April 4, 1857; Rocksprings, Texas: In the spring of 1857, Company B, Second Cavalry, was based at Fort Inge, Texas. Scouts from there went out to all points of the compass hunting for raiding Indians. In late March, Lt. Walter H. Jenifer led a twelve-man detachment on a 300-mile scout to the north and west of the fort. Jenifer found a trail on the headwaters of the Nueces River and followed it until he came to terrain too rough for the horses. The lieutenant left five men with the mounts and took the other seven with him to pursue the trail on foot. After a four-mile hike, the soldiers suddenly discovered a camp of about 100 Lipan Apaches.
With more bravado than good sense, Jenifer led his patrol to within 250 yards of the camp. What he planned to do remains unknown, but before he could do it, the Indians discovered the troopers and attacked. Jenifer's men fired as rapidly as possible to hold the Indians at bay. Luckily for the soldiers, the Indians' horses were out being watered, and night was approaching. Jenifer conducted a fighting retreat until darkness ended the pursuit. His men had killed two Lipans and wounded one, with no casualties of their own.
The next morning, displaying further lack of judgment, Jenifer led all his men back to the Indian camp. But again, luck was with the troopers, as the Lipans had pulled out during the night, probably believing that the previous day's small patrol was only an advance for a much larger force. Jenifer found no more Indians, but the men did run out of food on the ride back to Fort Inge. In spite of Jenifer's questionable leadership, headquarters cited the men's gallantry.
