The War Between the States
George Washington Arrington was born John Cromwell Orrick, Jr. at Greensboro, Alabama on December 23rd, 1844. At the outbreak of War between the States, at the age of seventeen, he joined the 5th Alabama Infantry and served with it until 17 September, 1862, during the battle of Sharpsburg/ Antietam, where he was wounded, and taken prisoner. While being transferred by rail to Ft. McHenry, a teribly overwhelmed field hospital, he jumped form the train and eventually reached the Birginia shore in Loudoun County. There he joined Company D, of Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the “Gray Ghost” of the Confederacy, where he often did undercover work as a spy, He also served under Longstreet, Hampton, and J.E.B. Stuart. He served to the close of the war with conspicuous gallantry, having fought in the Battles of Manassas/Bull Run, Harpers Ferry, Antietam, and Gettysburg .
After the wars end he went to Mexico, but arrived too late to join Emperor Maximilian as a mercenary. He made a brief trip to Central America before moving to Texas in 1870. He worked for the Houston and Texas Ventral Railway in Houston and later took a job at a commission house in Galveston. in 1874 he farmed briefly in Collin County; he was subsequently hired to help trail a cattle herd to Brown County.
Civil War Field Hospital
Captain of Company “C”, Frontier Battalion, Texas State Troops
Arrington was in Brown County in 1875 when he enlisted in Company E of the newly organized Frontier Battalion of Texas Rangers. During his first two years of service he distinguished himself in the Rio Grande Valley by tracking down fugitives and outlaws. Maj. John B. Jones recommended his promotion from sergeant to first lieutenant in 1877 because of his successful accomplishment of difficult missions. The following year Arrington was made captain of Company C and stationed at Coleman.
“My title of Captain was given to me by the Governor of Texas in the Battalion of Texas Rangers in the ’70’s, when I commanded a company for three years and seven days on the Texas frontier and the Mexican border”
G W Arrington letter to General virgil y. cook-1907
In July 1878 he was ordered to Fort Griffin to restore peace in the wake of vigilante activities. In the summer of 1879 his company was moved to the Panhandle to investigate depredations at area ranches. His opposition to federal American Indian policy soon brought him into sharp conflict with Lt. Col. J. W. Davidson at Fort Elliott. In September Arrington established Camp Roberts, the first ranger camp in the Panhandle, east of the site of present Crosbyton. From there in January and February 1880 he led his men on a successful forty-day search for the Lost Lakes in eastern New Mexico; the troop also charted the area from Yellow House Canyon to Ranger Lake, in eastern New Mexico, and located watering places and American Indian hideouts. In 1880–81 Arrington and his men covered much of the Panhandle and were stationed briefly at both Mobeetie and Tascosa. Because of his rank he received the nickname “Cap.”
Arrington in Company C
Sheriff Arrington
Arrington was never far from his sidearm. This photo appears to show him carrying this Merwin-Hulbert 44 caliber revolver.
Arrington resigned from the rangers in the summer of 1882 to take advantage of Panhandle ranching opportunities. After helping area ranchers break up a major rustling ring, he was elected sheriff of Wheeler County and the fourteen adjacent counties. About that time he met Sarah (Sallie) Burnette. They were married at her hometown, Westboro, Missouri, on 18 Oct 1882. They became the parents of three sons and six daughters; the first son died in infancy. During Arrington’s years as sheriff, the family resided at the county jail in Mobeetie, where 2 of his children were born, pictured right.
He served as Wheeler County Sheriff until 1890. When Hemphill County Sheriff Tom McGee was murdered in office, Arrington was appointed as acting sheriff on 30 Nov 1894, six days after McGee’s murder. He served in that position until 1896. During his time as Hemphill County Sheriff, he filed on choice ranch land on the Washita River in Hemphill County. After first living in a dugout, he erected two cabins as his home and headquarters and, in 1885, registered his CAP brand.
/L to R-front row: N F Locke, District and County Clerk, Emanuel Dubbs, first County Judge in the Panhandle, J J Long, Treasurer-all Wheeler County officials Back Row L to R: Joe Mason, Deputy, Wheeler Co, G W Arrington, Sheriff, Wheeler Co., C B Willingham, Sheriff Oldham Co.
Arrington’s life of adventure and law enforcement is a rare gem in Texas history. He was a man of keen and unfailing judgment and quick decision. He could read character with remarkable intuition at a glance. With a keen eye and steady hand, he had the ideal qualifications for an officer of the law and an Indian fighter.
He was fearless and could track outlaws and bring them to court when others had lost the trail. He was one of a very few men whom Clay Allison, the notorious gunman respected as his equal in nerve and quick action.
Not Just a Man. A Mason
During his life, Cap Arrington, as a Mason, was a member of Samson Lodge No. 231, Highland (then Lynchburg), Texas, Fort Griffin Lodge No. 489, Throckmorton, Texas, Albany Lodge No. 482, Albany, Texas, Miami Lodge No. 805, Miami, Texas, and the Knight Templar Commandry in Canadian, Texas. As a Mason and York Rite Member, he became involved in the civic affairs of Canadian, where the family lived for seven years in the former home of Cape Willingham so the older children could attend school. His life continually depicted the beliefs and values of Freemasonry.
Capt. G. W. Arrington passed from this transitory life to that shore beyond on March 31st, 1923, at his home in Canadian, Texas He was buried in Mobeetie Cemetery with Masonic Honors by his brothers in Miami Lodge No. 805.
His wife, Sallie, was laid to rest beside him in 1945.
After his death, Cap Arrington’s friends donated $3000.00 to erect a monument in his honor. Rancher T. D. Hobart of Pampa and D. J. Young, president of the First National Bank in Canadian, collected the funds.
A DARING SCOUT DURING THE CIVIL WAR. CAPTAIN OF COMPANY “C” OF THE TEXAS RANGERS, SHERIFF OF WHEELER AND ATTACHED COUNTIES FOR EIGHT YEARS. A FEARLESS OFFICER TO WHOM THE FRONTIER OF TEXAS OWES A DEBT OF GRATITUDE.
INSCRIPTION
Civil War veteran of the Battles of Manassas/Bull Run, Harpers Ferry, Antietam and Gettysburg.
Strong of Character and Unyielding in nature, this compelling man helped create the Panhandle Spirit.
MORE THAN A MAN. A MASON.