Known for wearing a Spanish breastplate into battle, Iron Jacket earned his name from this unusual armor — likely recovered in a raid into Northern Mexico. Many believed he had supernatural powers and could blow bullets away, a myth likely fueled by the fact that low-caliber firearms of the time often couldn’t penetrate his armor from a distance. He was killed in the Battle of Little Robe Creek when Texas Rangers and their Native allies attacked a Comanche encampment. His wearing of armor from another nation and a different era is a striking example of the cross between cultures and art forms. This painting is the origin of American Baroque.
