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Fort Stanton Cave

October 19, 2008

THE FIRST DRAGOONS AND FORT STANTON CAVE By Mike Bilbo (Outdoor Recreation Planner/Cave Specialist, BLM-Socorro Field Office) Prologue In 1855, a patrol of the 1st Dragoons from Fort Stanton, New Mexico Territory, explore a large limestone cave located about one mile north of the fort. Their horses tied up and under guard, the men slowly [...]

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Antebellum Infantry in California

April 5, 2008

Will Gorenfeld and George Stammerjohancopyright April 5, 2008 Artill’ry at a distance play,And troopers often clear the way—”A skirmish sharp, a pistol shotThe quick retreat in rapid trot;The foe advances, light and free;Who meets them now? The Infantry!Though other corps are dear to meYet most I prize the Infantry.The Infantry by Captain Barnard Bee (United [...]

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Tom Castor: A Newly Minted 2d Lieutenant

December 10, 2007

PRO BONO PUBLICO:1st Lieut. Thomas Castor Benny Havens ran a tavern that was located about a mile and one-half from the cadet barracks at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The saloon quickly became a favorite haunt for generations of cadets. Cadet Edgar Allan Poe wrote that Benny was —œthe sole [...]

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Captured Mexican Items at Santa Cruz de Rosales

December 10, 2007

Following the capture of the town of Santa Cruz de Rosales in 1848, the Army inventoried the captured Mexican ordnance. Below is a copy of this report. City of Chihuahua March 26, 1848 The Board met pursuant to the foregoing orders, and soon after the reception of the captured property, as was practicable, and up [...]

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First Dragoons Officers 1849

November 21, 2007
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Dragoons v. Jicarilla Apache: The Battle of Cieneguilla

November 15, 2006

THE BATTLE OF CIENEGUILLAAnatomy of an Army DisasterApril 5, 2008 By Will Gorenfeld —œA contemptuous opinion of the prowess of these ferocious prairie Indians has been generally entertained by those who knew nothing about the matter—”a consequence, probably, of the thousand exaggerated stories which Western adventurers have told of their own feats, and of the [...]

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1855 Pistol Carbine

August 22, 2006

THE MODEL 1855 SPRINGFIELD PISTOL CARBINEDuring the Ante-bellum period, the Ordnance Department remained concerned over the reliability of breech-loaders and efforts were made to improve muzzle-loading weapons. One weapon issued to some Dragoons was the Springfield Model 1855 Pistol-Carbine. It was originally intended for the two new regiments of cavalry created in 1855.Secretary of War [...]

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How William Grier became Colonel Grier

May 16, 2006

Willaim Grier: Grant Makes Him a ColonelBy Thomas P. Farner, 2003This is the final part in a series printed in the SandPaper on the life of General William N. Grier before he arrived in Manahawkin, New Jersey, as President of the Stafford Land Company in the early 1870′s. Grier and his 1st U. S. Cavalry [...]

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Capt. John Davidson and Company B to the Rescue

May 10, 2006

In August of 1855 it was reported that Capt. John Pope’s comand (Company I, 7th Infantry) out on the Staked Plains near the Texas/New Mexico border, had been attacked by Comanche Indians and had lost 7 men. John Davidson’s B Company, stationed at Fort Stanton, was dispatched to rescue Pope. A patrol, under Sgt. James [...]

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Slavery in the Dragoons: Captain John Burgwin and Captain Robert H. Chilton

March 14, 2006

It was not unusual for some officers serving in the Antebellum Army to own slaves. Indeed, the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision of 1857 arose when a deceased officer’s slave sought to obtain his freedom. These letters were written by Captain Henry Smith Turner, USMA 1834, of the 1st Dragoons who accompanied Brig. Gen. Stephen [...]

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