W HITE C RANE
A CUPUNCTURE
C LINIC
Maiya’s
Captain
Henry Skillman, C.S.A.
Acupuncture
•
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Italian Cuisine
Seasonal Menu
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Open Wed - Sat at 5pm
505 E Sul Ross • Alpine
432.837.3225
103 N. Highland Ave
Marfa
432.729.4410
Mon. - Fri. by appointment
Needleworks, Etc.
Henry Skillman in a conceptual
sketch by Bill Leftwich.
1964
Ladies Fine Clothing
Photo courtesy Archives of the Big Bend, Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas
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Flax S Brighton S Tribal S Double D
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20
Renowned southwestern mail and stagecoach
man. Born in Kentucky. Came to Texas before 1846.
Served as a U.S. Army scout in Mexican War.
About 1851 established the first mail service
between San Antonio and El Paso. When the first
Butterfield Overland Stagecoach in 1858 made a
bid to establish fast service to the West Coast, was
selected to drive perilous Comanche Indian area from
Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos to El Paso. Made
it in four days without rest or relief, his 6-foot frame
draped with revolvers and Bowie knives.
A Confederate scout in the Civil War. From July
1862, when Federals seized El Paso and the Davis
Mountains (to make the longest enemy occupation in
Texas), served as liaison between regular Confederate
troops and the C.S.A. patriots who plotted in their
refugee colony in Juarez to recapture West Texas.
Knowing country well, came and went at will.
Spread false rumors of Confederates massing in
deserts, to divert Federal troops from combat. Came
to be most dreaded scout known to the occupation.
Was hunted by special force commissioned to take
him alive. In showdown at Spencer's Ranch near
here on April 3, 1864, fought to his death.
HENRY SKILLMAN
by Bob Miles
T
his lengthy marker stands on St. Francis
Plaza in Presidio, near where Henry
Skillman was gunned down by Union
forces in the early hours of April 15 (not April 3)
in 1864. However, it is but a brief summary of the
life of this remarkable frontiersman.
Skillman was actually born in New Jersey in
1814, but his family soon moved to Kentucky.
While there are many gaps in his life story, by the
1840s he was working as a courier and freighter
on the Santa Fe Trail. He was en route to
Chihuahua with the trade caravan when the
Mexican War began.
Skillman soon found himself a member of
Col. Alexander Doniphan’s Trader Battalion, a
group of traders who volunteered to serve as sol-
diers. He was elected captain of one company
during the battle of Sacramento. Skillman later
led a group of adventurers known as the
Chihuahua Rangers for the Army. After the war,
Skillman drifted up into Texas.
Around 1849, Skillman began carrying mail
between San Antonio, El Paso and Santa Fe on
horseback. In 1851, he went to Washington, D.C.
and secured a contract to deliver mail on that
route. While in D.C., he purchased a case of the
Cenizo
Second Quarter 2012
new Sharp’s rifles, to be used by his mail riders.
Soon, he was offering passenger service. As there
were no stage stations established, passengers,
food and camping gear were carried in wagons
and spare mules taken along. Armed guards
offered some protection from hostile Apaches,
Comanches and bandits.
In 1854, a prominent traveler encountered the
mail train at Fort Inge near Uvalde. He described
the six-man mounted guard as “...armed with
Sharp’s rifles and Colt’s repeaters. They had,
however, so much the appearance of drunken
ruffians, that we felt no disposition to join the
party.” Despite their rough appearance, they
made sure the mail and passengers got to their
destinations, traveling more than 50 miles a day
across wild and unsettled West Texas.
Skillman lost the mail contract in 1854, but
continued to carry the mail for the stage line that
replaced his and also ran a freighting business. On
Sept. 30, 1858, he drove the first westbound
Butterfield Overland stage from Horsehead
Crossing on the Pecos River into El Paso. The
continued on page 25