William M. Bohanon
Agency patch
Private

William M. Bohanon

Texas Rangers — Austin, TX
Illness
End of Watch July 2, 1885
Age 29
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 8 mo
The Vigil Panel 8 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Private William M. Bohanon enlisted in Company C of the Frontier Battalion of the Texas Rangers on November 11, 1883 under the command of Captain George Schmitt. The rangers were troubled with fever and illness during the summer of 1885, which resulted from high water caused by heavy rains. On May 13, 1885, Private J. G. Wood, a new recruit, died from illness. Captain Schmitt received a very terse letter from Captain John O. Johnson of the Adjutant General’s office in Austin regarding expenses incurred by the company while on recent duty in Fredericksburg; in his reply, which gives some indication of conditions, Schmitt related that several men were sick with fever from “exposure and swimming the rivers” and that one man was not expected to live.

Private Bohanon became ill from typhoid fever on June 22 and died on July 2. He was reportedly buried in Pearsall, Frio County, and had no relations in Texas.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-469FD3D3
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
September 9, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

141 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Private Bohanon gave the Texas Rangers 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Austin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Texas Rangers
Type Other
Location Austin, TX
Platform Identity tr.travis.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 2, 1885
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 8 mo
Age 29
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness

Private William M. Bohanon is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,784 officers honored here.

In TX, 204 of 2,422 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 8.4 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Texas Rangers, 7 of 122 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 5.7% of this agency's fallen.

Texas Rangers
7
of 122 officers
5.7% Illness
TX — Statewide
204
of 2,422 officers
8.4% Illness
Nationwide
1
of 97,784 officers
0% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William M. Bohanon's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How William M. Bohanon Compares

Age at Death
29
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
1.7
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William M. Bohanon is highlighted in Jul.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
186
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
182
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
353
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285