Page "James Bowie" Paragraph 16

On January 1, 1830, Bowie left Louisiana for permanent residency in Texas.

He stopped at Nacogdoches, at Jared E. Groce's farm on the Brazos River, and in San Felipe, where Bowie presented a letter of introduction to Stephen F. Austin from Thomas F. McKinney, one of the Old Three Hundred colonists.

On February 20, Bowie took an oath of allegiance to Mexico and then proceeded to San Antonio de Bexar.

At the time, the city was known as Bexar and had a population of 2500, mostly of Mexican descent, and Bowie's fluency in Spanish helped him establish himself in the area.

Bowie was elected a commander, with the rank of colonel, of the Texas Rangers later that year.

Although the Rangers would not be organized officially until 1835, Stephen F. Austin had founded the group by employing 30 men to keep the peace and protect the colonists from attacks by hostile Indians.

Other areas assembled similar volunteer militias, and Bowie commanded a group of the volunteers.