Niles Weekly Register, Vo. 89:389 August 2, 1834

UNITED STATES DRAGOONS.

[from the Army and Navy Chronicle]

The regiment of dragoon is now completed to its establishment, and all the companies have marched to Fort Gibson, where the head quarters have been established during the winter. This regiment is composed of ten companies, of about seventy men each; each man is armed with a sword, pistol and carbine. The carbine is of a peculiar description; it is on the principle of Hull’s rifles, it loads in the breech, and the part containing the charge is so constructed as to separate from the barrel by mean« of a spring. This part may be called the chamber; and is about six inches long; when loaded, it is easily returned to its position, and then, if the percussion cap is put on the touch-hole, the piece is ready for firing; it require« no ramrod, yet it is furnished with one, which answers the purpose of a wiper, and, when drawn out, makes a bayonet equal in length in the barrel of the piece, and is a very formidable weapon. The whole piece weighs seven pounds and a half, and carries balls twenty-four to the pound.

The dragoons are instructed to serve on horse or foot, as occasion may require. About this time, it is expected that they are on the expedition among the tribes of Indians inhabiting the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi. They arc in proceed across the country to the boggy of the Red River, thence westwardly towards the Mexican frontier, thence northward as far as it may be prudent to go, allowing time to return before the cold weather sets in. On its return, the regiment will descend by the Missouri on either bank.

Four companies will winter at Fort Leavenworth, via: Wharton’s, Hunter’s, Ford’s and Duncan’s.

Three companies, Sumner’s, Boone’s and Browne’s, on the right bank of the Mississippi, within the Indian country, near the mouth of the Des Moines.

The other three companies, Trcnor’s, Bean’s and Perkin’s at or near Fort Gibson.

The expedition, it is understood, will be accompanied by several gentlemen of science, who goat their own expense. The object of the expedition in to give the wild Indians some idea of our power, and to endeavor, under such an imposing (oree, to enter into conferences with them, to warn those Indians who have been in the habit of robbing and murdering our people who trade among them, of the dangers to which they will be exposed in case they continue their depredations and massacres.

Several delegations of’ the newly emigrated Indian, now settled beyond the states and territories, to the westward of the Mississippi, as well as the Osages and other tribes near them, will accompany the expedition, in the hope of making treaties of friendship with the wild tribes, and thus prevent, for the future, the recurrence of those wars which are s? common among the Indians.

The expedition, it is hoped, will result in much good: it will afford protection to the civilized Indians, to our frontiers, to our trade with the natives, and cover the Santa Fe caravans trading with Mexico; and, perhaps, enlighten the Indians generally as to the humane policy of the United States towards them, and also as to their own true interests.

Army and Navy Chronicle May 5, 1836

A SUMMER UPON THE PRAIRIE

No. 1

Departure of U.S. Dragoons From Fort Leavenworth —
Officers Attached to the Corps — Corps — Big Nemohaw— A traveling bridge –    -a novel craft — man drowned — Little Nemohaw — Saline.

TUESDAY,  May 29th, 1835.

Agreeably to General Order, No. 12, from the Head Quarters of the Army, dated March 9, 1835, three companies of the regiment U.S. Dragoons, under command of Col. H. Dodge, left Fort Leavenworth this day for the purpose of visiting various tribes of Indian inhabiting the country east of the Rocky Mountains, and between the two great rivers
La Platte and Arkansas.  The officers attached to this command are Col. H. Dodge, commanding the expedition; Capt. L. Ford commanding Company G; Capt. M. Duncan commanding Company C; 1st Lieut. L.P. Lupton, commanding Company A; 2nd Lieut. G.P. Kingsbury, Acting Adjutant; 2nd Lieut. B. A Terrett, Commissary of Subsistence;
2nd Lieut. E. Steen, Ordnance Officer; and Assistant Surgeon B.F. Fellowes.

Our course for the first twelve days lay over that beautiful and highly interesting country, lying between the Missouri River on the East, and the Ottoe country and the Platte River on the West.  This portion of country had so often been described by other travellers,  and particularly by Mr. John T. Irving, in a late work, entitled “Irving Indian Sketches,” that I shall pass it over , merely noticing some few of the most important events connected with the march to the Ottoe village.

In consequence of the early rains which commenced falling nearly simultaneously with our leaving Fort Leavenworth, all the little prairie creeks, which in ordinary seasons, contain little or no water, had become swollen to an almost impassable degree.  The first stream of any importance which became necessary for us to cross was the Big Nemohaw.
This river takes its rise in the Prairie, and after running a north-west course about one hundred miles, falls into the Missouri below the mouth of the Platte. As was expected, we found it nearly so high as to be out of its banks, and with a current really frightful.  The great question then was how are we to get our ordnance and wagons across the river?
Various modes were suggested, but all seemed objectionable.  At length, a raft or jam of logs was found in a short bend in the river, which extended completely across the stream, and which appeared to be solidly embedded in the bottom.  To throw a bridge across at this point, making the raft serve as a foundation, seemed the most feasible, as well as the most speedy and safe, mode of crossing.  Accordingly, a detail was ordered for each company, which, under the direction of Lieut. Steen, commenced operations.  Timbers were cut and laid about half way across the river, as a foundation on which to place pluncheons. In less than three hours the bridge was half completed.  In the meantime the river continued to rise rapidly. All at once, and while I was standing upon the bank of the river, congratulating myself and my fellow officers upon our good fortune, lo! the raft, bridge, and all, took the line of march “for New Orleans and intermediate ports.”  At the moment the alarm was given that the raft was moving, there were nearly twenty men at work upon the bridge; and several others seated upon the logs, fishing in the Nemohaw.
Such a scampering hath probably not been seen since the flood.  Happily, all reached the shore in safety.

After the disaster of the morning, it became necessary to cast about for some other mode by which our baggage and such of the command as could not swim, could be conveyed to the other side of the river.  As good luck would have it, someone suggested the possibility, that the body of a small body of a wagon belonging to one of the officers, might be so calked and otherwise repaired as to answer in the place of a boat.  After an hour’s work, this novel craft was launched in due form, and found to ride upon the water as though it had been its natural element, and by attaching ropes to each end of the boat, it could be drawn from shore to shore with great facility.  While these preparations were going on,  our enterprising friend Capt. G.——, who accompanied the expedition as guide, was employed in constructing another vehicle which, to me, was equally novel.  This second non-descript was manufactured from the hide of an ox, which that morning had been butchered. Within two hours from the time the ox was quietly grazing upon the luxuriant grass of the prairie, his skin was upon the waters of the Big Nemohaw, and conveying from shore to shore a burden of six hundred pounds.— In one day the command crossed in these boats with all its baggage without the slightest loss or accident, after which, the horses and mules were made to swim the stream.

The Indian traders, Messrs. O’Fallon and Winter, who accompanied the expedition, were not equally fortunate in crossing the Nemohaw.  After crossing their goods in skin boats, and while they were engaged in swimming their horses, one of their men was drowned. In attempting to swim his horse, he was thrown from his back; and in endeavouring to regain his seat, the horse struck him with one of feet upon the back of his head with such violence as is supposed to have deprived him of sense,  He instantly sank, and owing to the swiftness of the current was seen no more.

A march of twenty-five miles brought us to the Little Nemohaw, a stream running nearly parallel with the Big Nemohaw, and which also falls into the Missouri. Although not so large as the first, yet we were compelled to cross it in the same manner. Having killed another of our beef cattle for the use of the troops, we were enabled to add another boat to our squadron.

The only stream of any importance, after leaving the Little Nemohaw, is the Saline. The water of this stream, when not swollen by recent rains, is very salt to the taste; it is from twenty to thirty yards wide, with a rocky bottom, and may be forded without difficulty.

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 and carefully make their way down the steep, loose entry sink talus. At the dripline the musty smell of the cave assails them. The soldiers are dressed in the military clothing typical of the period: white wool shirts under dark blue wool shell jackets, sky blue wool kersey trousers supported by cotton galluses, leather boots, and either non-descript campaign hats, brims flopped down in the slouched style of the western hat, or M1839 forage caps.

Down they descend into a dark, dank cavern for the first time – the first white men to explore this cave. Down into the gloom, carrying bulky whale oil lamps, ropes, haversacks, tin canteens, their heavy .44 caliber pistols belted around their waists and maybe carrying their musketoons, too. These men are young but they’re veterans – tough ‘ombres all right – they’ve been in some fights with Apaches, Comanches and Comancheros. They take it slow and cautious. Their lantern lights – their only outside reminder – flicker dimly on the walls, casting grotesque shadows all about.

Following a main passage south and east, the patrol treads first through mud and water, and then up onto massive piles of limestone blocks covered by white, powdery rubble – one of them mutters, “Shore and tis the Gates o’ Hell.” Another: “Nein, das ist der Backbone oaf zee Teufel.” Devil’s Backbone, an apt name in an appropriate place. “Knock it off and keep your eyes and ears open!” hisses the corporal. They continue the scout.

Caving is a part of their duty – they must understand all aspects of the topography they are to patrol in the coming years. Fort Stanton has been established to protect regional settlers from Plains Comanche and the nearby Mescalero Apache. Somewhere in the Guadalupe-Sacramento-Capitan mountain chain lies a cave the Apaches hold sacred. It is where the Mountain Spirits protected some Mescaleros from certain death. This event is commemorated every year by the dance of the Mountain Spirits. Religion is powerful medicine for any people. The military strategy is harsh and simple: destroy their religion and subsistence – there is a chance you can subdue the people – maybe.

Is this the cave…?

After some 1,200 feet of slow, careful progress and a slippery climb up a steep 20-foot mud slope, they are suddenly faced with a choice: the main passage bears away north and east, while to their right it pinches down into a crawl way. Being adventurous troopers, this intrepid band of recent recruits from Governor’s Isle, which includes some immigrant Germans and a Scot, choose the crawlway. On hands and knees, carrying their lanterns by the bales between their teeth and dragging their gear behind them, they enter a broad, low passage and behold a most amazing sight: like a carpet of grass, thousands and thousands of crystal clear gypsum needles, each almost a foot high, fill the passage.

The Dragoons push forward, but out of respect for this wonder of nature, they keep their passage shoulder-width only. This is not new to the Germans – they caved many times in Bavaria only a few years before. 600 feet later the party exits the crawl and stands up, “Let’s take five for a lit.” The soldiers have just come out of Crystal Crawl and are relaxing at the beginning of Decoration Passage.

Introduction

So in March, 1975, one hundred twenty years later, with three friends, I go on one of my first caving trips. With a caving permit from the Bureau of Land Management, we are here in Fort Stanton Cave because we came to look for some reported military names associated with Fort Stanton. We are soldiers ourselves – all members of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas. The ancestral unit, the illustrious Regiment of Mounted Rifles, had once been stationed at Fort Stanton in the 1850′s. With me is the regimental museum curator, Sgt. Dan Peterson, and his assistants, Specialists Ron Howie and Lisa Meyers. We’re thinking that maybe these reported names can be traced through post returns, hoping they turn out to be Mounted Rifles.

Supposing to be where the names were located and beginning to wonder about the accuracy of directions to the names, we had once again come the same way and had come to the same resting spot. “Well, no names here. Great, just great. Well, let’s push on and see what’s up ahea…Wait! Here they are, here they are! Wow, this great! Look, look at the dates – “1855.” And look at this: “K Co. 1st Dr(agoons) U.S.A.” So we had found the names. Not Mounted Rifles, but close enough.

In 1855 both units worked hand-in-hand in this region. The names were written in a characteristic mid-19th Century style. There were two groups of names, actually. They were etched on a protruding mass of light yellow flowstone and were covered by a transparent mineral layer, which had probably helped preserve them through the years. The layer also helped fix the authenticity of the names.

The Names

One group of six names was associated with the phrase “5 for a lit (or possibly bit),” while the other group of two German names, possibly immigrant-soldiers, was associated with a phrase or sentence: “Caxes Texeher uns Anhalt Deffuer (or De/fuer).” Two dates of 1855 were associated with the latter group. The first group read:

John Lepsey, Washington, Kansas

K, Cherry, John (John Cherry, Company K)

L. Loerhe, K Co. 1 Dr U.S.A. (L. Loerhe, Company K, 1st Dragoons, United States Army)

Victor H. Brown, Tracy City, Tennessee

Horace Belknap, Company B

William Richards, Capitan, New Mexico

The German group read:

E. Fritz 1855 (probably Emil Fritz)

Joseph Meyers, Wiessemberg 1855

The dates 1855 are the year the soldiers visited the cave in conjunction with the establishment and building of Fort Stanton by the 1st Dragoons in March of that year. In each case the individual either listed his unit or his hometown. Follow-up research on the names has been limited, but with some interesting findings. In order to find out more about these men and their relationship to regional or national history, we contacted Marion Grinstead, a noted regional military historian specializing in pre-Civil War frontier military unit histories of West Texas and Southern New Mexico, especially the Mounted Rifles.

Marion obtained microfilm copies of the official post returns from the National Archives pertaining to Fort Stanton in 1855. With special reference to the location of Companies B and K, Marion was able to confirm that these were members of the 1st Dragoons. Because of this fact, Fort Stanton Cave is nationally significant relative to the garrisoning of the West by the U.S. Army in this time period, when many other forts were also built.

While Marion was not able to follow up on the personal histories of each man, she feels quite confidant she has identified four of the men. The one, “E. Fritz,” is almost certainly Emil Fritz, who rose from private to colonel in and around southern New Mexico, and retired into business at Lincoln town in partnership with Messrs. Murphy and Dolan; in the late 1870′s he played a significant role in the Lincoln County Wars. His descendants remain in the Lincoln vicinity to this day! The following section is Marion’s notes on the Fort Stanton Post Returns:

Analysis of the Military Names in Fort Stanton Cave, Prepared for Mike Bilbo by Marion Grinstead, April, 1975

The Captain of Company K (and post commander), 1st Dragoons was James H. Carleton, one of the truly (to my notion) outstanding military men in New Mexico during the Civil War. He received his baptism of fire along the plains of Mexico during the Mexican War, 1846-48. The 1st Lieutenant was D.H. Hastings, at this time not present; and the 2nd Lieutenant was A.B. Chapman, also not present. Carleton was in command and present when they arrived at what would become the site of Fort Stanton, and remained in command until they left.

March – July, 1855: March 19 Co. K left Albuquerque March 19th and camped in the Gallinas Mountains, New Mexico. March 31/55.

April 1, 1855: Departed Camp in the Gallinas Mountains and arrived at Camp Garland, Rio Bonito, N.M. April 6.

May – June, 1855: Fort Stanton.

July 16, 1855: Left Fort Stanton, N.M.

July 21, 1855: Arrived at Albuquerque, N.M.

The above is all carried on the face of the Regimental Return. There is no other information regarding the men, i.e., they were not on Extra Duty or Daily Duty during this period, nor were they on Detached Service.

One interesting reference was to a Corporal Brown who was on Extra Duty, but there were several Browns, though no Victor H. They do not indicate that a corporal by this name was discharged in the five years examined. However, I do not suppose this to be really important – there were one or two names omitted (and noted by the Washington office to which these returns were sent) and were apparently never picked up.

Discharged, 1 January 1856: Emil Fritz, Sgt, Co. K, Reenlisted in Regiment same date. Last muster, 1861. Company K then at Albuquerque.

Discharged, 15 February 1856: John Cherry, Pvt, Co. K. No reenlistment. Company K at Albuquerque.

Discharged, 12 February 1858: Joseph Myer, Bugler, K, at Ft. Buchanan, New Mexico (Arizona). Reenlisted same date and place. (After looking at Mike’s photos of this particular name, I am convinced this is his “Meyers” – “Myer” is probably a clerical error.

Discharged, 26 February 1858: Louis Loeslie, Pvt, K, at Ft. Buchanan, New Mexico. No reenlistment. (Again, after careful examination of Mike’s photos, I am sure this is his “Loerhe.” There are no other names which fit, and in this instance – bless that old trooper – he added his company and regiment!).

ä Enlistments during this period were for five years. Therefore the first muster dates may possibly be

determined by subtracting from the discharge date.

ä From Returns from Regular Army Cavalry Regiments, 1833-1916. Microcopy 744. Rolls 4 and 5, First Cavalry, 1851-1859 and 1860-1866.

ä So Emil Fritz was 23 years old when he scratched his name on the Decoration Passage wall – and the time he did it can be pinned down to a few months. ——————Marion Grinstead

The 1st Patrol

A common, mostly true story, has an 1855 —œCavalry— (actually, 1st Dragoon) patrol looking for Apaches, finding ponies tied near the cave entrance, and finding moccasin tracks leading into the Fort Stanton Cave entrance. The soldiers did not actually see the Apaches enter the cave but assumed they were in the cave and set up a picket to starve them out. Later, the same group of Apaches is seen by soldiers trying to make for their ponies. It is probable that the soldiers—™ assumptions about the Indians

actually being in the cave were erroneous. The nature of the entry sink is such that the skillful Apaches could well have slipped out a certain area of the sink while the troops entered the other. Area lore has it that the Apaches exited from another entrance.

To date there is no evidence of a second entrance and the geology does not seem to support this. For the last 50 years cavers have thoroughly explored, documented and mapped the cave to a length of about eight miles (the third longest in New Mexico). This has been careful, step-by-step documentation and every physical lead has been followed. There is plenty of evidence of a Pleistocene

entrance in the north part of the cave due to vertebrate bones found in a certain area in the cave of which there is a sink depression on the surface directly overhead, although separated by 100 feet of limestone. However, never say never. In late 2001 cavers broke through into a new passage, the Snowy River section, so named due to a rare calcite floor area where once there was a water pool.

It is quite possible that the 1st Dragoon Name Site is the only record, though not recorded in any document, of the entry by the soldiers following the Apaches.

Fort Stanton and Mounted Forces in 1855

The 1st and 2nd Dragoons and Mounted Rifle regiments were closely related for, in 1855, the U.S. Army’s mounted frontier regulars consisted of the 1st and 2nd Dragoon regiments and the Regiment of Mounted Rifles. The three units were veterans of recent combat, having seen hard action throughout the Mexican War, 1846-1848. They were posted in the borderlands frontier west during the 1850′s for security and exploration purposes. In 1862 these units were redesignated the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Cavalry regiments respectively.

A Brief History of Union Cavalry (Eric Wittenberg: Www.civilwarcavalry.com)

Civil War armies consisted of three major components: infantry, artillery, and cavalry. Cavalry played a major role. It’s primary role was to support the infantry and artillery, gathering intelligence, scouting, screening the movements of the army, and serving as the “eyes and ears of the army.” As the war dragged on, the Federal cavalry’s role changed. Instead of scouting and screening, the primary role became that of an offensive weapon. By the end of the Civil War, the Northern cavalry had become one of the most fearsome offensive forces that the world had ever seen.

In 1861, with the coming of the war, the United States Army had several mounted units. The oldest was the First Dragoons, formed in the 1830′s. In the 1840′s, a second regiment of Dragoons was formed, followed by the Regiment of Mounted Rifles. In the 1850′s, the 1st US Cavalry was formed, which was followed by the 2nd US Cavalry in 1856. Dragoons combined most aspects of both light cavalry and mounted infantry. They carried a weapon known as a musketoon in the early days, which was a shortened musket. Later, they carried carbines. Dragoons used their horses to move them from place to place, not for fighting. Most, if not all, of their fighting was done dismounted. Light cavalry served an entirely different purpose. It was primarily intended to scout and screen an army’s advance, and do whatever fighting it did do mounted, typically using either the saber or pistols.

Col. Phillip St. George Cooke of the 2nd Dragoons is generally considered to be the father of the U. S.

Cavalry. In the 1850′s, he wrote the tactics manual that governed the operations of the U. S. Army’s mounted forces. In 1861, with the coming of the Civil War, the US Army reorganized its mounted arm. The 1st Dragoons became the 1st US Cavalry, the 2nd Dragoons became the 2nd US Cavalry, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles became the 3rd US Cavalry, which served in the West, the 1st US Cavalry became the 4th US Cavalry (which also served in the Western Theatre), and the 2nd US Cavalry became the 5th US Cavalry, which was a fine unit. A new regiment was recruited in the summer of 1861, which became the 6th US Cavalry, which was the only Regular cavalry regiment formed during the Civil War. Its men came from the area around Pittsburgh, who typically enlisted for a term of five rather than three years.

On August 10, the Adjutant General’s Office General Order No. 55 re-designated the regular army’s mounted units as follows:

The 1st Dragoons – 1st US Cavalry

The 2nd Dragoons – 2nd US Cavalry

The Mounted Rifles – 3rd US Cavalry

The 1st US Cavalry – 4th US Cavalry

The 2nd US Cavalry – 5th US Cavalry

The 3rd US Cavalry – 6th US Cavalry

Fort Stanton & Fort Stanton Cave Chronology

Jul 26, 1851: Lawrence Murphy enlists in the Army at Buffalo, New York.

Jan,1855: Captain Stanton in command of a 1st U.S. Dragoon column, is ambushed and killed by Mescalero Apaches on the Rio Penasco at a location between Cloudcroft and Artesia.

Mar, 1855: Co. K, 1st Regiment, U.S. Dragoon members – privates Emil Fritz, bugler Joseph Myers, Victor Brown, John Lepsey, Horace Belknap, John Cherry, Louis Loeslie inscribe their names, unit and date on a wall of Fort Stanton Cave 3/4 mile in!

May 4, 1855: Fort Stanton established at present location by Col. Dixon S. Miles, 3rd U.S. Infantry. Fort named in honor of Captain Stanton.

Jun 3, 1859: Land around the fort established by Executive Order as “Fort Stanton Reservation.”

Jul 27, 1861: Strong federal force of 450 men at Fort Fillmore (Las Cruces) abandons post due to disposition of Major Isaac Lynde, 7th U.S. Infantry. Federals start across Organ Mountains to Fort Stanton.

Jul 28, 1861: Because Major Lynde surrenders his force of 400+ to Lt. Col John R. Baylor’s 258-man column at San Augustine Springs, Fort Stanton cannot be reenforced.

Aug 2, 1861: Union force at Fort Stanton abandons and partially burn some buildings upon learning of situation at Fort Fillmore – join in other withdrawals toward Rio Grande Valley and Fort Craig.

Aug 13, 1861: Confederate troops under Scurry ransack Placitas after federal abandonment of Fort Stanton. Shortly after, elements of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles occupy Fort Stanton.

Sep 9, 1861: Confederate troops abandon Fort Stanton after the federal victory at the Battle of Glorieta Pass.

Oct 16, 1862: Col. Kit Carson and five companies of the 1st New Mexico Volunteer Cavalry/Infantry Regiment (now the New Mexico Army National Guard) reoccupy Fort Stanton and begin renovating the post.

Nov 18, 1869: In one of the first major actions of the early Indian Wars, Lieutenants Cushing and Yeaton and a 32-man troop of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry from Fort Stanton raid a Mescalero Apache rancheria in the rugged Guadalupe Mountains, destroying tons of food stockpiled for the winter months.

Aug 7, 1872: Fort Stanton Reservation, except fort, transferred to the Department of the Interior.

Sep 30, 1873: Post traders Murphy and Company evicted from Fort Stanton for cheating the

government.

Feb 2, 1874: Mescalero Apache Reservation established on lands surrounding Fort Stanton.

Aug 21,1877: Wheeler Expedition (U.S.Survey of the Territories) explores and maps Fort Stanton Cave with members of the Fifth U.S. Infantry. Names with dates can be seen in cave.

Dec 18, 1877: Buffalo Soldiers of Companies F and M, 9th Cavalry sent to El Paso, Texas to assist troops from Fort Davis in quelling racial fighting of the El Paso Salt War.

Feb 21, 1878: Company H, 9th Cavalry and Company H, 15th Infantry sent to Lincoln to preserve peace and prevent bloodshed.

Apr 5, 1878: Col. Nathan Dudley assumes command at Fort Stanton.

Apr 20, 1878: Four soldiers 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers sent to Lincoln to assist sheriff John Copeland in keeping peace after killing of Sheriff Brady by Billy the Kid.

Jul 15, 1878: “Five Day War” begins in Lincoln. Col. Dudley and force of 9th Cavalry and 15th Infantry travel from Fort Stanton to Lincoln to quell the Five-Day War. Brought Gatling gun and 12-pound mountain howitzer.

Jul 19, 1878: Lincoln. Day of the “Big Killing.” McSween house burned, McSween and five men killed, with troops who were supposed to be intervening, looking on.

Mar 6, 1879: Regulators, including Billy the Kid, arrested and taken to Fort Stanton.

Mar 10, 1879: Stanton troops sent to vicinity of Seven Rivers (Carlsbad) to prevent rustling and retrieve stolen cattle.

Sep 4, 1879: Victorio leads Apaches off Mescalero Reservation. Victorio Campaign starts with coordinated movement of troops throughout region.

May 19, 1882: New Mescalero Apache Reservation established in present location.

Aug 26, 1887: 2nd Lieutenant John J. (“Blackjack”) Pershing arrived at Fort Stanton – assigned to Troop L, 6th Cavalry. The nickname “Blackjack” given to him at Stanton —“ several colorful version of nickname origin. Participates in the U.S. Army’s first ever “War Games.” Names associated with 6th Cavalry and 8th Cavalry (Ft. Bayard) can be seen in cave.

May 30, 1888: 10th Infantry arrives at Fort Stanton as the 6th Cavalry departs.

Apr 9, 1891: The Great Divide Expedition consisting of three 10th Infantry Band members at Stanton make a three-day journey in Fort Stanton and publish the results in the Great Divide Newspaper of Colorado Springs, Colorado: “Three Days and Nights Spent Among the Wonders of a Midnight World.” Names with dates can be seen in cave.

Oct 28, 1895: General Order No. 56 orders the abandonment of Fort Stanton, with the establishment of the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

Aug 17, 1896: To Adjutant General: “Sir, I have the honor to report that detachments at this post were withdrawn today and therefore no further returns will be rendered.” Lt. William Black, 24th Infantry (Buffalo Soldiers).

Apr 1, 1899: Fort Stanton transferred to the U.S. Marine Health Service (now the U.S. Public Health Service) as a hospital to treat Merchant Marine victims of tuberculosis. Names with dates can be seen in cave.

Aug 16, 1956: Fort Stanton transferred to the New Mexico State Department of Public Welfare as tuberculosis clinic. Surrounding 26,381 acres transferred to Bureau of land Management.

Jun 22, 1970: NMSU signed cooperative agreement with BLM to conduct range and wildlife research for 20 years.

Aug 10, 1963: Lincoln Cavern, first major find since 1855 in Fort Stanton Cave, is discovered.

1975: Fort Stanton Cave designated as a National Natural Landmark

Nov 22, 1975: Bilbo party of cavers record names and 1855 date of 1st Dragoon soldiers who established Fort Stanton – reports find to BLM (see Mar 21, 1855).

Oct, 2001: John McLean, Lloyd Swartz, Andrew Grieco & Don Becker, Fort Stanton Cave Study Project, discover Starry Nights and Snowy River passages.

July, 2003: After completing detailed environmental assessment, BLM cave specialist Mike Bilbo and lead researcher John Corcoran coordinate first Fort Stanton Cave Study Project scientific and survey trips to Snowy River.

2003-present: Fort Stanton Cave Study Project continues to research and document natural and cultural history of Fort Stanton Cave National Natural Landmark. Bilbo currently documenting all known inscription sites —“ 18 so far.

Fort Stanton Cave is closed to public visitation annually from Nov. 1 to April 15 due bat hibernation. For permit information, please write or call: Cave Specialist, BLM-Roswell Field Office, 2902 West 2nd Street, Roswell, NM 88201-2019. 505-627-0278/0272

Will Gorenfeld and George Stammerjohan
copyright April 5, 2008

Artill’ry at a distance play,
And troopers often clear the way—”
A skirmish sharp, a pistol shot
The quick retreat in rapid trot;
The foe advances, light and free;
Who meets them now? The Infantry!
Though other corps are dear to me
Yet most I prize the Infantry.
The Infantry by Captain Barnard Bee (United States Infantry)

All too frequently, military historians are quick to dismiss the role played by the Infantry stationed in the antebellum West. They would give one the impression that the Infantry was simply relegated to garrison duty. This is not true. The “Dough Foots” were active participants in many battles: Live Oak Springs, Four Lakes, Ash Hollow, Fort Mohave, and Truckee River. In California, the mounted arm fought but few actions; the foot soldier, meanwhile, participated in nearly every battle and skirmish.
Antebellum California
With the conclusion of the United States-Mexican War in 1848, the U.S. had expanded its borders to the Pacific Ocean. This increase in territory would soon create major problems for the federal government. At the end of the war, the volunteers mustered out, and the regular Army reverted to its authorized pre-war strength of 10,310 soldiers. Once again the US Infantry consisted of eight regiments, numbering 4,464 men.
In 1848, there was stationed but a single company of 3d Artillery and five companies of Dragoons to protect the newly conquered territory of California. Their numbers were reduced further when quick riches to be made in the gold fields lured many of the $11.00 per month troopers to desert their camps.
The two senior officers in California, Brevet Major General Bennet Riley (of the 2d Infantry and Military Governor), and Brevet Major General Persifor F. Smith (Regiment of Mounted Rifles), found a way to decrease the number of desertions by moving their men to the western edge of the diggings. As long as camp duties were completed in the mornings, soldiers were allowed to prospect for gold work in the afternoon. Soldiers stationed at San Diego and Fort Yuma on the Colorado River were given 60-day furloughs to try their hands at mining. Most soldiers, after several weeks of mining the cold rivers of the Sierra Nevada and backbreaking work for a few dollars, quickly returned to their companies and desertion to the mines was dramatically reduced.
This was not an especially good time for the cutback of a strong military presence in California. How would a population of some 7,000 Californios, former citizens of Mexico, react to the change of governments? There were also unfounded rumors of civil unrest, riots, and Hispanic forces organizing on both sides of the international border, ready to drive the Yankees out of California.
And then there was California’s Native American population. For years prior to the Mexican-American War, the Californios had been steadily losing parts of their domain to the native tribesmen who inhabited the interior regions of California. In some areas, it was dangerous for even an armed man to travel alone. Tribes such as the Yokuts and Miwoks had become highly accomplished raiders of livestock, routinely stealing stock from the sprawling ranches near the villages of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Jose and San Luis Obispo.
With the discovery of gold, swarms of contentious settlers poured into the interior valleys and foothills where most Native Americans lived. Viewed as a hindrance to mining and ranching operations, the Golden State—™s original inhabitants were often ruthlessly hunted, slaughtered, and enslaved; their economies disrupted, villagers driven from their homes, food sources destroyed.
Some scholars estimate that, prior to the Gold Rush, there were 100,000 Native Americans in California. By 1860, California’s Native American population had declined to 32,000. This was the most monstrous destruction of any group of Native Americans in the history of the United States.
When the natives stole cattle in order to feed themselves or retaliated for the murder of tribesmen, settlers were quick to call for army protection. The military was repeatedly sent in to punish the Native Americans and keep them away from the settlers. Of these engagements, special agent J. Ross Browne would write, “The federal government, as is usual in cases where lives of valuable voters are at stake, was forced to interfere. Troops were sent out to aid the settlers in slaughtering the Indians.”
But on other occasions, troops were detailed to protect the natives from vigilantes or militia groups. It was very confusing for everyone. An officer wrote: “Our Indian war is over for the present, and I do not think will be revived unless the whites commit more murders. The Indians look to us as their protectors. The stories that I have heard of the outrages perpetrated by the whites would be incredible were they not well vouched for. The Indians are naturally quiet and would continue so if left alone.”
Most of the battles in California, from a military point of view, were minor skirmishes. For the starving and impoverished native peoples of California, however, these battles were devastating.
A typical skirmish involved Company G, of the 2d Infantry at Fort Miller. Two members of a Yokuts triblet were accused of stealing an ox from a settler in the vicinity of the town of Visalia. On December 8th of 1853, Lt. John Nugent departed the fort with a detachment of 14 men and marched south to the Yokuts village. The troops marched at night march through the foothills of the western Sierras, reaching the village at daybreak. Nugent reported that when they surprised the encampment at dawn’s first light, “[t]he Indians were much frightened; nonetheless a few commenced shooting their arrows at the men. Their fire was promptly returned, killing two and wounding several others . . .”
The 2d Infantry: the first to serve in post-war California
The 2d U.S. Infantry was one of the last regiments of regulars to leave Mexico. The regiment had barely settled into its station at Fort Hamilton near New York City, when orders arrived directing that it be recruited up to strength. In the winter of 1848-1849, the 2d Infantry set sail for California, via Rio Janeiro, Cape Horn and Valparaiso.
By early summer of 1849, companies of the 2d Infantry were scattered about central California, along trails leading to the gold diggings or the entry into California. One company of the 2d was escorting Brevet Major Emory’s survey of the California/Mexican border. The entire force in the department was estimated to be about 650 men.
In 1850, a company of the 2d Infantry, under the command of Captain Lovell, were garrisoned the Rancho Chino. This outpost, located a few miles east of Pueblo Los Angeles, was to prevent raids coming through Cajon Pass from the Mojave Desert. Some citizens may have been impressed enough with the uniform, but not with the 2d Infantry’s alacrity. Years later, Los Angeles lawman Horace Bell recalled that the troops at Jurupa were “well-fed, clean shaved, white cotton-gloved, nicely dressed, lazy, fat fellows, who were seemingly happy and content on their $8.00 per month . . . They all, from Captain to Corporal, seemed resigned to a life of well-fed indolence. . . Every military collar at Jurupa must stand with the most mathematical uprightness; every button, every brogan, and every military tin cup, be burnished daily.”
Ranger Bell, of course, loved to criticize the regulars and frequently spun exaggerated tale after tale of how his posse boldly chased down outlaws. In truth, Bell and his rangers spent much of their time holed up at the saloons of the Pueblo of Los Angeles in pursuit of liquid courage.
In May of 1850, Lieutenant and Brevet Captain Nathaniel Lyon marched a battalion of 2d Infantry along with a company of 1st Dragoons from Benicia Barracks to the northern shore of Clear Lake. Pomo tribesmen had killed a couple of disreputable white men who had been enslaving some of their people. Lyon was under orders to punish the tribes responsible for these murders. He did not bother to determine which was the guilty band and attacked the first Pomo village that he discovered.
The Pomos took refuge on an island surrounded by tules. Lyons sent his men wading across the marshy bog, cartridge boxes and muskets held over their heads as they reached the island. Firing at close range targets, the troops ruthlessly slew over a hundred men, women and children. Witnesses later claimed that the water of Clear Lake turned red. Thereafter, the land mass became known as “Bloody Island.”
Marching to the headwaters of the Russian River, Captain Lyon’s command cornered another band of Pomos in what he called a “perfect slaughter pen.” Lyon confidently wrote that his men killed “not less than seventy-five, and have little doubt to nearly double that number.”
In I851, witnessed the Antonio Garra uprising of desert tribes in Southern California. Joshua Bean of the California Militia sought to suppress this rebellion and complained to the Governor that Captain Lovell’s troops at Rancho Jurupa “are unable to render any assistance, as they are not mounted nor have they suitable arms and are short of ammunition.”
Indeed, these troops of the 2d were quite capable. While the erstwhile general contemplated his options within the safe confines of Los Angeles, part of the 2d Infantry led by Captain and Brevet Major Samuel Heintzleman marched swiftly across the lower Mojave Desert and, on December 20, 1851, killed two leaders of a band of Cahuillas in Los Coyotes Canyon and ended the uprising.
During the ensuing months, Heintzleman’s hard-marching troops cris-crossed the parched sands of the Mohave, re-established Fort Yuma on the Colorado River, and engaged the Yuman tribe in a series of skirmishes.
In late 1853, the companies of the 2d in California were broken up. Officers and non-commissioned officers sailed east to reorganize the regiment. The enlisted men—”most of whom had less than a year left in their enlistments–remained in California and were sent to serve with the other regiments stationed in the Department of the Pacific.
1851 Uniform Regulations: The French look.
Our army is a motley crew
In dress and armour, duties too,
And each and all I love to see–
But most I love the Infantry.

Those first infantry troops to arrive in California wore a uniform mostly unchanged from that worn during the Seminole and Mexican Wars: a powder blue shell jacket, with a high collar, trimmed in white, light blue kersey wool trousers, white buff belts, and a Model 1839 fatigue cap. Given that Army storehouses were filled to the brim with these uniforms and that the 1851 regulations allowed “articles of the old uniform already manufactured for enlisted men [to be] used until exhausted . . . altered, so far as practicable, to correspond with the new pattern,” the quartermaster would continue to distribute them for years to come.
The 1850′s would prove to be a period of experimentation in weaponry and uniform. In 1851, regulations for a uniform were prescribed for the entire army. The new attire would be based upon the French Army design of 1844: a dark blue frock coat that came down halfway to the knees with a single row of nine buttons. The coat’s cuffs and collars were to match the color of the branch of service. On the front of the collar, in yellow metal and 1″ in height, was the number of the regiment. On each shoulder of the infantryman, light blue worsted epaulettes were to be worn.
The branch color for the infantry was Saxony or light blue, replacing the white worn by infantry since the days of the Revolution. Under the 1851 Regulations, the cuffs, collar, pom pom, and epaulettes for the Infantry would be light blue. The light blue trousers had a 1/8″ dark blue stripe.
The infantryman carried a black bridle leather cartridge box that was slung over his left shoulder by means of a black buff strap. Inside of the cartridge box were 40 paper wrapped cartridges. Attached to a black buff leather waist belt, measuring 1.5 inches wide and 38.5 inches long were a percussion cap pouch and a bayonet scabbard.
As for headgear, the army introduced a 6 1/2″ tall, stiff shako of dark blue cloth, with a crown that slightly sloped forward, and topped off with a round pom pom. For infantry, the hat sported a light blue band. The ungainly hat was authorized for all purposes: full dress, fatigue, and campaign. Each soldier was to be issued seven hats during the course of his five-year enlistment.
The shako was not especially popular with the troops. A colonel wrote to the Adjutant General complaining that the new shako was entirely unsuitable for service, being heavy, hot, and painful to the head when used in the sun, wind, or at a rapid gait; incommodes the soldier in the use of his arms, as well as in all fatigue duties.
Some Infantry officers complained: “In the light infantry drill, even with the assistance of the chin strap, it has been found impossible to keep the cap properly on the head, and from the nature of material of which it is made, it soon becomes shapeless and unfitted for parade purposes.” Resourceful soldiers would often remove the cardboard lining and thereby convert the ungainly shako into an early version of the kepi.
The regulations of 1851 Regulations notwithstanding, the troops stationed out West often were dressed in whatever clothes they were issued or purchased on their own. When Colonel Joseph Mansfield, Inspector General, toured the Department of the Pacific in 1854, he often failed to write in his reports how the troops were dressed. This would suggest that Mansfield ignoring the shabby and obsolete uniforms. Only at Ft. Redding, at the upper end of the Sacramento Valley, did he report that both the company from the 3d Artillery and the men from the 4th Infantry were properly dressed in the 1851 uniform.
Uniform regulations went completely by the board when the troops were in the field. One might find the troops wearing anything from blue checkered shirts to red bib-front miner’s blouses. Sergeant Eugene Bandel of the Sixth Infantry described the typical uniform worn on campaign in 1857 as consisting of a broad brim hat, with white canvas trousers, and a woolen shirt worn on the outside like a coat.
A mule-mounted column of 2d Infantry under Brevet Major Henry W. Wessels, heading into the Sierras to the east of modern day Red Bluff appeared as “being one-well armed party of miners.” When the observer got a closer look, he noticed that “those soldiers ain’t got a bit of uniform except polished muskets.” In 1857, a Southern California rancher spotted a detachment of 3d Artillerymen, walking across the beach on their way to Mission San Luis Rey “walking barefoot in the sand, their red flannel shirts unbuttoned and each wearing a Mexican straw hat.”
Officers in antebellum California sometimes even incorporated Hispanic garb into their dress. While stationed in Southern California, Second Lieutenant Lieut. Caleb Smith of the 2d Infantry was described as wearing non-regulation Mexican style buckskin leggings (botas de cuerro), sombrero, sash, jangling spurs and calzoneros along with his regulation frock coat.
Mansfield noted that the troops at Ft. Humboldt had complained to him that the issue white flannel undershirt had shrinkage problems. He recommended that the troops be issued “coloured flannel [which] does not shrink.”
Regulations of 1854: Brass shoulder scales for the Infantry
The regulations of 1854 called for the replacement of the light blue band on the hat and the light blue cuffs with thin welts. The new regulations also discarded the worsted epaulettes for dress substituting brass shoulder scales in their stead. Of course, it took nearly three years before most Infantry companies on the Pacific Coast received the 1854 uniform.
Often, the brass scales were never issued. Instead, the brass scales were left in a box under the Captain’s bed, or were accidentally lost while an army supply wagon was crossing a river. Broken as well as complete sets of scales are often found by archaeologists in old fort trash pits.
The Model 1842 Musket: the Last of the Smoothbores?
The infantry was generally armed with the 1842 musket. This lengthy (57 13/16 inches) and heavy (9 pounds, 3 ounces) smoothbore arm, with its brightly burnished iron barrel, was the first U.S. musket to employ the use of percussion caps. It used a paper cartridge containing powder and a .63 caliber ball. The musket had an effective aimed range of just about eighty to a hundred yards.
The muskets lacked a rear sight: due to the windage between ball and barrel, aiming at a specific target was a useless act. Grant observed in his memoirs that in using such an arm, “you might fire at a man all day from a distance of 125 yards without him ever finding it out.” It was, indeed, an unfortunate soldier who was stuck by a musket ball fired at him from a range of 125 yards.
In order to compensate for the musket’s lack of accuracy, the men would load buck and ball: a .63 caliber ball and three .31 caliber buckshot. At close range, the musket became a deadly shotgun.
The Model 1842 is occasionally referred to as the last smoothbore arm issued to United States regulars. It wasn—™t. Commencing in 1847, the Springfield Armory turned out the .69 calibre musketoon. This smoothbore weapon, a shortened and lighter form of musket, came in three versions: cavalry, sapper, and artillery. At least one company of the 2d Infantry in California was issued musketoons.
Some of the soldiers who served on the Pacific frontier carried the Model 1841 .54 calibre rifle. This weapon, about a foot shorter in length than the musket, was considered by many to be the finest rifle in any military. Because of the tight fit of the patched ball, it was slow to load—”but deadly accurate when placed into the hands of a trained infantryman.
The Hazardous Journey of the 4th Infantry
Realizing that the 2d Infantry was not strong enough to garrison all of the critical points in California, the War Department sent the 4th Infantry to the Pacific Coast. On July 5, 1852, the 4th Infantry Regiment boarded the old steam ship Ohio and departed New York Harbor, bound for California by way of the Isthmus of Panama. During their trek across the Isthmus, a great many of the party contracted cholera. On August 18th, the Pacific Mail steamship Golden Gate, loaded with the sickly 4th Infantry, arrived in San Francisco Harbor. The regiment lost one hundred and seven men to cholera. Among the survivors was a 4th Infantry brevet captain by the name of Ulysses Grant.
The 9th Infantry: a new regiment for service on the West Coast.
In 1855, Congress authorized two new foot regiments, the 9th and 10th Infantry. The 9th was organized at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and sailed for California in late 1855 and early 1856. Upon arrival on the West Coast, these men were detailed to the Pacific Northwest. Several companies were immediately in combat in the rain-flooded meadows east of modern Tacoma.
The uniform worn by the 9th Infantry had two distinct attributes. Its frock coat, with a short pleated skirt, was of a French design known as chasseur a pied. The men of the 9th also wore leather suspenders and a rifleman’s belt with a plain double plate.
One interesting myth that has long be been held by many gun collectors is that the 9th Infantry arrived in California armed with the Model 1855 Harper’s Ferry rifle. This is not so. (The only positively identified ’55 rifle sent to the West Coast was received for testing at Fort Tejon, California, where the post butcher promptly appropriated it when he deserted.)
In fact, the 9th regiment sailed from Virginia unarmed. Moreover, the regiment departed for California two and a years before the M1855 rifle existed in sufficient numbers to be issued to any of the troops.
Upon arrival at Benicia Barracks, the 9th was issued Model 1841 Yaeger rifles. Colonel George Wright of the 9th declared the Yeager rifle “the best arm I have ever seen in the hands of a foot soldier.” In 1858, these 1841 rifles were re-bored to fire the new government M-1855 cartridges. The barrels were turned down at the muzzle to take either a long-bladed sword bayonet or the M-1855 musket bayonet. (Since bayonets were rarely used or mentioned in Army reports, and the authors have not had the opportunity to examine “stoppages” against 9th Infantrymen, we cannot say which of the two bayonet types was issued.) In 1860, the 9th Infantry was rearmed with the .58 caliber M-1855 rifle musket.
The Terrifying Voyages of the Third Artillery

In late 1853, the 3d Artillery was alerted for transfer to California and to serve as infantry replacing the departing 2d Infantry. Recruiting was stepped up and the ranks were soon filled. A significant number of new recruits were teenagers fresh from the shores of Ireland, England, and Germany.
The troops were crammed aboard the steamer San Francisco that —œdeparted New York on December 21, 1853, —˜… with light breeze from the southwest and clear weather.—™ On December 24 the weather changed to a —˜… moderate breeze from the west … and heavy rain towards evening.—™ By midnight the weather was very heavy and the San Francisco had lost many sails.— Off of Cape Hatteras, the San Francisco steamed into a monstrous storm, in which “waves rolled mountain high.” The steamer’s engines failed, the ship wallowing helplessly in boiling seas. On the midmorning of December 29, 1853, a giant wave crashed over the upper deck, stripping everything from the deck—”including a cabin in which some 200 artillerymen were sheltered.
When the first rescue boats reached the San Francisco, Colonel Gates quickly jumped aboard and abandoned his men. Following a court martial, he was shelved until 1861. The survivors, scattered around to ports in England, France, and the United States, were slowly gathered to re-organize the regiment.
This maritime disaster, coupled with the transfer of the 2d Infantry out of California, left General John Wool, commanding the Department of the Pacific, with a severe manpower shortage in his department. The 3d regiment was hurriedly recruited to strength, and in early 1854, four companies departed for California, only to run into another storm off of North Carolina. Their battered steamer eventually managed to limp into quiet waters of Hampton Roads on the Virginia peninsula.
Another ship, the Illinois, was sent. It would take the artillerymen to Panama. After crossing the Isthmus, they boarded the Oregon, which arrived in San Francisco on May 4, 1854. Meanwhile, two companies of the 3d Artillery, along with footsore recruits of the 1st Dragoons, marched overland, leaving Ft. Leavenworth in May of 1854. This column spent the winter in Salt Lake, and reached the West Coast in July of 1855.
Upon arrival, the various companies of the 3d were scattered about the west coast. Most of the troops of the “Marching 3d” were put to use as red-legged infantry.
In the spring of 1856, twenty-five men of Company K of the Third Artillery at Ft. Miller, under the command of 2d Lieutenant LaRhett Livingston, took to the field to suppress a war started by settlers. Angry over the theft of a cow, they had killed some Yokuts. The tribesmen retreated to a defensive position near the base of Battle Mountain and proceeded to defeat a band of volunteers who were bent upon the tribe—™s destruction.
In the pre-dawn of May 13, 1856, Lt. Livingston climbed a nearby hillside and peered into the Yokuts encampment. Seeing that the position was not heavily defended and could be attacked on its flank, Livingston swiftly put his company into motion. Suddenly, a group of Yokuts rose from the underbrush and peppered the detachment with arrows. The arrows were deflected by the bushes and caused no serious injury to the troops. Without hesitation they leveled their muskets and fired. At point-blank range, the muskets, loaded with buckshot and ball, took a deadly toll upon the defenders. Livingston shouted, —œCharge! Bayonets, forward!— The Yokuts hastily melted into the safety of the dense pine forests of the Sierra Range. Livingston reported twenty dead tribesmen. An unknown number of Yokuts would later die of wounds received in this battle. The emboldened volunteers looted and burned the Yokuts village.
The 1858 Uniform: Some New Headgear
General Order No. 3 for March 24, 1858, did away with the tall shako and replaced it with a tall, broad-brimmed felt hat in black. With its brim folded up on the left, a light blue braid ending in tassels circled around the crown, brass insignia attached to the front, and a debonair black ostrich feather placed on the right, the hat was not very practical for use in the field or on fatigue. A few months later, General Order number 13 authorized a fatigue cap in dark blue. This cap was essentially a floppy version of the 1851 shako with the stiff cardboard lining removed. It would soon evolve into the all-too familiar kepi of the Civil War. In 1858, the Quartermaster General began to issue a four-button fatigue jacket for all troops.
The Hard-Marching 6th Infantry
The last regiment of infantry to come to California before the Civil War was the 6th Infantry. Originally scheduled for Washington Territory, Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General Newman S. Clarke, the commanding officer of the 6th, convinced the War Department to divert the regiment to newly created Department of California—”a department under the command of Colonel Clarke.
On the 21st of August 1858, the Sixth Infantry left camp near Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, and began its overland march to California. The regiment, and its two-mile column of 180 supply wagons and ambulances, crossed the Sierra Nevada range in October, often wading through knee-deep snow. On November 11th, with its flags flying and the band playing “Yankee Doodle” and “The Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel,” the regiment paraded westward on J Street past the state Capitol.
The Infantry gets a New Weapon: the 1855 Rifle-Musket
While large numbers of the Model 1855 rifle musket had been issued in the summer of 1858 for the Spokane Plains expedition, few of these weapons had been seen by the public in California towns. A Sacramento Union reporter wrote that 6th regiment was “armed with the new [Model 1855] percussion cap rifled musket, with Maynard’s patent primer attached.” This .58 calibre weapon was the first regulation weapon to fire the minie bullet and had an effective range of over 1,000 yards.
There is little question that the 1855 rifled musket was a marked improvement over the 1842 musket. The touted Maynard primer system, however, was hardly a blessing. The Maynard taped primer worked like a child’s toy cap pistol. A paper roll, containing bits of fulminate of mercury as primer, was placed in a chamber just below the hammer. The tape was mechanically fed under the hammer each time that the hammer was cocked. When the hammer dropped, the fulminate would be detonated and the paper cut away. This system had been first been tested in 1849 on muskets supplied to the Infantry by the firm of Daniel Nippes.
The concept was sound enough for those in Ordnance who tested it at the Washington D.C. armory. The primer compartment was not sealed. When the primer tape was exposed to wet weather, however, the entire tape could be ruined by dampness. In the hotter climes, the tape became brittle and would easily tear. Inspector General Joseph Johnston, in 1859, observed troops firing the rifle musket and reported “at least half misfired, sometimes from defective machinery, others by the fault of the [taped] primer itself.”
The Final Battles
As the 6th Infantry tried to settle in after their long journey from Utah, a campaign was brewing in the desert. The Mojave tribe regarded travelers on Edward Beale’s new road to be trespassers and driven off mail trains and killed immigrants. Elements of the 6th Infantry were ordered by General Clarke to protect to the travelers.
On the morning of February 11, 1859, four companies of the 6th boarded the creaky wooden side-wheeled steamer Uncle Sam. The ship sailed through the Golden Gate and turned south. Off of Point Ano Nuevo, it plowed into a severe Pacific storm. The bilge pumps stopped working and the Uncle Sam began to take on water.
In order to save the ship, overboard went the coal, soon followed by all of the baggage of the four companies along with 320 new M-1855 rifle muskets. As the ship continued to founder, the men turned their attention to the mules. These durable creatures, which had walked to California from Ft. Leavenworth, showed no interest in being dumped into the foamy sea and fought efforts to cast them overboard. As the battle of the mules was beginning, the storm broke, and the Uncle Sam was able to sail back to the repair yards.
The 6th Infantry requested replacement 1855 muskets. The arsenal at Benicia was slow to issue the new weaponry. There was an ample supply, however, of altered Springfield 1816 Type III smoothbore muskets and these aged weapons were issued to many of the troops.
Colonel Joseph Mansfield was again inspecting California as the Mojave campaign was being organized at Fort Yuma. He was astonished at the bewildering array of clothing, equipment, and weaponry. Due to the heat most of the men were in lightweight civilian shirts. But the troops looked hardy, ready for a long march and a tough campaign.
On August 5, 1859, Companies F and I, under the command of Major Lewis Armistead, took part in a fight with the Mohaves twelve miles south of the post. In this battle, the long-ranged 1855 Muskets proved their value in this long-range firefight. Major Armisted reported that, because of the dry desert weather, the Maynard primers worked well.
The twenty-three reported Mohave dead were among the first Americans to suffer from the powerful firepower of modern infantry weaponry. In less than two years’ time, tens of thousands back east would, likewise, experience the deadly effects of rifled weapons.
There would be several more infantry actions out in the far west: in the northern Redwoods; along the Pit River in north central California; on the shores of the Pyramid Lake in Nevada Territory; and patrols against horse thieves southeast of San Diego.
Soon after the firing upon Ft. Sumter, orders from the War Department began to arrive in the Department of California directing the scattered infantry companies, stationed in the interior, to concentrate on the coast for embarkation. By the end of 1861, the 4th and 6th Infantry as well as the 1st Dragoons and most of the Third Artillery, would be on their way to fight a greater war in the East. Only the 9th Infantry remained behind in San Francisco where it, along with a company of the 3d Artillery, took up positions guarding that important harbor for the duration of the Civil War.
SIDE BARS
Lt. Crook’s Sunken Rifle-Muskets
In 1858, Lt. George Crook’s Company D of 4th Infantry was stationed six miles up the Klamath River at Fort Terwaw. Crook’s troops were armed with .69 caliber 1816 muskets. Ordnance artisans at Benicia Arsenal to use percussion primers, have rear sights added, and given shallow rifling had converted these weapons, leftovers from the Mexican War. During the campaign against the Spokane Indians, the men of Company D effectively used these muskets.
When the company returned to Fort Terwaw, Lt. Crook was ordered to requisition Model 1855 Rifle Muskets for his troops. A few months’ later, four sealed crates of the M-1855 Rifle Muskets reached the dock at Crescent City, California.
These crates were transferred to a large whaleboat which set sail south to the Klamath River. As it broached the river’s tidal bar, the boat capsized, dumping eighty muskets and other equipment into the ocean. None of it was ever recovered. Several months later, the army hired local Native American fishermen to navigate the tidal bar and Company D got its new muskets.
Stoppages
Every two months, the troops would be called for muster. The muster consisted of roll calls, inspections, and possibly a pass in review. If the paymaster arrived, not always a sure thing, the troops were then paid.
Regardless of whether or not they were paid, the muster roll had to be prepared. In these documents, the company clerk would record, among other things, stoppages—”i.e., the amount that would be offset against the soldier’s pay for stolen, lost or damaged equipment. The notations for stoppages are useful for the researcher to determine what equipment a particular company was issued. Listed below are the amounts that would be charged, per General Order No. 14 (December 9, 1859), for lost or damaged articles of clothing:
Coat $1.88
Forage cap .85
Dress hat .75
Feather .19
Cord and tassel .16
Bugle insignia .05
Company letter .05
Regimental number .05

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Footnotes

Dolph, E. A., Sound Off (NY: Cosmopolitan Books 1929), p. 325; Bee—™s untitled poem with matching illustrations may be found at the Special Collections—™ Mexican War Collection of the University of Texas at Arlington (http://libraries.uta.edu/SpecColl/crose02/beepoem.htm).
Message of the President, Report of the Adjutant General, November 28, 1849, Ex. Doc. No. 5, p. 188a.
During the first eight months of 1849, over 40% of the 1,200 regular troops stationed in California deserted. (Message of the President (31st Congress 1st Session 1849, Ex. Doc. 5) Report of the Secretary of War, November 30, 1849 Ex Doc. No. 5); Message of the President (31st Congress 1st Session 1850 Ex Doc. No. 17), Sec. War George W. Crawford to Gen. Persifor Smith, April 3, 1849, p. 273; Col. R, B. Mason to Adj. Gen. Roger Jones, August 17, 1848, p. 533.
Message of the President (31st Congress 1st Session 1849, Ex. Doc. 5) Report of the Secretary of War, November 30, 1849, p. 90.
Message of the President (31st Congress 1st Session 1850 Ex Doc. No. 17), Gen. B. Riley to A.A.A. Gen. W. T. Sherman, April 16, 1849, pp. 899-900.
Message of the President (31st Congress 1st Session 1850 Ex Doc. No. 17), Gen. B. Riley to Gen. R. Jones, April 25, 1849, pp. 874-876.
Sherburne Cook, The Conflict Between the California Indian and White Civilization (Berkeley: University of California Press 1976), p. 4.
Albert Hurtado, Indian Survival on the California Frontier (New Haven, Yale University Press 1988), p. 194.
J. Ross Browne to James Guthrie, May 20, 1856 (reports rec—™d, Secy. Of Treasury, 1854-1856) National Archives microfilm 177, roll 1, p. 347.
Captain John Gardiner to Frederick Gardner, July 13, 1856. John Gardiner letters at Fort Tejon State Park.
Sacramento Daily Democratic State Journal, January 5, 1854.
Ibid.
Rodenbough, Theo The Army of the United States (Reprinted New York: Argonaut Press 1966) 422.
Special Order #67, July 12, 1848; Persifor F. Smith to Roger Jones, May 21, 1849, California and New Mexico, 31 Cong., 1 Sess., Exec. Doc. 17, 740; Niles National Register, Vol. LXXIV, no. 1913, September 27, 1848.
Ibid, Gen. Bennet Riley to Gen. Roger Jones, June 11, 1849; Asst. Adj. Gen. E. R. S. Canby to Capt. William H. Emory, June 30, 1849, 916, 924.
Ibid, Gen. B. Riley to Gen. R. Jones, April 25, 1849, 873.
Ibid, Gen. B. Riley to Col. W.G. Freeman, A.A. Gen., August 30, 1849, p. 938.
Census of the City and County of Los Angeles, California for the Year 1850 (LA: The Times-Mirror Press 1929) p. 97.
Bell, Reminiscences of a Ranger (reprinted by Univ. Of Oklahoma, 1999), p. 164.
Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress, Part II (31st Congress, 2nd Session, Ex, Doc. No. 1) Nathaniel Lyons to E.R.S. Canby, May 22, 1850, p. 81.
Ibid, at p. 82.
Hurtado, supra, at p. 105-106
Message from the President, supra, Lyons to Canby, p. 82.
George Harwood Phillips, Chiefs and Challengers (Berkeley, University of California Press 1975) pp. 92-94.)
Special Order No. 7, November 7, 1853, National Archives RG 94; Rodenbough, supra, p. 422..
Bee, supra; see footnote 1.
Todd, supra, p. 380.
General Orders No. 31, June 12, 1851.
Todd, supra, p. 380.
Ordnance Manual (Wash. D.C., Gideon & Co. Press 1850), p. 201.
Col. T.T. Fauntleroy to Col. Cooper, 30 October 1854, quoted in Edgar M. Howell and Donald E. Kloster, United States Army Headgear to 1854 (Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Unstitution Press 1969), p. 67, fn. 204.
H. Dean Guie, Bugles in the Valley (Oregon Historical Society 1977) p. 26.
Mansfield, On the Condition of Western Forts 1853-54 (Norman: Univ. Okla. Press 1963), 160.
Bandel, Eugene, Frontier Life in the Army 1854-61 (Glendale, Arthur H. Clark, 1932), p. 128.
Bell, supra, at p. 164.
Mansfield, supra, 162.
Todd, supra, at pp. 115-117.
Reilly, Robert, United States Military Small Arms 1816-1865 (Highland Park, N.J., Eagle Press, 1970), p. 14.
Ulysses Grant, Personal Memories (New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885—“86), p. 60 .
U.S. Army, Ordnance Manual, supra, at pp. 244-247.
Woodward, Arthur, Journal of Lt. Thomas W. Sweeney (Westernlore Press, Los Angeles 1956), p. 147.
Reily, supra, p. 33.
Grant, supra, p. 117.
Grant, supra, p. 119; Ellington, Charles, The Trial of U.S. Grant (Glendale, Cal., Arthur H. Clarke Co. 1987) 60-66; Rodenbough, supra, 461.
Rodenbough, supra, p. 526.
Todd, Frederick, American Military Equipage Vol. II (New York: Charles Scribner—™s Sons 1980), pp. 382-83.
New York Daily Times, January 14, 1854.
New York Daily Times, February 10, 1854
Special Order, No. 17, Jan. 27, 1854. —œBy direction of the President of the United States, a Court of Inquiry will convene in the City of New York, on Monday, the 6th of February, 1854, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to examine into all the circumstances attending the embarkation, in December last, of the troops under the command of Col. William Gates, Third Artillery, on board the steamer San Francisco destined for California; the cause of the failure of the expedition, and the disorganization of the command at sea; and all facts and circumstances which may concern the conduct of the commander, and of the officers and men of the command.—
As of December of 1854, there were 1,365 officers and men stationed in the Department of the Pacific. (Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress, Part II (33rd Congress, 2nd Session, Ex, Doc. No. 1) Report of the Secretary of War, December 4, 1854, p. 6.)
Ibid, p. 3.
San Francisco Daily Alta California, May 5, 1854.
Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress (33rd Congress, 2nd Session 1854), supra, p. 3.
San Francisco Bulletin, May 16, 1856.
Los Angeles Star, May 10, 1856.
San Francisco Bulletin, May 23, 1856.

San Francisco Bulletin, May 16, 1856.
Todd, supra, at pp. 62-64.
Ibid, at pp. 65-66.
In April of 1859, Quartermaster General Thomas Jessup ordered that all remaining stocks of shakos be issued as forage caps. (Howell and Kloster, supra, at p. 67.)
Todd, supra, at pp. 57 and 383.
Swanson, Clifford, The Sixth United States Infantry Regiment, 1855 to Reconstruction (Jefferson, N.C., McFarland & Co. 2001), p.22.
Ibid; Sacramento Daily Bee, November 11, 1858.
Sacramento Union, November 12, 1858.
Riley, supra, p. 22.
Jerry Thompson, Texas and New Mexico on the Eve of the Civil War (Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press 2001), p. 54.
Swanson, supra, p. 32.
Message of the President (36th Congress, 1st Session 1860) Volume II, p. 415.
Swanson, supra, p. 43.
Ibid, p. 419.

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 congenial soul in the entire God forsaken place.— In 1838, a couple of appreciative young officers, borrowing the Irish tune known as the Wearing of the Green (also known as The Rising of the Moon), composed some verse to honor Benny Havens. The first verse went as follows:
—œCome fill your glasses, fellows, and stand up in a row,
To singing sentimentally we—™re going for to go;
In the army there—™s sobriety, promotion—™s very slow;
So we—™ll sing our reminiscences of Benny Havens, Oh!
Chorus:
Oh! Benny havens, Oh! Oh! Benny Havens, Oh!
We—™ll sing our reminiscences of Benny Havens, Oh!—

The song soon became quite popular among officers. During the ensuing years, many a new verse was added as cadets carried the song with them from the dismal Everglades to Buena Vista—™s barren plain and then out to the foothills of California—™s Motherlode.
Thomas Foster Castor entered West Point in 1841. His classmates, a rather notable group, included the likes of George McClelland, Thomas Jackson, A.P. Hill, George Crook and George Pickett. The latter cadet seems to have become —œaddicted to Benny—™s enticements.— During the years of Cadet Castor—™s stay at the Academy it is likely that he also frequently slipped out of the barracks to partake in a glass of hard cider and join in the good cheer at Benny Haven—™s public house.
—œLet us toast our foster-father, the Republic, as you know,
Who in the paths of science taught us upward for to go;
And the maidens of our native land, whose cheeks like roses glow,
They—™re oft remembered in our cups at Benny Havens, Oh!—

Upon graduation in 1846, Castor was posted to Fort Columbus in New York Harbor. Here is a copy of letter that a freshly minted brevet 2d Lieutenant Castor wrote to the folks back home in Pennsylvania.

Fort Columbus, 3 Sept. 1846

To Mrs. George Castor, Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

Dear Grandmother:

Well here I am snugly fixed on the Island. I arrived in N. York on Tuesday about 2 o’clock and reported myself for duty about 5 on the same day. I was attached to the dragoon recruits now here under the command of Lieut. Sibley. I have nothing to do but to superintend the drills and roll-calls, inspect their rations and keep them in order generally. I suppose that it will afford you a great deal of pleasure to hear that we will probably not sail for a month yet and very likely not that soon. Mr. Sibley told me that he would propose to the Captain when he arrived to take the company from here to Carlisle, mount it there and after drilling it for some time take it down to Mexico by land. if this obtains I would not be surprised if we did not leave this part of the country until November. And if the reports which have just been received prove true (viz. that private advices have been received that the war is over) we will very likely not go to Texas at all. Aunt Eliza I know will clap her hands at this news notwithstanding it cuts me out of all chance of distinguishing myself. I have been so lucky as to get quarters with one of my classmates who has been here for some time and we have to rooms carpeted with tables, sofa, beds, looking glasses and everything complete. To day I am Officer of the Day and it would make you laugh to see me strutting around with my sash and sabre followed all day by an orderly at a respectful distance and having Captains and old Lieuts. asking permission to have boats etc. The Officer of the Day being you know second in command for the time being. I am very well pleased with the post so much as I know of it. The officers are very clever and the society I am told is very good.

I had the blues going up the river and indeed the whole day after I left home. I waved my handkerchief as I passed our house but I suppose it was so foggy you did not see it as I could see none waved in return. Please tell me in your answer how Aunt Eliza and [Bud?] got home and particularly how Josephine is. I was afraid when I left that she would have a spell of sickness. How did she get through wit her teeth, how much did they cost and every thing. you must tell me all. I hope you have gotten over your troubles on account of my departure and if you have not I say you must!!

Yesterday about 700 troops sailed from here for Pt. Isabel. Poor fellows they were glad to get off but many a soldiers wife who was left behind went sorrowing to her home. If there are any letters at home for me please send them on directed to Ft. Columbus, Governors Island, N.Y. I am getting over my home sickness and am in good health. Please write very soon and tell all that has occurred since I left home, and everything that would be of any interest to me. Give my love to Aunts Liz and Buts [?] and take it yourself. I am going to write to all in succession? as I promised and I hope that nobody will fail to write me a long long answer. You dear grandmother must get Buts [?] to write for you. It is near 11 o’clock so good night dear Grandmother and I hope that you will not forget.

Your affectionate grandson

On 6 December 1846, Castor gained a permanent commission as 2d Lt. with the 1st Dragoons and campaigned in Mexico with the regiment, from the siege of Vera Cruz into the Valley of Mexico through the capture of Mexico City. While in Mexico he became quite ill and began to drink heavily. There may not have been much sobriety, but promotion came slow: Castor did not become a First Lieutenant until 1851. Following the war Castor was posted to Forts Snelling and Ripley, Minnesota. On 9 October 1851. While stationed at Fort Lane in Oregon he participated in a skirmish on the Illinois River on 24 October 1853. The next year Lt. Castor was sent to Fort Miller in California with Company A. Later that year he was ordered to start construction on what became Fort Tejon. Castor’s drinking and ill health continued to rack his body. In August of 1854, Castor led the first troops to the proposed site of Fort Tejon. The rigors of years of hard campaigning, and the effects of hard drinking, had taken their toll on the Lieutenant. Castor had a bout with tuberculosis and was seriously ill during his posting at Fort Tejon. On September 8, 1855, he died.

—œTo our kind old Alma Mater, our rock-bound Highland home,
We—™ll cast back many a fond regret as o—™er life—™s sea we roam;
Until on our last battlefield, the lights of heaven shall glow,
We—™ll never fail to drink to her and Benny Havens, Oh!—

His remains were ceremoniously buried under the spreading oaks that dot the landscape behind the Lebeck Oak. Fellow officers bought a marble headstone and an iron fence to honor their fallen comrade. Some years later, the fence and marble grave stone were moved to the site of the old post cemetery. As a consequence, no memorial marks final resting place of Lt. Castor.

—œTo our comrades who have fallen, one cup before we go,
They poured their life-blood freely our pro bono publico.
No marble points the stranger to where they rest below;
They lie neglected far away from Benny Havens, Oh!—

Finis

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 to the
present time have been busy in assorting and taking inventories of
said property, which they find to be as follows (incl.(?) accompanying
list or inventory as marked “A”).

All the large guns are more or less injured by firing, and some of
them badly cast, full of flaws and honeycombs. The majority of the
muskets and escopetas are in bad order, broken locks and stocks, bent
barrels &c. Three of the muskets are very much injured in the stock
by shot, or shell, of one, the entire stock is gone. The muskets, and
in fact all of the cartridges, are badly made, and only valuable for
the amount of powder they contain. The shells, strap shot, balls, and
canister, are as a general thing very badly made and would be apt to
greatly damage a good piece if fired from one.

One reference to the list, it will be found that there are
eleven large boxes of powder, this is supposed to be for cannons, as
also the five bags. Ten of the kegs contain very fine powder,
supposed to be for rifles, and the remainder for muskets. Having no
means to ascertain the weight, the amount in bulk only is first put
down as it appeared before the Board.

The horses are all small, poor, and weak, and many of the mules are
equally in as bad condition, none of them being fit for present use,
and scarcely any will ever be capable of hard service.

The saddles are of Spanish pattern and much out of order in their
present state worthless.

Of the drums, three are without heads or have but one, and the others
are so heavy and unwieldy as to be almost or quite unserviceable.

The articles, not having (sic) innumerated, are generally
in very good condition, and might, if necessary, be put to immediate
use.

The above is respectfully submitted as a report of the proceedings of
the Board, which, having no further business before it, adjourns sin
die.

B.L. Beall,
Major 1st Dragoons

“A”

A LIST OF ORDNANCE STORES &c. TAKEN AT THE SIEGE OF SANTA CRUZ DE
ROSALES, MEXICO, MARCH 16, 1848

2 Two 32-Lb. Brass Howitzers

1 One 10-Lb. Brass Cannon by Measurement

1 One 8-Lb. ” ” ” ”

1 One 4-Lb. ” ” ” ”

2 Three Swivels

7 Seven Wall Pieces

1 One Double-Barrel Wall Piece

392 Three Hundred and Ninety-Two Muskets

281 Two Hundred and Eighty-One Musket Bayonets

99 Ninety-Nine Cartridge Boxes & Belts

80 Eighty Escopetas

27 Twenty-Seven Service Rifles

78 Pistols

35 Sabres

122 One Hundred and Twenty-Two Lances Complete

142 One Hundred and Forty-Two Lance Heads and Ferrules

150 ________ Lance Straps

145 Shafts for Lances

6 Six Wipers for Wall Pieces

11 Eleven Large Boxes of Powder

23 Twenty-Three Kegs of Powder

5 Five Bags of Powder

58 Fifty-Eight Cartridges for 32-Lb. Howitzer

72 Seventy-Two Cartridges for 9-Lb. Gun

2600 Twenty-Six Hundred Musket Cartridges

7 Seven Bunches Signal Rockets

9 Nine 32 Lb Grenades

9 Nine 24 lb Shells

4 Four 32 lb Shells

75 Seventy-Five 4 lb Shells

7 Seven 3 lb Strap Shot

24 Twenty-Four 6 lb Strap Shot

4 Four 12 lb Strap Shot

103 One-Hundred and Three 4lb Balls

50 Fifty 3 lb Balls

76 Seventy-Six Cases 32 lb Canister

116 One-Hundred Sixteen Cases 3 lb Canister

1 One Lot Canister for Wall Piece

1 One Lot Balls for Wall Piece

1 One Lot Musket Balls

1 One Ten Ball Roller

10 Ten Bullet Molds

7 Seven Rifle Locks

1 One Lot Gun Flints

11 Eleven Sponges

2 Two Worms

6 Six Hand Spikes

1 One Treatment Scale

A List of Quarter Master Property Captured at the Siege of Santa Cruz
de Rosales, Mexico, March 16th 1848.

98 Ninety-Eight Horses

66 Sixty-Six Mules

7 Seven Wagons

52 Sets of Harnesses, four collars wanting

9 Nine Pack Saddles

35 Thirty-Five Spanish Bridle Bits

32 Thirty-Two Sets Spanish Saddle Rigging

1 One Bulk ” ” ”

35 Thirty-Five Buckles

7 Seven [Screw} Drivers

43 Forty-Three Files

8 Eight Hammers

4 Four Vices

2 Two Wrenches

1 One Grinding Stone

65 Sixty-Five Edge Tools

13 Thirteen Augers

18 Eighteen Saws

3 Three Screw Plates

2 Two Anvils

10 Ten Pounds Rod Steel

2 Two Boxes Tin

2 Two Boxes Shoes

8 Eight Boxes Blue Clothe

1 Lot Printing Type

1 Lot Duct Parts

1 Lot Rosin

2 Lots Steel Yards

12 Twelve Empty Boxes

11 Eleven Boxes Cigarilos

THE BATTLE OF CIENEGUILLA
Anatomy of an Army Disaster
April 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 cowardly and thieving propensities of the savages.—
—”New York Times, May 24, 1854

—œSome inexperienced people have charged Indians with possessing less courage than white men. There was never a greater mistake.—
—”Percival Lowe, Five Years a Dragoon and Other Adventures on the Great Plains

“This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. ” The Man who Shot Liberty Valence

In 1854, Lieutenant John W. Davidson of the 1st Dragoons, boasted at Fort Union that Jicarilla Apache warriors were puny cowards. In a conversation with fellow officers, he had described a recent meeting with these warriors who seemed —œoverwhelmed by fear— at the sight of the dragoons. Had there been pretext, Davidson said, he would have —œwiped them out.— Another officer knew better. Lieutenant David Bell, recently touted in the territory as having defeated chief Lobo Blanco—™s —daring band of outlaws—, stated that Jicarillas were —œnot cowardly, to say the least—, he told Davidson, but was ignored. [Santa Fe Weekly Gazette, March 25, 1854; Lt. John Davidson to Maj. George A. H. Blake, Cantonment Burgwin, NM, 25 March 1854; Letters Received Dept. of New Mexico 1854, f. 596-597, Main Series (LR 1805-1889); National Archives Microfilm Publication [NAMP] Microcopy 120, Record Group 3, National Archives [hereafter M120, RG 3, NA].: Correspondence, 1800 -1917; Records of the Adjutant General—™s Office 1780 —“ 1917, [hereafter M120, RG 3, NA]. An account of this gathering may be found in Lt. David Bell to Lt. John Williams, 27 December 1854, Fort Leavenworth. Kansas Terr., Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry Convened at Santa Fe, New Mexico, February 8 1856, Headquarters, Department of New Mexico General Order No. 1, February 9, 1856, Transcripts and Proceedings of General Courts-Martial and Courts of Inquiry, 1799-1867) Judge Advocate General (Army), Record Group 153, National Archives, Washington, D.C. [hereafter referred to as COI], pp. 5-6; see also Durwood Ball, Army Regulars of the Western Frontier, 1848-1861 (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press 2001), 55.]
In the Eurocentric view to which Davidson clung, a well-armed force led by a West Point officer was certain to prevail against —œprimitive— native Americans. Davidson soon learned not to underestimate the Jicarillas of northern New Mexico when the tribe decimated a force under his command. After the battle, one man, Lieutenant David Bell, called Davidson incompetent. Bell protested that Davidson, disobeying orders, had ineptly led his men into a disaster. According to Bell, Davidson was to blame for provoking the fight and his failure of leadership, in which U.S. soldiers had panicked and been routed by a small group of defenders.

Embarrassed, Davidson and his superiors whitewashed the defeat in an Army court of inquiry that found as unwarranted critical accusations against Davidson lodged by Bell. Generations of historians, without question, relied on the Army—™s inaccurate version of events, in which has Davidson being ambushed by superior numbers of warriors and, after fighting for three hours, the dragoons had deftly escaped a trap thanks to their commander’s cool leadership. [See Christopher Carson, Milo Quaife ed., Kit Carson—™s Autobiography (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1966)149; Albert G. Brackett, History of the United States Cavalry, from the Formation of the Federal Government to the 1st of June 1863 (New York: Argonaut Press, Ltd. 1965), 79; Dewitt C. Peters, Kit Carson—™s Life and Adventures, From Facts Narrated by Himself, Embracing Events in the Life Time of America—™s Greatest Hunter, Trapper, Scout and Guide (Hartford, Conn.: Dustin, Gilman & Co. 1874) 424; John K. Herr, The Story of the U.S. Cavalry (Boston: Little, Brown & Company 1953) 135; Utley, Frontiersmen in Blue The United States Army and the Indian, 1848-1865 (New York: The Macmillan Co. 1967), 144; Homer K. Davidson, Blackjack Davidson: A Cavalry Commander on the Western Frontier (Glendale: Arthur Clarke Company 1974) 69-74; Gregory J.W. Urwin, The United States Cavalry: An Illustrated History (Dorset: Blandford Books 1983), 93; Edwin L. Sabin, Kit Carson Days (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1995) 2 vols., 2:660-661; Michno, Encyclopedia of Indian Wars, 24; Bill Yenne, Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West (Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing 2006) 74; Only a few writers have questioned the official version of the battle of Cieneguilla. (See the foreword by Jerry Thompson in James A. Bennett, Forts and Forays (Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press 1996) edited by Clinton Brooks, Clinton and Frank Reeve, xxii-xxvii; Morris F. Taylor, Campaigns Against the Jicarilla Apache, 1854, New Mexico Historical Quarterly (1969), Taylor, 275-276; and Scott, Fields of Conflict, 2:236-260.]

Many of the criticisms tendered by Lt. Bell would be proven right by an archaeologist, Dave Johnson, whose study of the battle site refuted the Army’s findings. The true picture has come to lighting, revealing a story of an officer who disobeyed orders, placed his command in a tactically unsound positions and whose troops were routed by a weaker force.

To better understand this battle we must return to a chilled night along the Rio Grande. Flowing swiftly southward from the Colorado Rockies, this river divides most of New Mexico into two parts and then turns southeast towards Texas. The northern portion of the Rio Grande runs briskly down a steep gorge carved along the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where crossings of the river are few. In the pre-dawn darkness of March 30, 1854, scout Jesus Silva and trooper Jeremiah Maloney reached the Embudo crossing of the river. They had been ordered by Lieutenant John Davidson to ride to this place and see if a defiant band of Jicarilla Apaches had crossed the river. Silva and Maloney found no signs of Jicarillas, but looking behind them to the northeast, saw distant campfires twinkling brightly atop a ridge. Suspecting these fires to be coming from the Jicarillas camp, the two men rode back to Cieneguilla to tell Lt. Davidson of what they had seen.

In February, a government beef contractor near Fort Union, New Mexico Territory had reported several of his cattle stolen by the Llaneros faction of the Jicarilla Apaches. A troop of Second U.S. Dragoons, under command of 2d Lieutenant David Bell, was sent from Ft. Union to intercept the cattle thieves. On March 5, 1854, Lt. Bell encountered some warriors under Lobo Blanco out on the Canadian River. It is uncertain whether these men had stolen any cattle, but the Army had long suspected Lobo Blanco—™s band of killing white and Hispanic settlers. A fight soon ensued and, when the dust settled, Lobo Blanco, four warriors and two Dragoons lay dead. The violence escalated; the next day Jicarillas and allied Ute warriors raided a herd of cattle near Ft. Union, killing two herdsmen.

To be continued in Wild West magazine for February 2008.

THE MODEL 1855 SPRINGFIELD PISTOL CARBINE
During 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 Jefferson Davis believed that this weapon would also prove useful to the Dragoons. In 1855, he wrote, “No difference will be needed between the arms and equipments dragoons and those of light cavalry; but the whole, armed with this weapon, will be rendered in celerity of movements equal to light cavalry, and in combat to heavy dragoons.”
The weapon was designed to fire the .58 caliber minie ball. Carried in the pommel holster, like the .44 caliber Dragoon pistol, it came with a readily attachable shoulder-stock. This powerful weapon fired a 500-grain bullet and used a charge of 60 grains of powder. Akin to the Model 1855 rifled musket, the pistol carbine employed the cranky Maynard taped-primer system.
When fired with the shoulder stock attached, this weapon proved to be reasonably accurate and hard-hitting. But as a pistol, it did not fare so well. The hefty, 12-inch barrel rendered the pistol-carbine unbalanced. Dragoon Captain Richard Ewell, who tested this weapon in 1858, found that shoulder stocks did not always fasten firmly to the pistol and that this adversely effected its accuracy. Although about 5,000 pistol-carbines were manufactured at the Springfield Arsenal, it does not appear that this weapon was issued to any of the troops at Fort Tejon.
MAYNARD TAPE PRIMERS
The problem of placing a small brass percussion “hat” cap on a nipple of the carbine while aboard a skittish American horse was, at best, a nimble task for steady fingers. The ensuing complaints from the field persuaded the Army to purchase 400 Model 1855 Sharps carbines equipped with the Maynard tape primer system. These weapons were issued in limited numbers, beginning in the year of 1856.
The Maynard Taped Primer system worked in a manner similar to that of a child’s toy cap pistol: the tape featured a paper roll containing bits of fulminate of mercury as primers, which was mechanically fed under the hammer each time that the hammer was cocked. When the hammer dropped, the fulminate would be detonated and the paper cut away. This system had been first tested in 1849 on contract muskets supplied to the Infantry by the firm of Daniel Nippes.
When exposed to harsh wet, or icy weather, the tape became brittle, damp, torn, and would not fire. With age, the fulminate became defunct and would not detonate. Captain Ewell tested the system and found that the tape caps failed to explode two out of three times.

James E. Hicks: U.S. Firearms 1776-1956 (Beverly Hills, Eadco Publishing 1957), plate 48

During the Antebellum period, the War Department was concerned over the reliability of breech-loading weapons and it made efforts to design improved muzzle loaders for use by the mounted arm. Two such weapons were the 1855 carbine and the 1855 pistol-carbine. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis believed that the latter weapon would prove to be a useful weapon for both light cavalry and heavy dragoons. It could be carried either in the pommel holster or, as the ambrotype above shows, attached to trooper’s the carbine sling.

About 5,000 pistol-carbines were manufactured at the Springfield Arsenal.

On 12 September 1859, Inspector General Joe Johnston found Lt. Richard Lord’s Company D, 1st Dragoons, on duty at Fort Fillmore, New Mexico Territory, and observed their weaponry: “The dragoon company is not well armed. All of the men have sabres & Colt’s Navy revolvers–a majority, the pirtol carbine–some Sharps & a few, rifles of the cal. 54 of inch [Yeager Model 1841].” On the 4th of October, General Johnston visited Ft. Buchanan and had this to say about the arms of Captain Richard Ewell’s Dragoon Company D: “There is, however, a great variety of fire arms, Sharp’s, Hall’s & the pistol carbine, the rifle (cal. 54) & musketoon–Colt’s revolver of both sizes [.44 Dragoon and .36 Navy], & the old [Aston M1842] Dragoon pistol. Capt. Ewell advocates Sharp’s Carbine, in comparison with the musketoon, for he has had no opportunity to compare it with others of the same kind. The Capt. has made two requisitions for carbines annually for several years. His sabres are of the old pattern [1833].” Captain Ewell also pointed out that the shoulder stocks did not always fasten firmly to the pistol and this would adversely affect its accuracy.

Willaim Grier: Grant Makes Him a Colonel
By Thomas P. Farner, 2003
This 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 had played a key role in what has been called the Peninsula Campaign from May-June 1862. He received a saber wound leading a charge at Williamsburg, Virginia, and also suffered from other physical problems. He wrote in 1866, “At the time we left Yorktown, it was my misfortune to be suffering from dysentery. Nevertheless (against the recommendations of my surgeon) I remained with the Army of the Potomac until it reached ‘Harrison’s Landing’ on James River – avoiding the sick report during the whole xxxxxxx.”
But in August 1862 the situation became critical. Grier wrote, “I was no longer able to ride my horse half a mile without falling off; was sent from the field.”
For the hard charging cavalry officer of the American west, the opening of the Civil War 1862-65, saw him confined to a desk. First sitting on court-martials in St. Louis, Missouri from September 1862 to February 1863, then as a recruiting officer in Ohio and Iowa. Of this time in his career he remembered he was, “still suffering for a year and a half with chronic dysentery, and then with typhoid fever, and chills and fevers – yet, laboring hard at officer duties, and avoiding leaves of absence and sick reports.”
As the Civil War was winding down in March 1865, Grier was awarded the Brevet rank of Brigadier General for meritorious service in the war. With peace and improved health Grier again wanted to lead a cavalry regiment but the army was downsizing and commands were few and far between. In 1897, General U. S. Grant’s son Fredrick Dent Grant wrote an article for The New York World Sunday magazine about his father. A portion was entitled, ‘How Grier Became a Colonel.—
“A good illustration of how he appreciated a kindness may be given in his thoughtfulness of Lieut. (afterwards Col.) Grier, who was a tactical officer at West Point when my father was a cadet. My father occupied a room with Cadet [George] Deshon, who is now a priest in the Paulist Church in New York. Upon one occasion Deshon ventured forth upon a foraging expedition and brought back a turkey, and my father and he were cooking this treasure in their room when Lieut. Grier came in upon them while making a tour of inspection. The odor of roasting turkey was strong in the room and must have smote the officer in his nostrils before he crossed the threshold. He walked around, keeping his eyes continually upon the ceiling, and announced with ostentatious severity: ‘Gentlemen, it seems to me I can smell something cooking.’ Grier carefully avoided looking at the guilty faces of the two young fellows or towards the fowl on their hearth. It was perfectly clear that he had not the faintest intention of reporting them, and he did not do so. Of course he should have reported them, for their’s was a serious offense. His consideration saved the boys a great deal of trouble, and possibly from dismissal from the corps of cadets, and in after years, when the reorganization of the army took place, my father remembered the favor shown to him by Grier, and he did not allow the pressure brought by the friends of other officers to secure them places in the new army list to overweigh the just and proper claims of one who had rendered a kindness to him in his early life. Grier, who was a brave and efficient officer, became a Colonel.”
In August 1866, Grier was named Commander of the 3rd U. S. Cavalry. In July 1867. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton had decided to revise the manuals of tactics used by the U. S. Army. On the 9th a Board of distinguished officers was convened to evaluate and recommend the new manual’s adoption. Heading the Board was General U. S. Grant along with General George Gordon Meade, hero of Gettysburg and designer of Barnegat Lighthouse and West Point classmate of William Grier, who was also appointed to serve on the Board.
After the Board disbanded Grier became the Commander of Fort Union, New Mexico where he remained until 1870 when the regiment was transferred to Camp Halleck, Nevada. Grier’s health began to decline and he was hospitalized in San Francisco. Later that year on December 15 he requested retirement after 35 years in the service of his country. It was his background of fighting Indians with Kit Carson, for dashing charges at the head of his regiment that Grier brought to the little cottage on Stafford Avenue and almost immediately The New Jersey Courier of Toms River began to refer to the Grier house as the ‘Cavalry Cottage,’ the name by which most people know it today.
It would appear even then that his adopted home wanted to show their respect for the new resident and its only fitting that 133 years after his retirement the modern citizens of Stafford chose to purchase and preserve the building and recognize the 35 years of faithful service he gave to his country.

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 Bennett, left Ft. Stanton on 21 August. The remainder of the company departed from Ft. Stanton on 28 August. Two men were drowned at the crossing of Blue Water. After traveling across the harsh desert terrain with temperatures in excess of 120 degrees, Pope’s camp was reached on 1 September. Company B discovered that the reported Indian attack turned out to be false. It returned to Fort Stanton and arrived there on 16 September.

Here are two reports of the patrol graciously provided by Gary Cozzens and the Fort Stanton history group.

Head Quarters Fort Stanton
N. M. September 10th 1855

Sir:
Desirous of sending the whole force of Captain Davidson—™s Company to Delaware Creek, he deferred his departure until 28th August for the return of about 10 men absent escorting to Fort Bliss. These not returning by the time he departed with all the strength of his Company here (thirty five men) and 20 pack mules with a howitzer with the Dept. order and the Genl—™s letter of instructions of 2nd August for his guidance, to open communication with Capt. Pope, T. E. He returned within 20 miles of them last night and reported to me. I directed him to come to the Post. I enclose a copy of his report, the original being in pencil. It was my design to allow his animals about 10 days to recruit and send him again with the whole strength of his company now increased by eleven recruits and six men who will by that time return from escorting Dr. Henry to Fort Fillmore on his way as a witness to Fort Bliss as it is believe he could go securely by Dog Canyon and south of the Guadalupe Mountains. Flores the guide (bearer of this) wishes to go to Santa Fe, on important business to him, and I have thought it best to enclose to the Cmdg General Captain Davidson—™s report and a sketch of the country transversed for his information, and further particulars he can get from Flores and through him I can be informed of the General—™s wishes by the time the animals are sufficiently rested for another expedition. A map will be furnished as soon as complete.
Captain Davidson speaks very highly of Flores; of his perfect knowledge of the county, and of of the Indians their bands, habits, numbers and mountains. It is deemed very important that he be returned here for a year as to acquire a knowledge of the country, now unknown to the officers serving here. Col. [Daniel] Chandler has written to me to send Flores to Fort Craig, but it seems to me that the services of him or of El Cojo of Manzanos or some equally good are very material here, and Flores is considered best, and is most desired. I believe he would be glad to be so employed at $1.50 per diem.
It is his opinion and Capt. Davidson that no reliance can be placed on the friendship of the Mescaleros and that as soon as their fruits and other resources on the Rio Grande are exhausted, we may expect them (perhaps with others), to make attempts at driving off our animals.
Capt. Davidson estimates the distance to Capt Pope at considerably over 200 miles and that he has reached within about 80 miles of him. The Pecos was very high and he considered it very dangerous if not impractible then to cross it. The grass below is excellent and his horses are in better condition than when he started, but the mules much exhausted.
The [ ] Mill works pretty well. We have made yokes and yoked up some of our beef cattle to haul logs.
I am Sir
Respectfully
Your Obt. Svt.
Bvt. Major N. A. Nichols J. Van Horne
Asst Adjt General USA B. Maj. Comdg
Santa Fe
N.M.

(National Archives microfilm, RG 393, M1120, [V-8].)

Camp on Ruidoso near —œSanta de los Rios—
September 7, 1855

Sir:
I have the honor to report briefly to the Commanding Officer from this point that in pursuance to his orders I left the post on the 1st ulto. with 1 sergeant, 1 bugler, platoon of sixteen files of my Company, and a mountain howitzer to open communication with Capt. Pope, Topo Engineer.
Below the junction of the Ruidoso and Bonito the road became so impracticable that I left my gun it being impossible to carry it further without great labor and detentioin.
On the 2nd of September in the afternoon I observed signal smokes about 12 miles below me on the Pecos having been on this river two days and striking the river an hour later I came upon a large Indian Camp located a day or two from the signs of my guide (Flores) judged there to be a band of Auga Nueva Apaches joined by a renegade band of Mescaleros under Chino [?] (likely as not is at the treaty) and that from this [?] has obsereved [?] camped about [?] below on the River, where some [?] from the Mesa to the Pecos and which are termed Los Luganitas. There Indians must have with them some 200 head of horses among which is a shod one recently stolen from the Settlements as the traders are cut clear showing the newness of the shoe. There could have been no friendly Mescaleros among them or there was no sign of corn in the camp or any of the supplies down under the treaty but to the contrary they are subsisting scantly on game, the roots of the field and the fruit of the cactus. I counted 32 lodges which have been put up one fine camped without lodges.
From the direction from which these Indians came, my Guide thinks them to be the same, apart of whom committed the depredations near Fort Bliss probably attacked and killed the wagon escort on the river and are about 90 strong. These things gave me matter of reflection during the night and on the morning of the 3rd then signal smokes being answered from the Guadalupe. Showing another band to be in concert with them. I therefore in consideration of the known hostility of these Auga Nuevas, the size of the band and the smallness of my own force, there being no means of transporting wounded men (not a pole for stretchers to be cut on the river) and no particular routes on the eastern slopes of the Guadalupe by going down the Pecos and my order not being for a Campaign, determined not to jeopardize my party without necessity but returned to this point, Report and await further orders which I have done. Accordingly with exceeding regret not that I doubt the prosperity of this step but that I have not sufficient force to prosecute my march whiter I choose to go.
The pack mules of my party are unsuited for such an expedition having done much work this year with scanty forage and little rest and have been giving out daily so as to delay my marches going and returning back to this point slowly. On the 4th I had one shot unable to go further.

I am Sir
Respectfully
Your Obdt Servt
J. N. Davidson
Capt 1st Dragoons

Lt. R. M Bonneou
Post Adjutant
Fort Stanton, N. M.

National Archives, RG 393, M-1120, [V 8/1]