John Hays was born at Little Cedar Lick,
Wilson County, Tennessee. His father Harmon A. Hays fought in the
War of 1812, naming his son for a relative by marriage, Colonel
John Coffee. In 1836, at the age of 19, Hays migrated to the
Republic of Texas.
Sam Houston appointed him as a member of a company of
Texas Rangers because he knew the Hays family from his Tennessee years. He met with Houston and delivered a letter of recommendation from then-
President Andrew Jackson, his great uncle. Rachel Jackson was Hays' great aunt of the Donelson family, a relative of his mother. In the following years, Hays led the Rangers on a campaign against the
Comanche in Texas, and succeeded in weakening their power. He rode with a Lipan Chief named Flacco who led the charge into every battle with him. The duo led and inspired the Rangers. In 1840
Tonkawa Chief Placido and 13 scouts joined with the Rangers to track down a large Comanche war party, culminating at the
Battle of Plum Creek. He would then led another group of Texas Rangers by himself in a gunfight that became known as
Battle of Walker's Creek. Later, Hays commanded the force against the
invasion from Mexico of 1842. During the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), Hays commanded the
First Regiment of Texas Rangers at the
Battle of Monterrey, established six companies along the northern and western frontier of Texas. He then commanded the Second of Texas Rangers in
Winfield Scott's
Mexico City campaign. Later, while fighting under Gen.
Joseph Lane, who was
defending the American line of communications with Vera Cruz, Hays defeated superior numbers of Mexican cavalry at the
Affair at Galaxara Pass and Mexican guerillas in the
Skirmish at Matamoros and the
action of Sequalteplan. The Rangers excelled during this conflict, gaining nationwide fame. Hays was the first to use the Navy
Colt Paterson five-shot revolver. He expedited Samuel Walker to meet with Samuel Colt which led to the design of the legendary
Colt Walker six-shot revolver used in the Old West. Hays received Walker Pistol #1001; a second pistol he acquired in 1853 was a Colt .36 Model 1851 # 98229
Marriage and family On April 29, 1847, in the Magnolia Hotel, Hays married Susan Calvert, a descendant of George Calvert, First Baron Baltimore, in
Seguin, Texas, where he had his home. The Comanche held Hays in a high position of infamy and notoriety. Upon the birth of Hays' first son in
California,
Chief Buffalo Hump sent the Hays family a gift, a golden spoonengraved "Buffalo Hump Jr.". When son John Caperton Hays married Anna McMullin in
San Francisco, two Texas Ranger legacies were combined. Her father, Captain John McMullin, was one of Hays' closest friends; he had followed him to California. Jack Hays' brother was
Confederate Brigadier General
Harry T. Hays of
New Orleans. Their sister Sarah "Sallie" Hays Hammond was the mother of
John Hays Hammond.
John Hays Hammond, Jr., was an apprentice to
Thomas Edison and worked with
Nikola Tesla; he was on the board of directors for
RCA. ==Post–Mexican War years==