Bourland was born in Pendleton, South Carolina and lived in Kentucky and Tennessee.
He moved to what is now Lamar County, Texas in 1837, where he was a trader in horses and slaves.
Bourland also owned a plantation in Cooke County, Texas and was in the mercantile business.
During the Mexican–American War of 1846, he organized the Third Regiment, Texas Mounted Rifles.
[1][2] On the morning of October 1, 1862, Colonel Bourland marshalled state troops to begin arresting suspected Unionists in the Cooke County area, an action that culminated in the Great Hanging at Gainesville.