Portrait Of John Coffee Hays

Portrait and description of Colonel Hays from The Mexican War And Its Heroes.  Hays and Christopher Acklin were both Texas Rangers.

"...conduct of Colonel Hays and his noble band of Texan volunteers. Hereafter they and we are brothers and we can desire no better guarantee of success than by their association."

"The following description of the personal appearance of this celebrated partisan is given by his friend Reid."
"We had heard so much of Col. Hays that we were anxious to be introduced to the commander of our regiment."

"As we cast our eye around the group we tried to single out the celebrated partisan chief and we were much surprised when we were presented to a delicate looking young man of about five feet eight inches in stature and told that he was our colonel.  He was dressed very plainly and wore a thin jacket with the usual Texian hat; broad brimmed with a round top and loose open collar with a black handkerchief tied negligently around his neck.  He has dark brown hair and a large and brilliant hazel eye which is restless in conversation and speaks a language of its own not to be mistaken with very prominent and heavy arched eyebrows.  His broad deep forehead is well developed he has a Roman nose with a finely curved nostril a large mouth, with the corners tending downwards a short upper lip, while the under one projects slightly indicative of great firmness and determination.  He is naturally of a fair complexion but from long exposure on the frontier has become dark and weather beaten. He has rather a thoughtful and care worn expression from the constant exercise of his faculties and his long acquaintance with dangers and difficulties, and the responsibilities of a commander have given him an habitual frown when his features are in repose.  He wears no whiskers, which gives him a still more youthful appearance and his manners are bland and very prepossessing from his extreme modesty."