#OTD in 1915, Desiderio Flores, and his two sons, Desiderio Flores Jr., and Antonio Flores were shot and killed by Texas Rangers at their ranch in Paso Real, approximately 30 miles outside of Brownsville.
Desiderio, Desiderio Jr., and Antonio were killed on their property at 10:30pm by a posse consisting of three Texas Rangers, Captain Henry Lee Ransom, Joe Anders, and George J. Head, joined by local sheriff Vann.
The alleged charges being investigated were those of murder as well as a rumor that other “bandits” were meeting at the Flores estate before proceeding onward to another local ranch, where they were planning to kill the ranch manager.
Despite a lack of evidence that any of the Flores men committed murder or were part of the crimes committed by “bandits” in the area in the preceding days- their home was invaded by armed men without a warrant, in the dead of night.
The violence associated with the Plan de San Diego uprising, often referred to as the “bandit era,” provided Rangers with an excuse for rampant anti-Mexican violence.
The Ranger narrative states that the Flores sons opened fire on the Rangers, during which Desiderio Jr. was killed immediately in the crossfire. Antonio attempted to escape but was shot in the leg and later died of his wounds.
Desiderio Sr. was killed by Ranger Joe Anders in a sweep of the house, where he was hiding under a bed, and upon investigation after the murders, Desiderio Sr.’s body was “riddled with bullets,” with the total number of bullet holes coming to 17.
The Texas Rangers who killed the Flores men were Captain Ransom, Anders, and Head. Most notably, Henry Lee Ransom is the same Captain who would participate in the more widely publicized murders of Jesus Bazan and Antonio Longoria a mere month later in September.
Despite the actions of these Rangers, and the headlines from the press stating that these acts of violence were “murder,” and “lynching,” Ransom, Anders, and Head received no admonishment or reprimands following the murders.
Instead, Ransom, along other known murderers amongst the Ranger force, continue to be memorialized as heroes, especially as remembered during the “bandit era” in Texas history.
Information for this thread is thanks in large part to the newspaper archives of the University of North Texas, as well as the project “Lynching in Texas” by Sam Houston State University.
This thread is a part of the #OTD in Ranger history campaign that @Refusing2Forget is running this year. Follow this twitter handle or https://refusingtoforget.org/ranger-bicentennial-project/, and visit our website https://refusingtoforget.org to learn more.
Refusing to Forget members are @ccarmonawriter @carmona2208 @acerift @soniahistoria @BenjaminHJohns1
@LeahLochoa @MonicaMnzMtz and @Alacranita, another co-founder is @GonzalesT956
.@emmpask @sdcroll @HistoryBrian @LorienTinuviel @hangryhistorian,
@ddsanchez432, @elprofeml, and @littlejohnjeff are other scholars working on this project.
