On February 25, 1871, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie took command of the 4th Cavalry. He moved the regimental headquarters to Fort Richardson a month later, but kept a few companies at Fort Concho. These companies participated in an inconclusive campaign against the Kiowa from May to September 1871. Comanche and Kiowa raids increased in number over the rest of 1871, prompting a number of expeditions that rarely saw Native Americans. A notable exception was a patrol carried out by Sergeant William Wilson from March 26 to 29, 1872 that led to the US Army's discovery of water in the Staked Plains and a large Comanche settlement at Mushaway Peak. Hatch, in charge of Fort Concho while Mackenzie was in the field, reported Wilson's findings to Mackenzie and to the Departments of Texas and New Mexico. Captain Napoleon B. McLaughlen set out with two companies of the 4th Cavalry and one of the 11th Infantry and confirmed Wilson's report.