WERE THE FOUNDERS OF CAMERON COUNTY MEXICAN TURNCOATS?

By Juan Montoya

Even before Zachary Taylor advanced upon the Rio Grande from Corpus Chisti, he was already using an employee of local rancher and land speculator Henry Lawrence Kinney to spy on the Mexican forces in Matamoros.
This spy's name was Chapita, and he is described as a "muscular, sinister" individual who was able to blend in with the local Mexicans and gather information for the U.S. forces.
When Taylor's force moved south, Kinney and Chapita went with him; Kinney as a procurer of supplies for the forces, and Chapita as a  spy.
In fact, Chapita was with Capt. Seth Thornton before he and his 56 dragoons were ambushed in Carrizitos ranch. Chapita had warned Thornton about a large force of Mexicans under General Anastacio Torrejon just ahead. Thornton was ostensibly under orders from Taylor to simply find out if a Mexican force had crossed upriver and bring back the news. Several historians have said that Thornton's disregard of Chapita's warnings indicate that he was under secret orders from Taylor to confront Torrejon and "create" and incident that would lead both nations into war.
Ever the survivor, Chapita left Thornton to his fate and returned to camp to tell Taylor of the incident.
The desired confrontation did occur, and President James K. Polk was able to inform the Congress that "American blood has been shed on American soil."
No one knows what happened to Chapita after that incident, except that he survived Taylor's foray into northern Mexico and he and Kinney eventually returned to Corpus Christi.
Gen. Ethan Allen Hitchcock was with Taylor at the start of the campaign and was later Gen. Winfield Scott's inspector general on his march from Veracruz to Mexico City. Hitchcock wrote a diary during the campaign and roundly criticized Taylor for not gathering adequate intelligence in his maneuvers. He was transferred to Scott's forces after the Polk administration grew displeased at Taylor's reluctance to push the war further into Mexico's interior.
While at Puebla, Hitchcock was authorized by Scott to hire a spy company of 200 men to aid the army as it moved along the guerrilla-infested national road. This was the famous Dominguez Spy Company and was formed of criminals and highway men who Hitchcock found languishing in a prison in Puebla.
They were led by Colonel Manuel Dominguez and served under General Winfield Scott in Central Mexico 1847-1848.
Their duties included protecting U.S. troops and wagon trains that traveled between Vera Cruz and Mexico City and providing intelligence in respect to the movement of regular Mexican troops and guerrillas.
Texas Online lists their involvement in intelligence gathering and sometimes they even took part in battles such as those at the convent of Churubusco where the San Patricios were captured. Historians say  the spies fought for the United States because they thought the leaders of Mexico were corrupt and had abused their power.
Domínguez, a weaver, himself was said to have joined the Americans because he was subjected to extortion by a Mexican officer.

Despite Hitchcock's support for them and Gen. William O. Butler suggestion that Congress authorize enlisting the Mexicans into the army and paying them regular salaries, the administration declined.
Later General Butler recommended they be given a land bounty and three months' pay. Finally, each member of the company was given a gold double eagle and passage to Corpus Christi. Some of the ships put in at New Orleans and some at Galveston. None apparently sailed to Corpus Christi, since that city had no port facilities for ocean-going vessels at that time.
Sixty-two men with 30 dependents landed at New Orleans. It is not known how many landed at Galveston, though it was probably about the same. Domínguez went to Washington and was greeted by the president. American newspapers represented him as a traitor to his race and a bandit, even though he was allied with the United States Army.
In the end, nearly all the company settled in Cameron County, Texas.