And while no confirmable record of Civil War service, for either side, is available, his father owned enslaved people, and his brother Israel Snead Thurmond was in the Confederate Army.

[4] Regardless of any military activity, in 1863, Thurmond moved to the Idaho Territory and set up a law practice in Virginia City (now part of Montana).

During the December 1864 trial for the first stage robbery in Idaho Territory, Thurmond was part of the defense counsel for George Ives, one of the men guilty of the crime.

[5] The Vigilante Committee of Virginia City, the ersatz law enforcement of the area, took umbrage against Thurmond for his representation of Ives.

[11] On a less positive note, while no one was harmed, in October 1868, Thurmond found himself in a knife- and pistol-involved argument that would replay itself similarly in Texas on more than one occasion.

Governor Davis, uncertain as to the legal vacancy of Thurmond’s Thirty-first District, requested that the Senate Judicial committee investigate.

This committee reported to Governor Davis that Thurmond’s words related to the purpose of the resignation letter rang false.

In the 1874 trial of the lynching of Reuben “Rube” Johnson, The State of Texas vs. Marion Dill, William Bell and Elija Rice, Thurmond defended the accused men.

Wanting to further Dallas’ reputation as a safe, profitable, and well-maintained city, the Council passed ordinances related to public health, drunkenness, gaming, vagrancy, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.

During the trial, Thurmond allegedly made defamatory statements about the Dallas police force, commenting that the officers must be acting in concert with the saloon’s owner and stepping aside as illegal activities occurred.

When Officer W. H. Smith confronted Thurmond with the information on the horse, the mayor declared he had already sold the animal and refused to identify the buyer.

Thurmond pled ignorance about knowing the amount; however, as the gaming ordinance was enacted by him, the investigators met his claim with skepticism.

[25] During the brief campaign period, Thurmond asserted that not only had official papers been forged against him but also that without the input of the citizenry, he had been unconstitutionally removed from office.

Upon appeal, he was acquitted with self-defense noted as the reason for the shooting[26] Thurmond, interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Dallas, Texas, was a man of many sides, as multiple newspapers, books, and first-hand accounts described him.

Called a carpet-bagger, a “true and unswerving Republican”, a loyal friend, a convicted liar, an honorable man, a scoundrel, and “a brilliant fellow .