Oh indeed there are going to be tensions. Confederate vets would be embraced by most of the populace but still they'd have to follow the law as set down by the Union or they'd be considered outlaws, just as any other law breaker would. I'm sure there was brawls, stabbings, shootings but they would be dealt with harshly. The army used a lot of ex Texas rangers and other lawmen that had not worn a Confederate uniform to keep the peace at this time. They might have even turned to ex Confederates though it's still early after the war.
@User, is it ok with the GM to have more than one character?
Oh...this will be interesting. I hope you all did your research into what post Civil War Laredo was like. It was not a large city, the area was kept under law by the recently returned Union army and those it recruited into helping, mostly ex Rangers and lawmen. There probably would not be a sheriff or deputies or any of that. Reconstruction government was ruling at the time, cattle drives were a big money maker for the ranches nearby and there was plenty of cattle rustling and banditry across the border. Also, a note, there is Nuevo Laredo right across the Rio Grande which is where most of the native born ethnic Mexican population went after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo ignored Laredo's vote to stay part of Mexico.
GM, what season is it? Laredo has two seasons, scorching hot and mildly warm.
Just did some reading, the county's population went from about 1,400 people in 1860 to 2,615 by 1870. So all those newcomers had to come from somewhere, some carpetbaggers and some trying to start a new life away from the war's devastation.
Origin: Born in San Antonio, Texas and his family moved to Austin briefly but lived much of his life on a small farm to the west of the town in the hill country.
Current Occupation: Currently working as a hand on the Double Eight ranch owned by Joseph McCall.
Appearance: Benj stands about 5’11’’ in his stocking feet, his body is wiry and lean muscled with little fat to spare. His hair is deep chestnut brown, tousled and grown out, it now hangs down past his ears. He has a thick moustache and has let his beard grow, currently a rough thick stubble. His eyes are pale blue-grey, set in a lean, chiseled face lined from war and the hot Texas sun. His left leg is slightly crooked and shorter than the other, a result of a wound taken during the war.
He often wears a faded blue striped work shirt under a dark brown wool vest and a pair of sturdy tan colored trousers, patched at the knees. His boots are well made sturdy waterproofed deep brown leather, worn down at the heels, especially the right as he compensates for his limp. Though it’s rare to need to wear a coat in Laredo, he has a long tan wool duster that he keeps on hand, his hat is his Confederate cavalry officer’s hat, a black hat with creased crown and one side turned up more than the other. He carries with him a Bowie-style knife, a Henry rifle and Colt Navy pistol he took from a dead Union cavalry officer. He rides a sturdy grulla dun mustang mare named Lucy.
Personality: Laconic, introverted for the most part he is more intelligent than he looks and given the right mood and level of intoxication, will tell a few stories.
Skills/Abilities: Experienced tracker and rider, he can go long distances in the saddle, following the trails of bandits. He’s had to learn to pick up the often hard trails of Apache and Comanche raiders and has a rather keen eye for detail. He is a good marksman though will never claim to be the best. He can hold his own in a brawl but prefers to use his words than his fists if he can, especially since his injury.
Miscellaneous: He is an avid reader of pretty much anything though his favorites are history and poetry. It is not something he talks about much though he has been seen with a book in his saddle bags or writing in a journal. He does have a habit of drinking but his real crutch is opium, in particular morphine, that he became addicted to after he was injured.
History/Bio: In 1837, Benjamin Ross was born in San Antonio to Ben and Mary Ann Ross, one year after Texas won its independence from Mexico. His father and uncle Bill had volunteered in the war, his uncle died at the Alamo but his father had been riding as a scout and missed the doomed stand in his home town. He went on to fight under Sam Houston at San Jacinto, defeating the Mexican army. He went home to his fiance and they married in the cathedral not far from the ruins of the famous little chapel.
Benj had one younger brother, Samuel and two younger sisters, Anna and Jane. His father and mother worked on their small farm, often with the help of her younger brother who was a teenager when their parents died. Benj had a large extended family that lived scattered through the Hill Country. Benj's father moved his family to Austin and joined the Texas Rangers. His father rode with the Texas Rangers to protect the frontier from Indian attacks and further invasions from Mexico until Texas joined the Union and the US went to war. He rode with the likes of famous rangers like “Bigfoot” Wallace and the McCullough brothers, and Robert Gillespie. When the US went to war with Mexico, he rode with them, fighting in small mounted units with a variety of weapons the Rangers earned a fearsome reputation, known as “Los Diablos Tejanos” by their enemy. Once the war was over, his father returned home but not permanently. When called upon, he eagerly took up the badge and rode with the Rangers in pursuit of wanted men and renegade Indians.
Though he was not around as often, Benj idolized his father and the men he rode with, staying up listening to their tales and war stories. His father taught him about weapons and tactics, how to ride and track but his mother pushed on him the importance of education, planning for her son to go to college but Benj wanted to join the Rangers. Unfortunately, they had lost most of their captains to the US Army that had taken over the defense of the Texas frontier but there was a still a core group dedicated to tracking down outlaws that the Army could not as they had their hands full with the raiding Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Indians. In 1861, Texas joined the Confederacy and Benj decided to sign up to go to war. He longed to emulate his father and uncle’s exploits in the wars before and their service with the paramilitary Rangers, he was tired of cleaning up the little messes of the Union forces and did not want to be left out of what he felt was going to be the only big war of his generation. His father warned him against it, told him if he was to fight let it be on Texas soil but Benj had dreams of glory and fervor, arguing that if Texas joined the Southern cause then it was their fight. His younger brother and two cousins joined the famous Texas Brigade led by General Hood, all of them were killed in one battle or another.
Determined to stay in the saddle, he signed on with volunteers in Houston under Col. Benjamin F. Terry to form a unit known as Terry’s Texas Rangers. They were sent to Tennessee though originally were supposed to go to Virginia with the Texas Brigade. The cavalry unit saw action in all the major battles west of the Mississippi and were renowned for their riding and shooting skills. Benj rode in the battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga and Chickamauga. In 1863 he was promoted to lieutenant and lead a group behind enemy lines to harass Union troops. He was part of the failed defense against Sherman’s march to Atlanta but made them pay through guerilla warfare as they harassed the flanks of their troops and he saw first hand the devastation to the civilian population. During the war he had been wounded lightly, never bad enough to stay out of action for long but in the Battle of Bentonville his horse was shot out from under him and this time he did not roll away and the animal fell, breaking his leg and tearing up the tendons of his knee as it twisted under him. Many officers were killed and it was the final battle for their unit, the Army of Tennessee and the rest of the Confederacy surrendered shortly after.
Benj made his way back and found a riderless horse, managing to get mounted and find his unit. They were decimated and on the retreat. Sherman did not pursue though and not long after, the war was over. His leg healed badly, slightly crooked and shorter than other which now gives him a pronounced limp. Morphine was used in the field hospital when his broken leg was set, the doctor not sure if he would have to amputate the compound fracture but Benj insisted on getting up and limping off the operating table. There were too many other wounded to bother stopping him so his leg was splinted and he was given a liberal dose of morphine. He continued to use to mask the pain in his leg and the nightmares of war. He returned to Texas and saw what what Reconstruction was doing to his home town and the blue coats patrolling the countryside were now no longer professional rivals but once deadly enemies. Unable to settle and finding out the woman he had loved and left for war married another gave him no reason to stay. He took a horse and rode south despite his dislike for Mexicans after the wars of his father and grandfather. He ended up in Laredo, finding work as a ranch hand despite his crippled leg, he could still mend fences and ride.
Secrets: There are things he did in war and witnessed that he refuses to speak of or even write about. His brother's death in the war weighs heavy on his conscience. His addiction to morphine and opiates. More to be revealed.
Member
Dion
cider
erikh