Richard Clayton “Dick” Ware was born November 11, 1851 near Rome, Georgia to Benjamin Franklin Lafayette Ware and Mary Jane Price Ware. Ware is the Texas Ranger traditionally credited for giving outlaw Sam Bass his fatal gunshot wound in Round Rock, Texas in July, 1878.
Richard was the second of six children born to the couple. He was 18 years old when the family moved to Texas in 1870. Ware joined the Texas Rangers in the mid 1870s and was assigned to Company E of the Rangers under Major John B. Jones. He was soon promoted to sergeant. He was serving with the Rangers under Lieutenant Reynolds on the morning of July 19, 1878 after they had pursued the Sam Bass gang to Round Rock. Some accounts say that Ware was in a barber shop getting a shave when the shooting started. Others say that he was on a stakeout there in some building in the old downtown area.
For several years, Bass and a rotating number of associates had been robbing trains and stagecoaches in Texas and elsewhere. During the first half of 1878, they had already robbed several trains and coaches in and around Dallas County and were thought to have been hiding out in rural Denton County between robberies. Bass was said to have masterminded a robbery of a Union Pacific train in Nebraska in 1877. This caper reportedly netted $60,000 in newly minted gold coins. This money has been the basis for a Sam Bass buried treasure legend since then. However, the gang’s efforts were not always successful. There was an April 10, 1878 train robbery of a Texas & Pacific train near Mesquite in which Bass and his gang netted only $152. The gang actually missed more money that was held in the rail car. Express agents had buried the real loot of $30,000 in the ashes of the car’s unlit wood stove. Though this was not the gang’s last attempted robbery, this particular holdup seems to have aroused the citizens and authorities to the point where federal, state and local lawmen focused more strongly on apprehending Bass and his associates.
Sam Bass, Seaborn Barnes and Frank Jackson had come to rob a bank in Williamson County, a bit out of their recent territory. The three outlaws had arrived in Round Rock on July 19, 1878 either to commit the crime or scout out the location. Two local deputies, Williamson County deputy A. W. Grimes and Travis County deputy Morris Moore were in the area along with numerous other law enforcement personnel. Texas Rangers had been tipped off to the robbery by a Bass gang member named Jim Murphy. Ware, and fellow Rangers George Herold, Junius Peak, Chris Connor, John Armstrong and possibly others were on the scene. Deputy Grimes approached the outlaws in the Kopperal general store across from the bank. Grimes asked the three to turn in their sidearms, since openly carrying guns was against the law in Round Rock. In response to the request, Bass and his associates opened fire, fatally wounding Deputy Grimes. A gun battle ensued. Deputy Moore was wounded but managed to shoot Bass in the hand. In the exchange, Bass was shot a second time in the abdomen, presumably by Ware, and his associate Barnes was shot and killed. The third outlaw, Jackson, managed to escape with the wounded Bass who was found about three miles away the next day seated leaning against a tree. Bass was taken back to Round Rock where he died the following day. The accounts of his deathbed comments do not always agree, but Bass is said to have spoken of Ware as having been the one who shot him the second time.
Bass was also born in 1851 and died on his 27th birthday. Bass is buried in Round Rock. Seaborn Barnes had recently turned 24 and died of a fatal head wound in the Round Rock shootout. He is buried in Round Rock next to Bass. Barnes had been a participant in the Texas and Pacific train robbery in April. Frank “Arkansas” Jackson’s fate is unknown after he fled the Round Rock area. Informant Jim Murphy was said to have been ostracized for his role in the Round Rock shooting. By informing on the planned robbery, Murphy had been trying to obtain leniency for his previous crimes. His fate is not documented but there are some suggestions that he may have taken his own life in 1878. An alternative theory is that Murphy might have been poisoned by Jackson or someone else close to Bass in retaliation for Murphy’s role as an informant.
Who actually delivered the fatal wound to Bass in the chaotic shootout was never completely resolved. Some accounts credit fellow Ranger George Herold as having delivered the fatal abdominal wound to Bass, but the credit traditionally was given to Ware. After the Sam Bass shootout, Ware remained with Company E about three more years before being transferred to Company B in West Texas in 1890. After one more year in Mitchell County, he resigned his commission and narrowly won a campaign for sheriff, the first sheriff of that county. Ware was reelected until 1892 when he lost a close contest to a former deputy by one vote.
The following year, a suggestion was made that Ware apply for a position as United States Marshal. He acted on the idea, traveled to Washington and personally met with President Grover Cleveland. Ware was appointed as marshal for the Western District of Texas on April 25, 1893. He served in that capacity out of Colorado City for about five years. One year after another presidential election, George L. Siebrecht was appointed to Ware’s position and Ware retired from law enforcement. An article in the El Paso Weekly Herald in February, 1898 described Ware as “a conscientious officer” and “one of those plain, unassuming good hearted cattlemen, for which Texas is noted.” The article continued, adding that Ware intended to make San Antonio his home. While living in Colorado City, Ware had begun to raise cattle and became well known as a stockman.
Ware had developed a heart ailment at some point. An obituary in the Fort Worth Morning Register noted that he had sought treatment in Corpus Christi but that his condition had not materially improved. He then came to Fort Worth for further treatment and after about four months, Ware died on June 25, 1902 at the Protestant Sanitarium, at that time located at Main Street near downtown. When he died, his father, two of his brothers, B. T. Ware and Charles L. Ware, and one sister, Delta Ware Carter were with him. At the time of his death, Richard was 50 years old. He had never married and in his will he left his assets to his family. After a funeral officiated by local area clergymen, he was interred in the Colorado City Cemetery.
© 2025, all rights reserved.
Texas History Notebook 