Private Peter Fohr
Texas Rangers
Texas
End of Watch: Saturday, June 8, 1844

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: 3 years, 4 months
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Assault
Date of Incident: Saturday, June 8, 1844
Weapon Used: Edged weapon
Suspect Info: Not available

Ranger Captain John Coffee Hays left his headquarters at San Antonio on or about June 1, 1844, with 15 men to scout the hills to the north and west for a Comanche war party led by Yellow Wolf, which had recently been raiding into Bexar County. On June 8, the rangers spotted a band of Comanche estimated at from forty to upwards of 200 warriors. The rangers mounted and slowly followed the Indians who were concealed in the heavy brush. Attempts to bait the rangers to charge were ignored. Finally, the entire Indian force rode forward in line of battle to draw the ranger attack. Soon the rangers and the warriors were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The rangers repulsed two counterattacks on their flanks, after which the Indians fled the field and were pursued for three miles under heavy fire from the rangers' new repeating revolvers. At the end of the hour-long battle, Indian casualties were estimated at from twenty to more than fifty killed and wounded, with Yellow Wolf among the slain.

Ranger losses amounted to one killed, Private Peter Fohr, and four seriously wounded. There is little personal information about Peter Fohr except that he enlisted in San Antonio, Bexar County, on January 10, 1841 and served until his death on June 8, 1844 for a period of 3 years, 4 months and 28 days. His place of burial is unknown.

The battle of Walker Creek as the fight became known, was the first in which revolvers were used in combat, and a Comanche who had taken part in the battle later complained that the rangers "had a shot for every finger on the hand."