Jack Hays was born in 1817 at Little Cedar Lick, Wilson County, Tennessee. He moved to Mississippi during his teenage years where he found work as a surveyor.
Hayes arrived in Texas not long after the Battle of San Jacinto, which took place on April 21, 1836 and cemented Texas’ independence from Mexico.
Jack Hays and the Texas Rangers
Instead of pursuing an immediate career in surveying, Hays joined the Texas Rangers. He quickly rose through the ranks due to his notable service and was made Captain.
One of the primary roles of the Texas Rangers was to protect settlers from the ravages of marauding Indians, most notably the Comanche, who resented the intrusion of the white man into their land.
Hays became quite skilled and tracking and fighting Comanche as well as white outlaws of the era. He fought against the Comanche at the battles of Plum Creek in 1840, Enchanted Rock in 1841, and Bandera Pass in 1842. In 1844 at the Battle of Walker Creek, Rangers serving under Hays used the five-shot Patterson model Colt Revolver in action for the first time against the Comanche.
Hays and the Rangers also protected Texas from constant onslaughts of Mexican invaders who often crossed the border to raid or steal. Another constant enemy of the time was the Comancheros, outlaws who traded guns and liquor as well as other supplies to the Plains Indian tribes of the time.
Jack Hays and the Mexican War
On April 25, 1846, a Mexican force attacked a group of American soldiers along the border of Texas. The incident ignited the Mexican War and Jack Hays was drawn into it.
Hays served as colonel of the 1st Texas Mounted Volunteers. His unit served as scouts for the main army under Zachary Taylor. Later in the war, Hays’ regiment played a key role in the final battle of the war at Mexico City by keeping supply and communication lines intact.
By the war’s end, Jack Hays had acquired quite a reputation as a fighting man, both for his service with the Rangers and for his actions during the Mexican War. The California gold rush of 1849 drew him westward and his reputation preceded him. Not long after arriving, he was elected sheriff of San Francisco County.
It was in 1853 that President Franklin Pierce appointed Hays as the surveyor-general of California. Some historians credit him with laying out the city of Oakland. Hays remained in California, becoming a major real estate developer.
In 1876, Hays was a delegate to the Democratic Convention and on April 21, 1883, he passed away near Piedmont, California.
Sources:
Lamar, Howard R, ed. The New Encyclopedia of the American West. New Haven and London, Yale University Press.
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Retrieved on 8/19/09.
