George Wythe Baylor | |
|---|---|
.jpg) George W. Baylor | |
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 80th district | |
| In office January 11, 1887 – January 8, 1889 | |
| Preceded by | John Bailey |
| Succeeded by | George B. Stevenson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 24, 1832 Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory |
| Died | March 24, 1916 (aged 83) San Antonio, Texas, US |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | .svg){kind=small} Confederate States |
| Branch | .svg){kind=small} Confederate States Army |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Commands | 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment (Arizona Brigade) |
| Battles | |
George Wythe Baylor (August 24, 1832 – March 24, 1916) was a Confederate cavalry officer from Texas, and a veteran of many battles of the American Civil War. He was also a noted lawman and frontiersman with the Texas Rangers.
Born at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, in 1832, Baylor came to Texas at the end of 1845 as a boy and was educated there. After the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate States Army, and was elected first lieutenant, 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles. He witnessed the death of General Johnston at Shiloh, and fought in many engagements of the Red River campaign in Louisiana in 1864. He was promoted to major, and later colonel, by President Davis, although his promised regiment of Texas Rangers was never raised owing to the collapse of the Confederacy in 1865.
After the war, Baylor commanded Texas Rangers in hunting Comanches and Apaches in Texas and across the border into Mexico, often in pursuit of the Apache chief Victorio and his raiding band. He was also an elected representative of the Texas State Government, representing El Paso from 1887 to 1889. He later retired to Guadalajara, Mexico, and lived there for some years, but was compelled to return to the United States in 1913 due to the Mexican Revolution. He died in San Antonio in 1916.