Nickname(s) "Bigfoot" Name William A. | ||
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Battles/wars Mexican Invasions of TexasBattle of Salado CreekBattle of Hondo RiverBattle of MierBlack Bean IncidentMexican–American WarBattle of MonterreyComanche WarsAmerican Civil War Died January 7, 1899, Bigfoot, Texas, United States Place of burial Texas State Cemetery, Austin, Texas, United States Battles and wars Battle of Salado Creek, Hondo Creek, Mier Expedition, Mexican–American War, Battle of Monterrey Allegiance Republic of Texas, United States of America | ||
Service/branch Texas Ranger Division Similar Edwin Ward Moore, José Antonio Navarro, John Coffee Hays | ||
William Alexander Anderson "Bigfoot" Wallace (April 3, 1817 – January 7, 1899) was a famous Texas Ranger who took part in many of the military conflicts of the Republic of Texas and the United States in the 1840s, including the Mexican-American War.
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Biography
Wallace was born in Lexington, Virginia. When he learned that a brother and a cousin had been shot in the Goliad Massacre, he set out for Texas to "take pay out of the Mexicans"; years later, he confessed that he believed the account had been squared. Wallace was a large man at 6'2" and 240 pounds in his prime.
Wallace fought at the battles of Salado Creek, Battle of Hondo River, and Mier. Some of his most graphic memories were of his experiences in Perote Prison after having survived the Black Bean Incident. Wallace later participated in the Mexican-American War Battle of Monterrey and the Comanche Wars.
In the 1850s Wallace commanded a ranger company of his own, fighting border bandits as well as Native Americans. He was so expert at trailing that he was frequently called upon to track down runaway slaves trying to get to Mexico. He drove a mail hack from San Antonio to El Paso, and on one occasion, after losing his mules to Comanches, walked to El Paso and ate twenty-seven eggs at the first Mexican house he came to-before going on to town for a full meal.
During the Civil War he helped guard the frontier against Comanches. At one time Wallace had a small ranch on the Medina River on land granted him by the state of Texas.
The later years of his life were spent in South Texas in the vicinity of a small village named Bigfoot. He never married. He was a mellow and convivial soul who liked to sit in a roomy rawhide-bottomed chair in the shade of his shanty and tell over the stories of his career. Wallace was personally honest but liked to "stretch the blanket" and embroider his stories.
Wallace died on January 7, 1899, and shortly thereafter the Texas legislature appropriated money for moving his body to the Texas State Cemetery.
"Bigfoot" Wallace is the namesake of the town of Bigfoot, Texas in Frio County and of Wallace Creek in Bandera County.
The Big Foot Wallace museum is a local museum dedicated to Wallace, and houses artifacts related to Wallace, as well as, those of the community.
Portrayals
Larry McMurtry included a fictionalized version of Wallace in his Lonesome Dove prequel, Dead Man's Walk. In this book, Wallace is one of the Rangers who signs on with Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call to go on the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. After they are captured by Mexican authorities, they are made to draw beans to decide who will live or die, a method borrowed from the Mier Expedition. Unlike his real-life counterpart, Wallace in this story draws a black bean, and is executed. In the film, he is played by Keith Carradine. In the History Channel 5-part television miniseries, Texas Rising, Wallace is played by actor Robert Baker.