Texas Vigilantes.
In 1839, land disputes, fraudulent land transactions, and cattle rustling in Harrison and Shelby Counties, Texas, led to the formation of the Shelby County Regulators the following year. The Regulators’ principal leaders were Charles W. Jackson and Charles W. Moorman, and their primary goal was to prevent cattle rustling.
However, as the Regulators’ actions became too extreme, a counter-vigilante group called the Moderators formed to “moderate” the Regulators. This opposing faction’s principal leaders were Edward Merchant, John M. Bradley, and Deputy Sheriff James J. Cravens. The conflict stemmed from land disputes over neutral ground between the American and Mexican borders. As the violence between the two factions escalated and eventually spread to San Augustine, Nacogdoches, and other East Texas counties, the conflict became known as the Regulator-Moderator War.
Of the whole affair, Sam Houston reportedly stated, “I think it advisable to declare Shelby County, Tenaha, and Terrapin Neck free and independent governments, and let them fight it out.” When the conflict was finally resolved in 1844, at least ten people had been killed, including Regulator leader Charles W. Jackson.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
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