I can't quote chapter and verse on any of this, but it seems that over the years I've come across a lot of derogatory comments about the 2nd La. Cav. And Henderson's Hill does seem to indicate that they may not have been the best disciplined troops in the field at that time. I can think of two accounts by Confederate officers who seemed to hold Col. Vincent in pretty low esteem, and was looking through a US regimental the other day in which a Union officer described him as an uncouth drunk. On the other hand, there was an officer in the unit named Jumel who went on to become a high-ranking official in the cabinet of the first Gov. Foster in the 1890's.

As to why Taylor would use the unit to watch the Yankee advance if he didn't trust them - weren't they the only cavalry Taylor had at that time?