Western Outlaw. He was a deserter from Morgan's Squadron, the Confederate cavalry unit shown on his grave marker. He also served with the 15th Texas Cavalry and was discharged on disability. Baker waged a one man war against Reconstruction in Arkansas and Texas following the Civil War. He murdered many freed slaves and whites whom he considered carpetbaggers and Union sympathizers. He and his band of cutthroats pillaged and killed almost at will, managing to elude Union troops sent to kill or capture him. He was killed by local citizens who were frustrated by the army's inability to bring him to justice. He was romanticized as "The Swamp Fox of the Sulphur" by reporters as far away as New York. He is the subject of at least two biographies: "Cullen Baker: Premier Texas Gunfighter," by Ed Bartholomew (1954) and "The Borderlands and Cullen Baker," by Yvonne Vestal (1978). He is also the subject of two novels, "The First Fast Draw," by Louis L'Amour and "I Rode with Cullen Baker," by RLB Hartmann.
Western Outlaw. He was a deserter from Morgan's Squadron, the Confederate cavalry unit shown on his grave marker. He also served with the 15th Texas Cavalry and was discharged on disability. Baker waged a one man war against Reconstruction in Arkansas and Texas following the Civil War. He murdered many freed slaves and whites whom he considered carpetbaggers and Union sympathizers. He and his band of cutthroats pillaged and killed almost at will, managing to elude Union troops sent to kill or capture him. He was killed by local citizens who were frustrated by the army's inability to bring him to justice. He was romanticized as "The Swamp Fox of the Sulphur" by reporters as far away as New York. He is the subject of at least two biographies: "Cullen Baker: Premier Texas Gunfighter," by Ed Bartholomew (1954) and "The Borderlands and Cullen Baker," by Yvonne Vestal (1978). He is also the subject of two novels, "The First Fast Draw," by Louis L'Amour and "I Rode with Cullen Baker," by RLB Hartmann.
Bio by: George Bacon
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