Helm fought briefly for the Confederacy during the Civil War, enlisting in 1861 as a private with Company G, Texas Cavalry, CSA.
[2] After the war ended, Helm functioned as the leader of the Goliad County Regulators, a group of vigilantes, who cruelly—but successfully—restored order to the area which was suffering rampant cattle rustling and general lawlessness.
[4] Helm and Goliad County Sheriff Andrew J. Jacobs, were successful in the capture of a Creed Taylor ally, Jim Bell, wanted on warrants.
[2] He would often give lawbreakers 10 days to leave Texas or face the consequences (usually to be shot dead with no warning or formal trial).
With Governor Edmund J. Davis's approval, Helm held the rank of captain, and was tasked with patrolling the Texas counties of Wilson, Nueces, DeWitt, Bee, and Goliad during the Reconstruction.
[4][7] Mainly due to his decidedly heavy-handed methods, and the public outrage following the deaths of the Kelly brothers, Helm was suspended the following October.
[8] On May 17, 1873,[a][10][11] the outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, an ally of the Taylor family, played a part in the death of Helm in Albuquerque, Texas.
Helm found himself unarmed except for a bowie knife when confronted by Hardin, having developed the habit of leaving his guns in his room while working on his invention.