Texas Ranger John B. Jones and the Frontier Battalion, 1874-1881
That's a book out this year that I haven't read, but intend to.
Thanks for the heads up on the book. On this thread I've been sorta meandering chronologically with frequent jumps out of sequence, just now I'm in the late 1830's, gonna follow Jack Hays' career as best anyone can (turns out a whole lot never made it to print) up to the Mexican War.
After that comes the 1850's and 60's etc, might take a couple of years.
Anyways, March 1837, one year after the Alamo, Mexico taking Texas back still a distinct possibilit., Deaf Smith had snuck his twenty men, many new to Texas and rangering, within a short distance of Laredo, wherein he was supposed to hang a Republic of Texas flag on the church steeple and then, one supposes, hightail it out of there as fast as possible.
History apparently does not record what Deaf Smith thought of this arrangement, certainly he would have been familiar with Laredo and the Mexican forces possible in the vicinity, which likely accounts for why he snuck in instead of parading along the main highway across South Texas between there and San Antonio.
The five Mexicans getting away to sound the alarm, Smith makes camp, in Smith's words, via Moore (Savage Frontier Vol. I).
Early the next morning, taking one man with me, I went out to view the road and, if possible, to take a prisoner in order to ascertain the force of the enemy station in town.
I then found the trail of the cavalry sent out to intercept us and returned to camp and prepared thier reception. The attack was slow in coming, seems like four or five hours waiting, so slow that by one o'clock Smith got tired of waiting and thought to move the horses some miles back to where they could graze.
All of this caution paid off, two miles along their way they sighted the enemy, twice their number of Mexican cavalry, perhaps lancers, from the Laredo garrison.
Smith's response was textbook Plains warfare; if ya had rifles you hightailed it to cover and prepared to deploy accurate fire, inflicting casuaties on a mounted enemy with little to yourselves. Besides which Smith's horses were played-out.
The twenty-one men took cover in a dense mesquite thicket, tied off their horses under cover. Smith's own words again...
We had scarcely prepared for battle when the enemy commenced firing on my right and left, at about 150 yards distant - a portion of their force advancing with great rapidity upon my rear - keeping up a brisk firing on my right, left and rear.
When they were about fifty yards distant, I returned their fire, giving strict orders that not a piece should be discharged until every man was sure of his aim. The engagement had continued for about forty-five minutes when the enemy retreated, leaving ten dead and taking off about as many wounded. Jack Hays later reported that the Mexican force, perhaps on seeing the smaller Texian force precipitately retreating to the mesquite thicket had come on in the first rush shouting insults. As it turns out they wouldn't be the only mounted force ever underestimating the power of well-aimed rifles on the Plains,it seems probable that most of those twenty casualities, half the Mexican force, would have been incurred during that first, devastating volley.
The Texians did succeed in capturing twenty badly-needed horses from the enemy. Again Smith chose discretion over foolish valor, and chose to withdraw and return to San Antonio, doubtless watching his back trail.
Twenty down among the enemy, three of his own men slightly wounded, twenty horses captured, all in all at least as effective as a flag on a steeple, tho' Sam Houston would not pronounce it so. Houston's censure possibly prompting Smith to quit the service that fall.
As it was, the final disposition of Laredo would remain very much in play for at least another four years, when Jack Hays, this time at the head of his own men, would fight his first action as a Captain of Rangers.
Birdwatcher
