Otto McNab was a soldier in the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution and a member of the Texas Rangers. McNab fought at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 before taking pat in the hunt for the Mexican bandit leader Benito Garza, his friend and uncle.
Biography[]
Otto McNab was born in Tennessee to a Scots-Irish family, one of three children. His father Finlay McNab came to the United States from Northern Ireland, and Otto had only his father in his early life; his mother and sisters died of cholera. Otto and his father became acquainted with the famous James Bowie while they were living in Louisiana, and Otto loved to watch him fight. In 1821, Bowie convinced Finlay to come with him to help in settling Texas, with Zave Campbell writing a letter to Bowie to advertise such a move. Otto and his father settled in Texas with other American immigrants, and Otto was converted to Catholicism (one of the prerequisites for living in Texas). The McNab family lived at Quimper's Ferry, and Otto saw Maddie Quimper as a sort of mother fgigure, while he also befriended Quimper's ranch hand Benito Garza. Garza taught McNab how to speak Spanish and how to break horses, and McNab and Garza would develop a close relationship. The McNabs enjoyed a nice lifestyle, and Finlay McNab married Garza's sister Maria, who became a sort of mother figure to Otto.
Texas Revolution[]
McNab leaving his stepmother and aunt to join the Texian Army, 1836
In 1836, the older McNab joined the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution, heading to help the defenders of the Alamo. Otto decided to join his father, saying goodbye to his stepmother and his aunt Josefina. However, he arrived too late to help the Alamo's defenders, seeing the dead bodies of his father and Zave Campbell. McNab decided to join Sam Houston's army to fight back against the Mexican Army, and he captured Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto on 21 April 1836; Yancey Quimper would be credited with this feat, however.
Hunt for Garza[]
After the war, McNab would make a business for himself by selling horses, and he sold three horses to Clyde Parker for $20; he found the three horses after being ambushed by a Comanche and two Mexicans. In 1837, he joined the Texas Rangers under Sam Houston, and he helped in hunting down his former friend Benito Garza, who launched his own personal war against Texas. McNab discovered the bodies of his stepmother and his aunt when he headed to check on their home along the Rio Grande, and he found Garza there. McNab told Garza that he would kill him during their next encounter, and Garza told him that they were no longer brothers. McNab would return to town, where he would meet with Captain Sam Garner.
Garza's death
Garza launched more attacks on Texan settlements, so McNab asked Captain Garner to allow him to cross the Rio Grande River into Mexican territory and kill Garza. Garner said that doing so would be an act of war against Mexico, and that Texas could not afford to be humiliated in front of the United States. McNab decided to defy these orders, crossing the river by himself and sneaking into Garza's compound, past his 50 guards. He encountered Garza as he left his home, and the two stood off against each other. McNab failed to convince Garza to come quietly, and Garza's girlfriend Lucia interrupted the standoff by wounding McNab with a gunshot. McNab proceeded to shoot Lucia dead before shooting Garza several times with both of his revolvers, mortally wounding him. Garza died in McNab's arms, and McNab was forced to flee on horseback as Garza's bandits fired at him. McNab rushed back across the river to the Texan side, where the Texas Rangers fired on his pursuers. McNab apologized to Garner for ignoring his orders, but Garner did not care about it; he was happy that McNab had done his duty.