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Private

Joseph R. Riff

Texas Rangers — Austin, TX
Felonious
United States flag Texas flag
End of Watch December 6, 1870
Age 23
Tour of Duty 2 mo
The Vigil Panel 4 ›
Gender Male
Incident Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 121

Incident

In the summer of 1870 the State of Texas created the Frontier Forces as an effort after the Civil War to protect its western frontier. German born Captain Henrich Joseph Richarz commanded Company E assigned to Fort Inge in Uvalde County. Captain Richarz’s company was to prevent Indian raids from Mexico.

On December 6, 1870, a ranger scouting party led by Doctor J. E. Woodbridge, who had suspended his practice to serve as a ranger officer, were on patrol with fourteen men, with three men on a side scout. The rangers met an estimated seventy Comanche. The Comanche formed two lines on a slight rise and soon flanked the eleven rangers, who made a stubborn resistance using their repeating Winchester rifles to wound several Indians. Woodbridge was hit in the head by an Indian and unhorsed in a hand-to-hand encounter. When several rangers came to his rescue, Private Lorenzo Biediger was killed. The three absent rangers heard the sounds of heavy firing and returned, striking the flank of the surprised Comanche, killing a chief. The Comanche withdrew back into Mexico.

Also on December 6, another band of Indians killed Privates Walter Richarz, son of Captain Richarz, and Joseph Riff, at a creek about sixteen miles from Fort Inge. Evidence at the scene indicated the two rangers put up a fierce fight. Lt. Xaver Wanz departed from Fort Inge with the reserve force to track the Indians, but the raiders had escaped back into Mexico.

All three rangers were from Medina County and enlisted on September 9, 1870 and served for two months and 27 days until their deaths on December 6, 1870. Walter Richarz was 24, single, and was buried in the Rudinger/Richarz Cemetery in D’Hanis in Medina County. Lorenzo Biediger was 24, single, and was buried in the St. Louis Cemetery in Castroville in Medina County. Joseph R. Riff was 23, married, and was also buried in the St. Louis Cemetery in Castroville in Medina County.

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September 9, 2026

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Tributes

156 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Private Riff 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 December 6, 1870
Tour of Duty 2 mo
Age 23
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Unknown weapon

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Joseph 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.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 1870, 31 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 155th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Joseph was 23. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Joseph 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

December holds 9.4% of these deaths in the United States, more than any other month. Tuesdays: 13.4%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was unknown weapon, in 0.5% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Texas Rangers has at least 120 officers remembered here, Joseph among them.

Across the years

Private Joseph R. Riff

Texas Rangers · End of Watch December 6, 1870

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 39-E

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