Texas Rangers, Texas
End of Watch: Thursday, July 2, 1885
Age: 29
Tour of Duty: 1 year, 8 months
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Duty related illness
Date of Incident: June 22, 1885
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Private William M. Bohanon enlisted in Company C of the Frontier Battalion of the Texas Rangers on November 11, 1883 under the command of Captain George Schmitt. The rangers were troubled with fever and illness during the summer of 1885, which resulted from high water caused by heavy rains. On May 13, 1885, Private J. G. Wood, a new recruit, died from illness. Captain Schmitt received a very terse letter from Captain John O. Johnson of the Adjutant General’s office in Austin regarding expenses incurred by the company while on recent duty in Fredericksburg; in his reply, which gives some indication of conditions, Schmitt related that several men were sick with fever from “exposure and swimming the rivers” and that one man was not expected to live.
Private Bohanon became ill from typhoid fever on June 22 and died on July 2. He was reportedly buried in Pearsall, Frio County, and had no relations in Texas.