shot him in the foot.

 A.J.’s life ended January 12, 1876, in Montague County; he was 56 years old. The exploits of the Texas Cossack were as a scoundrel, soldier during the Mexican War and Civil War, Ranger, gunfighter,murderer, bandit, escape prisoner, Indian fighter, husband and fatherof five endedwhen he was ambushed byBill Mitchell causing A.J.’s horse to lose its balance. The horse fell on A.J.’s leg, breaking it. It was a cold night and A.J. scooted on his belly to a large tree and propped himself up. The next morning, John Underwood found his old ex-Ranger with the navy colt in his lap, and the empty whiskey bottle next to him, but A.J. was dead. A.J. once said he didn’t know anything but fighting and farming.