A. A. Ruzin

Texas Rangers — Austin, TX

Felonious

End of Watch August 10, 1878

Tour of Duty 2 mo

The Vigil Panel 6 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 121

Incident

In 1878, the Trans-Pecos region in far West Texas was still the domain of the Western Apaches. Company C of the Frontier Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant John B. Tays, who was the ill fated ranger lieutenant who surrendered to a mob during the El Paso Salt War siege in San Elizario in December 1877, after Ranger Sergeants C. E. Mortimer and John E. McBride were killed. Ranger Major John B. Jones did not relieve Tays or censure him over the incident. He resigned in March 1878 but re-enlisted as a lieutenant.

On Saturday, August 10, 1878, Lieutenant Tays was on a scouting expedition when he approached some springs. He divided his men into two groups of six rangers each to get water by detachments. As the first group of rangers rounded some rocks, they ran into a band of ten or twelve Indians riding away from the water holes. Both sides were startled, the Indians headed for the rocks, and five of the six rangers dived into a nearby gully. The sixth, Private A. A. Ruzin, identified as a Russian nobleman, chose to stand upright and fight like a gentleman, and was quickly cut down with a bullet to the brain. Two horses were shot but no other rangers were killed or wounded in the fight. No Indians were reported to have been killed in the exchange. The Indians stole Ruzin’s Winchester and pistol and five ranger horses before escaping.

Virtually nothing is known about A. A. Ruzin except that all accounts report him as a Russian nobleman. His ranger pay record indicates he enlisted as a private on June 1, 1878. His pay from June 1 to August 10 totaled $93. A contemporary account reported that Ruzin was buried on the battlefield and a wooden marker placed on his grave, but later Indians passing by hacked it up.

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Last updated: August 2, 2026

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Tributes

148 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Private Ruzin 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

Type Other

Location Austin, Travis County, TX

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

Service Record

End of Watch August 10, 1878

Tour of Duty 2 mo

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Rifle

The Sacrifice · Felonious

A. is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

Compare against

Time

In 1878, 51 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 139th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States

Who

A. had served 0.2 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death

Where he stood among them

Age by years of service

III

When

August holds 8.9% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Saturdays: 16.3%.

By month

By day of the week

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was rifle, in 5.9% of these deaths.

Every cause

Weapons recorded