The Last Sheriff In Texas: A True Tale Of Violence And The Vote
by James P. McCollom /
2017 / English / EPUB
2.8 MB Download
"A true-crime story centering on a South Texas lawman who became
a law unto himself . . . Of interest to students of Texas history
as well as aspiring law enforcement officers, who should read it as
an example of how not to conduct themselves." ―
"A true-crime story centering on a South Texas lawman who became
a law unto himself . . . Of interest to students of Texas history
as well as aspiring law enforcement officers, who should read it as
an example of how not to conduct themselves." ―Kirkus
Reviews
Kirkus
Reviews
Beeville, Texas, was the most American of small towns―the place
that GIs had fantasized about while fighting through the ruins of
Europe, a place of good schools, clean streets, and churches. Old
West justice ruled, as evidenced by a 1947 shootout when outlaws
surprised popular sheriff Vail Ennis at a gas station and shot him
five times, point-blank, in the belly. Ennis managed to draw his
gun and put three bullets in each assailant; he reloaded and shot
them three times more.
Beeville, Texas, was the most American of small towns―the place
that GIs had fantasized about while fighting through the ruins of
Europe, a place of good schools, clean streets, and churches. Old
West justice ruled, as evidenced by a 1947 shootout when outlaws
surprised popular sheriff Vail Ennis at a gas station and shot him
five times, point-blank, in the belly. Ennis managed to draw his
gun and put three bullets in each assailant; he reloaded and shot
them three times more.Time
Time magazine’s full-page article on the shooting was seen
by some as a referendum on law enforcement owing to the sheriff’s
extreme violence, but supportive telegrams from all across America
poured into Beeville’s tiny post office. Yet when a second violent
incident threw Ennis into the crosshairs of public opinion once
again, the uprising was orchestrated by an unlikely figure: his
close friend and Beeville’s favorite son, Johnny Barnhart.
magazine’s full-page article on the shooting was seen
by some as a referendum on law enforcement owing to the sheriff’s
extreme violence, but supportive telegrams from all across America
poured into Beeville’s tiny post office. Yet when a second violent
incident threw Ennis into the crosshairs of public opinion once
again, the uprising was orchestrated by an unlikely figure: his
close friend and Beeville’s favorite son, Johnny Barnhart.
Barnhart confronted Ennis in the election of 1952: a landmark
standoff between old Texas, with its culture of cowboy bravery and
violence, and urban Texas, with its lawyers, oil institutions, and
a growing Mexican population. The town would never be the same
again.
Barnhart confronted Ennis in the election of 1952: a landmark
standoff between old Texas, with its culture of cowboy bravery and
violence, and urban Texas, with its lawyers, oil institutions, and
a growing Mexican population. The town would never be the same
again.The Last Sheriff in Texas
The Last Sheriff in Texas is a riveting narrative about the
postwar American landscape, an era grappling with the same issues
we continue to face today. Debate over excessive force in law
enforcement, Anglo-Mexican relations, gun control, the influence of
the media, urban-rural conflict, the power of the oil industry,
mistrust of politicians and the political process―all have
surprising historical precedence in the story of Vail Ennis and
Johnny Barnhart.
is a riveting narrative about the
postwar American landscape, an era grappling with the same issues
we continue to face today. Debate over excessive force in law
enforcement, Anglo-Mexican relations, gun control, the influence of
the media, urban-rural conflict, the power of the oil industry,
mistrust of politicians and the political process―all have
surprising historical precedence in the story of Vail Ennis and
Johnny Barnhart.