Roll of Honor
Incident
Ranger Captain John Coffee Hays left his headquarters at San Antonio on or about June 1st, 1844, with 15 men to scout the hills to the north and west for a Comanche war party led by Yellow Wolf, which had recently been raiding into Bexar County.
On June 8th, 1844, the Rangers spotted a band of Comanche estimated at from forty to upwards of 200 warriors. The rangers mounted and slowly followed the Indians, who were concealed in the heavy brush. Attempts to bait the Rangers to charge were ignored. Finally, the entire Indian force rode forward in a line of battle to draw the Ranger attack. Soon, the Rangers and the warriors were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The Rangers repulsed two counterattacks on their flanks, after which the Indians fled the field and were pursued three miles under heavy fire from the Rangers' new repeating revolvers. At the end of the hour-long battle, Indian casualties were estimated at from twenty to more than fifty killed and wounded, with Yellow Wolf among the slain.
Ranger losses amounted to one killed, Private Peter Fohr, and four seriously wounded. There is little personal information about Peter Fohr except that he enlisted in San Antonio, Bexar County, on January 10th, 1841, and served until his death on June 8th, 1844. His place of burial is unknown.
The battle of Walker Creek, as the fight became known, was the first in which revolvers were used in combat, and a Comanche who had taken part in the battle later complained that the Rangers "had a shot for every finger on the hand."
Pvt. Fohr, On today, the 180th 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.
BPA Mike Casey United States Border Patrol(Retired) June 8th, 2024
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- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
182 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Private Fohr gave the Texas Rangers 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Austin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Private Peter Fohr 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.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Peter Fohr's cause is highlighted.
How Peter Fohr Compares
Offender Outcome
Shot and killed
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Peter Fohr is highlighted in Jun.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Peter Fohr was killed by edged weapon.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
121 officers from Texas Rangers are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
