My great-great grandfather was Claiborne Goodman.  His sons John, Samuel, Benjamin and William all came to Texas in the early 1830’s.  My great-great grandfather was William.  William died in 1845 at Washington-On-The-Brazos where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed.  Descendants of those who lived in Texas between 1836 and 1846 when Texas was and independent country are eligible for membership in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas or Sons of the Republic of Texas.  I am a life member of the SRT.  I am also a member of the First Families of Texas.

My grandfather, Samuel Henry Goodman was a Captain in the Second Texas Cavalry during the War Between the States.  We in the South call this The War of Northern Aggression or The Late Unpleasantness.  Some call it the American Civil War.  The North called it the War of the Rebellion.

There were two 2nd Texas Cavalry regiments.  The 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment (Arizona Brigade) was formed by the consolidation of 2nd Texas (Baylor's) Cavalry Battalion and Mullen's Texas Cavalry Battalion.  Actually Arizona Brigade was a misnomer as the units never were in Arizona.  It numbered about 700 men.  Officers included Col. George W. Baylor, Lt. Col. John W. Mullen, and Maj. Sherod Hunter.  Among its battles and campaigns was Pleasant Hill, Louisiana in April 1864.

The Battle of Pleasant Hill occurred in DeSoto and Sabine Parishes in Louisiana and was part of the Red River Campaign.  My grandfather was a Captain in Company  D of this 2nd Texas.  He was commended for gallantry (See War of The Rebellion, series I, Volume XXXIV, Part 1).  Based on his service I am a life member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Military Order of the Stars and Bars.

The other 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment had about 1200 men.  Officers included Col. John S. Ford, Colonel Charles L. Pyron, Lt. Col. John R Baylor, Lt. Col. James Walker, Maj. John Donelson, Maj. Matthew Nolan, Maj. William A. Spencer, and Maj. Edward Waller Jr.  It was formed in May 1861 with men from Cherokee, Nacogdoches, Houston and Anderson Counties and from the towns of Beeville, Marshall, Houston and San Antonio.  It was also called the 2nd Texas Regiment Mounted Rifles.  The unit surrendered at Galveston Texas on June 2, 1865.  Although officially listed as surrendering at Galveston, the unit had previously disbanded.  I know of no major battles or engagements in which it participated.

My cousin, Harold Goodman, son of my father’s older brother Samuel Henry Goodman Jr., now has the sword owned by my grandfather.  A few years ago my wife bought me a replica of that sword.  She also bought me a pistol, holster and pistol belt such as my grandfather probably wore.

My father joined the United States Border Patrol in 1914.  He left the Border Patrol in 1916 to join the United States Army.  He fought in several skirmishes and in all five major battles (Belleau Woods, St. Miguel, Meuse-Argone, Argone Forest, and Chateau-Thiery).  I have his dog tags.  My sister has his medals.  I also have a set of the medals.  In that war he was injured and gassed.  The Germans engaged in gas warfare using especially mustard gas (phosgene).

My father brought back his World War I helmet that my daughter now has.  He also brought back a German Officers Parade helmet.  That became lost after his death in 1959 in the move of my sister from Coleman, Texas to Schenectady, New York. He also brought back maps that I still have.

I have written about my own military service in another episode.  My daughter now has several of my uniforms including the Mess Dress.  Each of my children has one of my dog tags (I issued myself two sets) and some of my medals and other decorations.

Every native Texan is a cowboy at heart.  You can usually tell a real cowboy from a pretend cowboy.  The latter is called a “drug store” cowboy.  A real cowboy has scuffed boots.  The boots of a “drug store” cowboy have a shine.  It regrets me to admit that I am now one of the latter.

Real cowboys, in earlier days, were usually paid a small wage and “keep.”  “Keep” was food and shelter such as it was.  The food was substantial even when on a cattle drive.  Shelter was a bunk house in a room with other cowboys or under the stars while on the range.

Cowboys carried guns primarily to use against snakes, wolves and coyotes but also sometimes from rustlers.  I have a 45 caliber revolver with a Western holster and gun belt.  I also have two 22 caliber revolvers with twin holsters on a Western gun belt.  Several years ago my sister-in-law, Dolores (sister of my wife, Maudine), gave me a rawhide whip.  My step-children gave me a set of long horns.  I also have some spurs and two Stetson cowboy hats as well as Western shirts.  I also have two 25 caliber automatics and one 380 caliber automatic.  Real cowboys did not have automatics.

I have another holster.  It is fine, beautiful, and hand tooled.  It was given to me Grady Laws, a cousin of Maudine’s, who was a real cowboy.  The holster came with a story.  Maudine’s father was Randolph Hearst Laws.  Grady was the son of Hearst’s brother Franklin Pierce Laws.  Hearst was the sheriff  of Montgomery County, Texas.  At one time Grady was his deputy.  Grady had a revolver Hearst wanted.  He offered to trade the holster for the gun.  Grady accepted.  After the trade Grady noticed it was made for a left handed person.  The holster was never used.  Both Grady and Hearst were right-handed.  At the time of his death about three years ago at the age of about 75 Grady was still ranching and still heated his house and cooked on a wood stove using trees he cut himself.

Traditionally, Texans hung a horseshoe over a door to bring good luck.  That tradition has been observed at our house.