The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 23, July 1919 - April, 1920 Page: 116
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Southwestern Historical Quarterly and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association.
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The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
have come unexpectedly upon us at any moment. Captain Bogart
went to and requested of Captain Hays a guide to accompany some
eight or ten of his men to the Nueces, but a guide not being fur-
nished him he sent his men alone. They went on Woll's 'route as
far as the Nueces, and on their return reported the Mexicans as
having entirely disappeared. From this time spies were kept out
at a proper distance so as to give timely information of any ad-
vance the enemy might make.
Towards the close of October the troops ordered out by govern-
ment began to make their appearance and everything gave promise
of the expedition's going on. General [Alexander] Somervell
shortly after [November 4] made his arrival at Bexar with Adju-
tant General [John] Hemphill, and steps were taken for the or-
ganization of the troops and putting everything in order. These
steps, however, were tardily taken and but little or no promptness
or energy was manifested on the part of the Commander in Chief.
Some ten days or two weeks were spent in organizing two regiments
when it might have been done in three days. At one time there
were not less than twelve hundred men ready for the march had
General Somervell ordered it, and they would have been joined by
others, but they spent days in doing what might have been done
in hours and suffered numerous squads and companies to leave and
return home without permission or the slightest molestation. This
example caught like wild fire, infusing itself more or less through-
out camp, and every one who wished to leave felt himself at per-
fect liberty to do so. It proved the bane of all our operations and
gave a death blow to our most sanguine hopes.
General Somervell's plan for the organization was as follows,-
It seems that he was instructed by the executive to appoint Cap-
tain Hays to the command of the spy company, and at Captain
Hays' request, Captain Bogart was detached with his company to
cooperate and act in concert with him. These two therefore were
placed in front as the two spy companies, with a positive under-
standing on that subject, which it will be found was most unjustly
violated by the commanding officer. At the time the two com-
panies united, Captain Bogart had about sixty men under his com-
mand and Captain Hays only eighteen. The men under Captain
Bogart were anxious that their own officer should command, but
inasmuch as Captain Hays had seniority of commission, they116
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 23, July 1919 - April, 1920, periodical, 1920; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101075/m1/122/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.