[7] The company was part of a battalion of Texas troops under Colonel John R. Baylor, which had recently occupied the town of Mesilla, New Mexico.

In January 1862, Hunter, having risen to the rank of captain, was sent west at the head of Company A, Arizona Rangers by General Henry Hopkins Sibley, who was preparing an invasion of New Mexico from Texas.

Hunter's destination was Tucson, Arizona, and his mission was to protect its pro-Confederate citizens from Apache raids and to watch for any Union forces advancing from California.

Hunter's 54-man detachment, along with Colonel James Riley and a small escort traveling to Mexico on Sibley's behalf, arrived in Tucson on February 28, 1862, and established Confederate occupation of the town.

Hunter's men fought engagements against the California Column at Stanwix Station and Picacho Pass before retreating east to Texas in May 1862.