William Gillespie

Texas Rangers — Austin, TX

Felonious

End of Watch May 29, 1850

The Vigil Panel 1 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 121

Incident

A Texas Ranger company of about 70 men under the command of Captain John S. “Rip” Ford located a band of Comanche warriors who had been raiding settlements. One Comanche warrior was wounded twice, and left for dead in the charge. As Private William Gillespie passed, the warrior revived. Gillespie started to shoot the warrior with his pistol, but his horse swerved, and the shot went wild. The warrior shot Gillespie in the side with an arrow that penetrated his left lung. Fellow rangers moved Gillespie to a shade tree. Gillespie was unable to ride a horse so the men constructed a litter for him. He died that night about eight hours after being wounded. He was buried with honors near Agua Dulce. No other information is known about Gillespie at this time.

Pvt. Gillespie, On today, the 170th anniversary of your death I would just like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for the citizens of the state of Texas.

R.I.P. USBP

Anonymous United States Border Patrol May 29th, 2020

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-TX-2BE4C351
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

176 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Private Gillespie served with the Texas Rangers.
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

Location Austin, TX

Platform Identity tr.travis.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 29, 1850

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Edged weapon; Bow and arrow

Private William Gillespie is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Texas Rangers, 104 of 122 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 85.2% of this agency's fallen.

Texas Rangers

104

of 122 officers

85.2% Felonious

TX — Statewide

1,463

of 2,421 officers

60.4% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious