Texas Ranger and victim of the Jaybird-Woodpecker War. The son of a saloonkeeper, Frank was raised in St. Louis. After being employed as an office clerk by various St. Louis firms before going to Texas, he began his Range career on June 23, 186 in Company C at Laredo, but transferred on September 1, 1886 to Company D, commanded by famed Captain Frank Jones. He rendered efficient service, performed his duties faithfully and served throughout South Texas during a turbulent period.The climax of his service came when political differences resulting in a feud that broke out in Fort Bend County in the summer of 1889 grew to such proportions that Governor L. S. Ross ordered Rangers to Richmond, the embattled county seat. The Jaybird-Woodpecker War was a feud between two political factions for the control of Fort Bend County. The Jaybirds, representing the wealth and about 90 percent of the white population, were the regular Democrats who sought to rid the county of the Republican government that had gained control during Reconstruction. The Woodpeckers, numbering about forty persons and also claiming to be Democrats, were the officials and former officials who held office as a result of the black vote for the Republican ticket. Former friends, neighbors, and relatives became bitter enemies as a result of the feud. The town was an armed camp when Captain Jones sent Sergeant Ira Aten with seven men to regulate the issue but the danger soon subsided and four of their number were sent elsewhere to see to more pressing matters of law enforcement. Frank was among the three Rangers who remained in Richmond with Aten. The division between the warring Jaybird and Woodpecker factions came to a head on August 16, 1889, when Jaybirds faced Woodpeckers in front of the courthouse. Aten, Schmid and Alex McNabb, all mounted, attempted to block the path of the feudists, but to no avail. The outnumbered Rangers had little chance to do anything but attempt to avoid being hit in the crossfire as Aten ordered them to “Save yourselves, boys!” As Aten rode for safety, he saw Schmid lying in the street and rushed back into the mob to aid the fallen Ranger. At first, they thought he had been shot in the stomach, but a hasty examination revealed only a severe bruise where a spent bullet had struck him. Schmid then complained that his right leg seemed paralyzed and they found a wound in the right thigh. When the shooting ended, four citizens, including one innocent bystander, had been killed and many wounded. The unfortunate Schmid was the only casualty among the Rangers. Life now took on a different aspect for the wounded Ranger and never again would things be the same for him. Captain Jones sent him to Houston for treatment but he did not respond satisfactorily and what was first believed to be a slight flesh wound became a serious matter. His condition worsened and he went to San Antonio to seek medical attention there. He carried on a dutiful correspondence with the Adjutant General, reported his expenses monthly and maintained an optimistic outlook in spite of the situation. Other trips to the Santa Rose Infirmary and other operations, each without success, followed. In desperation, he asked that he be allowed to return to St. Louis to be with his family and receive treatment there. Permission was granted in June 1891 and he returned home for the first time in several years. His general condition seemed to have improved somewhat while in St. Louis, but when he returned to the Rangers camp in Uvalde in May 1892, he still was unable to ride horseback, a dire predicament for a Ranger of that time. He lingered on in a painful condition and was assigned to care for the camp, but these duties apparently did not appeal to him and soon through the Adjutant General he requested employment as a clerk in the Treasury Department in the Capitol in Austin. Captain Jones, always interested in Schmid’s well being, added a personal recommendation to the request, stating that he was honest and trustworthy in every respect. Representative W.W. Turner took an interest in the case and presented a bill to the Texas Legislature on March 20, 1892, titled “Relief of F. L. Schmid.” The bill passed without difficulty. The legislation, which became Senate Bill number 255, provided for reimbursement of the $584.50 in expenses borne by Schmid and his family.As a direct result of the leg wound inflicted by an unknown feudist, death came to this young Ranger of indomitable courage and strength of character in the 27th year of his life in Austin, Texas. The plight and long suffering of Frank Schmid mark him as one of the little known heroes of the Frontier Battalion of Texas Rangers.