Dix, John J., 1826-1910

Captain John James Dix had long and varied military and civilian careers in Texas. He was born in Michigan on March 24, 1826. His family emigrated to Texas, arriving in February 1834, and settled at Coles Settlement, renamed Independence in 1836, in Washington County. In 1845, during the U.S.-Mexican War, he went to the mouth of the Rio Grande and worked as a sutler's clerk and as a horse drover for the Army quartermaster. After the war, he settled in south Texas, west of the Nueces River.

In January 1860, Dix joined and was elected a second lieutenant in a special force of Texas Rangers under the command of Major John S. (Rip) Ford. The Rangers had been called out after Brownsville had been temporarily occupied by forces led by Juan Cortina during a local uprising. Dix and the Rangers fought a brief battle against Cortina in February 1860 before peace was restored in the Rio Grande Valley. In 1862, during the Civil War, Dix raised a company of men and served one year as their captain in the Frontier Regiment from 1862-1863. Dix then returned to his home and joined a company of the Home Guard for a year. In July 1864, he enlisted in the Expeditionary Force of Colonel John S. (Rip) Ford to serve in the Brownsville area. He was appointed quartermaster of the Expeditionary Force and also served as Colonel Ford's adjutant until the end of the war.

...