Leander H. McNelly

Leander Harvey McNelly (March 12, 1844 – September 4, 1877) was a Confederate officer and Texas Ranger captain. McNelly is best remembered for leading the "Special Force", a quasi-military branch of the Texas Rangers that operated in south Texas in 1875-76.

Leander H. McNelly was born March 12, 1844 in Follansbee, Brooke County, Virginia (today West Virginia), to P.J. McNelly and his wife Mary Downey. McNelly suffered from consumption as a child, and in 1860 his family moved to Texas in the hope that the climate would improve his health. In Texas, McNelly helped his family raise sheep and regained his health.

On September 13, 1861, McNelly enlisted in the Confederate States Army, joining Company F of the Fifth Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers under General Thomas Green. After the Battle of Valverde during the New Mexico campaign, Green named McNelly his aide. Following fighting in the Battle of Galveston, McNelly was sent to Louisiana, where he was given a commission on December 19, 1863. He led 100 guerrilla scouts, and once carried out a spying mission dressed as a woman.

McNelly and his men were tasked with capturing Brashear City, Louisiana (now Morgan City), where 800 Union troops were stationed. After dark, McNelly and his 40 troops marched back and forth across a long bridge that led to the city, shouting as if they were speaking to unseen generals and colonels. At dawn, McNelly and his small force rode into the Union camp under a flag of truce and demanded an unconditional surrender. The Union officers believed that the noise they had heard signified a very large Confederate force and surrendered immediately. McNelly was able to take all 800 Union troops prisoner.

In April 1864, McNelly was wounded at the Battle of Mansfield. He took no sick leave or furlough in the entire four years of fighting, however. In the last months of the war he led mounted scouts working near Hempstead, Texas to round up deserters, and his unit was one of the last Confederate Army units to disband. Following the war, McNelly moved to Brenham, where he married and had a son and daughter.

...
Wikipedia