The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963 Page: 27

Five Texas Frontier Companies

into the service of the national government.40 The writer's confi-
dence did not allow for the reluctance of Captain Marshall S.
Howe, the mustering officer, who, apparently with considerable
regard for the opinion of General Taylor, found what Governor
Horton called frivolous reasons for not carrying his orders into
effect. Ten days after returning to the capital, Governor Hender-
son wrote President Polk to request a twelve-month extension to
the service of the frontier companies, at the same time calling
Polk's attention to Captain Howe's neglect.41
In spite of the efforts of both Governor Horton and Governor
Henderson, the two companies finished their six months of duty
and the men were discharged, Smith's on February 1, 1847, and
Stapp's a day later, without ever seeing a mustering officer or
receiving a cent of pay. In each case the company commander en-
rolled his company, led it for six months at his own expense or on
rather insecure credit, and discharged its members at the end of
the term.42 Another two months passed before the members of the
two companies were paid for their services and repaid for any ex-
penses they had incurred. On March 28 Captain Smith and the
men of his former command and the next day Captain Stapp and
his men passed through Austin on their way to San Antonio to
meet Army Paymaster A. M. Gaines; and nine months to the day
after Governor Horton wrote the letters authorizing the enroll-
ment of the companies, the members of all five had been paid.48
The villain of the travesty, if it must have one, was the overlap-
ping and reduplication of authority to requisition troops. Seem-
ingly in an attempt to insure some order in securing troops, the de-
partment of war on August 6, 1845, gave General Taylor specific
power to call on the Governor of Texas for such "auxiliary or
volunteer forces" as he might need,44 and a little over two weeks
later, fearing that Texas alone might not be able to meet the de-
mands, the department added Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi,
40Texas Democrat (Austin), November 4, 1846.
41Henderson to Polk, November 23, 1846 (MS., Governor's Letters [Henderson],
1846 August-December, Archives, Texas State Library).
42Compiled Service Records, Roll 19.
431bid.; Texas Democrat (Austin), March 20, 1847.
44Roger Jones to Taylor, August 6, 1845, Senate Documents, 29th Cong., 1st
Sess. (Serial No. 476), Document No. 337, p. 76.