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Show Cavaflfy CSweir oirfaimk? I .?.iu.i;: -- ; ;: - 5 V JIB, Jf.n The New Type of Tank ' ' Chief of US Cavalnf Cavalry Horseback Kedio Set v Modem. Troop of Cavalry 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON K4f UK othor il:iy thore took phuv nt t I Kort Ix A- 1:,,SS('n' "'" Mar'a. ' I j J Tox.. a eeromony niiioli niarkt'il a ,fil revolutionary stop in our mil; r.-i-y IV' I '-i history. Out on the pnratle troutvl tvj( p.J&j., tnarolnnl the oldest cavalry regiment jgCfl t,le I'nited States army, the V;'.-1' "Pamly first." where the otheers ft and troopers were to say farewell lfjv t0 t li o i r horses. Kor this regiment was to lx? "meehanized," that is. its niemhers were to replace their tradiIion.it mounts, the cavalry charters, with tanks anj fast armored motor cars. As the column proceeded across the parade ground, swim; into line and dismounted, a horse was led out to the ''front and center' position of honor. He was '"OKI Louie." the oldest horse of the regiment, veteran of "S years of service in every part of the country, and he was arrayed ar-rayed in funeral trappings to show the retri-ment's retri-ment's sorrow at parting from its four-leased comrades. At the ceremony Col. W. A. Austin, commander comman-der of the regiment, voiced the feelings of the officers and men when he said : "Tomorrow we begin in earnest our preparations for that change which means farewell to the horse. For almost a century this regiment, which it has been our privilege to serve with, has contributed a conspicuous con-spicuous part toward the security, progress and stability of the nation. The First Dragoons came into existence to meet the rigorous demands of a great emergency. And ever since, during every crisis and danger confronting the country, the First cavalry has ridden in the vanguard and has been among those first to render protection, pro-tection, defense and service to the country. '"Xo other regiment in our army has such a wealth of tradition, such an abundance of honorable, hon-orable, brilliant achievements. . . . We bid at this hour, farewell to our faithful, willing and noble companions of march, maneuver and garrison gar-rison our beloved horses. Patient, silent, dependable de-pendable comrades, they have carried the standards stand-ards of the First Dragoons through a century of heroic hardships and enduring accomplishments." It was a just tribute to a gallant regiment for, as Colonel Austin said, "no other regiment has such a wealth of tradition, such an abundance of honorable, brilliant achievements." Except for various loosely organized "rangers" the United States army had no regularly constituted cavalry caval-ry arm of the service from the close of the Revolution to 1S33. In March 3 of that year there was created by an act of congress "The United States Kegiment of Dragoons" and the "Dandy First" traces its history in an unbroken line back to that outfit. - The newly organized regiment was organized and concentrated first at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. Its first commanding officer was Col. Henry Dodge, who resigned his commission in 1S36 to become governor of Wisconsin. The first regimental regi-mental adjutant was a young Mississippian. fresh from West Point, named Lieut. Jefferson Davis, destined for fame as the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. At that time Jefferson Barracks was on the "frontier" of this country and the five companies of dragoons first recruited were soon dispatched on the duty for which they were primarily created cre-ated to suppress tribes of marauding Indians. In October, 1S33, the five companies under Colonel Col-onel Dodge left Jefferson Barracks and set out for Camp Jackson, Arkansas territory. There they spent the winter, practically In sight of the hostiles. In June, 1834, after having suffered many hardships during the winter months, the dragoons were sent out on the Pawnee expedition. expedi-tion. The command remained in the field only until September of that year, but In that short time one-fourth of the officers and men died, principally from fever. For the ensiling winter, part of the regiment was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., while the remainder went into the Indian country on the right bank of the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Des Moines river. The following summer, 1S35, the entire command was kept in the field. As no engagements with the Indians are recorded, re-corded, It is probable that all the marchings and counter-marchings were done In the Interest of exploration of our outlying territory to the west of the Mississippi. The whole of the regiment's service from Its organization until the outbreak of the Mexican war In 1846 was devoted to activities In the Middle Southwest alternately fighting Indians and exploring the new territory. Outstanding events are recorded during those years, notable for the results accomplished without bloodshed and for the sustained endurance and hardihood displayed by the soldiers. On May 18, 1.838, Colonel Kearney, with five companies, left Fort Leavenworth and set out for South Pass In the Rocky mountains. The command reached that point and returned to its starting place by August Au-gust 24 of the same year, having marched over strange and generally hostile territory, about 2,000 miles in less than 100 days. In reporting upon the expedition, Colonel Kearney said: "In the length of the march, the r--U2ia,vi y - - TKe Old First Cavalryman. rapidity of movement, and the sacrifices made, the expedition is supposed to be wholly unprecedented." un-precedented." Whether or not It was unprecedented. unpre-cedented. Is not known. It Is however, worthy of mention that a command of cavalry, moving as a large body, maintained a rate of march of 20 miles a day for so long a period. In the Mexican war the First Dragoons there had been a Second Regiment organized In 1S3G took a glorious part Companies A and E fought with Taylor in his vigorous campaign. Company F escorted General Scott from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, and was present at the battle fought before that city. Companies D and K. also saw service In Scott's line. The remaining companies In the United States carried car-ried on as before the war. helping keep the Indians under control up and down the western Mississippi valley. The period from the close of the Mexico war to the outbreak of the war between the states was In all respects similar to the period preceding pre-ceding the former contest. The dragoons were on Indian duty in the West. Headquarters were moved to Fort Union, New Mexico Territory, In 1S54, and with that as a base of operations, companies of the command operated against hostile Indians all the way from the Rio Grande to the Canadian border on the one hand and from the Mississippi to the Pacific on the other. Engagements with the Utah, Apache, Navajo, Spokane, and other Indians are recorded. At the outbreak of the Civil war the designation designa-tion of the command was changed from "First Regiment of Dragoons" to "First Regiment of Cavalry," without any change of Internal organization or-ganization or shifting of personnel other than what was necessary for expansion to war strength. During the latter part of lSGl, the regiment, less Companies D and G, was transferred from the Pacific coast to Washington. D. C, to become be-come a part of the line of Union defenses around that city. And while the regiment, minus its two companies, was taking part in various tactical movements around the Federal Capital, the two companies left In the West were making history. In January, 1SG2, they acted as escort for General Canby; on February 19, Company D engaged Confederate troops in a skirmish near Fort Craig; the two companies took part In the battle of Valverde on February 21 : and Company D took part In engagements at Pigeon's Ranch, March 30; Albuquerque, April 25, and Peralto, April 27. In June, 1S03, the two companies were broken up, the officers and noncommissioned officers being transferred to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. There the two units were reorganized reor-ganized and joined the regiment at Camp Bu-ford, Bu-ford, Maryland, October, 1863. From this time until the end of the war, the First regiment was destined to see action on many fronts, tramp many miles up and down the valleys of Virginia, and finally to be present at the closing scene at Appomattox In April, 18G5. It was attached to Sheridan's famous cavalry corps which on the march and In the attack was second only to Jackson's in point of swiftness. swift-ness. When "Little Phil" swung around Richmond the First cavalry was with him, taking part In the following engagements : Beaver Dam station. sta-tion. Yellow Tavern, Meadow Bridge, Mechanlcs-ville, Mechanlcs-ville, Tunstall's station, Hawe's Shop, and Old Church. Other important engagements In which the command took part were Cold Harbor, Peninsula Pen-insula Campaign, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvanla, Petersburg, Peters-burg, and Appomattox. After the surrender of both Lee and Johnston, the regiment returned to Washington, escorting General Sherman, and was present for th,e "Great Review" on May 24 and 25, 1S05, when 65,000 of the victorious troops paraded through the streets of the city. Almost immediately thereafter the command left for the South to aid in the work of reconstruction, recon-struction, taking station in the vicinity of New Orleans. There it remained until December, 1SG5, when It left for California, via the Isthmns of Panama. It took station nt the Presidio of San Francisco on January 22, lsi'ij. From this time until the outbreak of the war with Spain In IS'.iS, the regiment remained In the West, scouting and fighting Indians from the Pacific coast to Oklahoma, Its duties practically the same ns they had been during the Interval between the Mexican and Civil wars. Engagements Engage-ments were fought with every Important tribe of red men and nt times the troopers were even engaged In rounding up horse thieves who practiced their trade along the Kin Grande. In the Spanish-American war, the regiment took part In the Battle of Santiago, and later rendered a glorious account of itself in the Philippines during the Insurrections. Since the war with Spain, the command has soldiered extensively In the Philippine Islands and the western United Slates. It was on border bor-der duty during 1H1I3, 1!17. and 19 IS. Its service during the period has been generally without striking historical significance, but the organization organiza-tion has nevertheless occupied an Important place In our national defense system. In the performance of Its routine garrison duty and on maneuvers. It has upon many occasions drawn the praise of high commanders and Inspectors. After the sad ceremony which took place at Fort D. A. Russell, this historic regiment was transferred to Fort Knox, Ky., to become a part of the mechanized force of the army which for some time has been experimenting at Fort Eu-stis, Eu-stis, Va., with the latest developments In tanks and armored cars. This was In line with the War department's desire to maintain the cavalry In Its role as the fastest-moving fighting force and It was believed that It could best be done by replacing horses with high-speed cars. This does not necessarily mean, however, that the cavalry charger will be entirely eliminated from our military establishment of the future. In fact. It would appear from a study of past experience ex-perience that there will always be special situations sit-uations in which the mounted soldier will be needed. Man and horse can get through and gain Information when other means are blocked. The airplane Is helpless in a fog, for Instance. Nor can thoroughly effective reconnaissance be accomplished without the aid of the horse In exceedingly mountainous terrain. All this would Indicate the retention of the horse for some military purposes and that mounted troops. In smaller numbers, will be available for scouting, at any rate. In the broader field of tactical usefulness, however, the horse cannot compete with the newer mechanical weapons. The speeding armored ar-mored car. for ground reconnaissance, can cover much greater distances in quicker time. With the development of more effective weapons, weap-ons, the horse has lost its "shock power" in operating against either mounted or dismounted enemies. There are too many machine guns, automatic auto-matic rifles and quick firing artillery guns to permit such close contact, and the horse offers a larger target than the man on foot. Gas, too, is a potent weapon against the horse. It is too expensive to completely cover an animal with gas-proof cloth and there are gases now which Inflict deep burns at the slightest exposure. Ever since the British launched the first land-ships land-ships or "tanks" (as they were originally named to mislead spies) many military experts have been looking toward a mechanized cavalry, mounted on mechanical steeds, still carrying on its traditional roles of distant reconnaissance, pursuit, surprise attack and last-minute reserve, but covering more ground in less time, striking with more force and power and with fewer risks and greater protection than the horse offered. But the World war tanks were incapable of carrying out such assignments. Some power they enjoyed, but mobility, the prime essential of cavalry, they lacked. The light tank, for instance, in-stance, maneuvered across country at the rate of three to four miles an hour. After ten miles It ran out of gasoline, and, what was even worse, It usually had to go back to the shop for overhaul over-haul after a comparatively short trip. The heavy tank, carrying the tremendous weight of 44 tons, lumbered along at a maximum rate of five and a half miles an hour, and often bogged down In its own tracks. Today, however, the ordnance department has given the American fighting forces a light experimental ex-perimental tank capable of operating on the road at 25 miles an hour, across country at 18 miles an hour; 60 miles on one filling of gasoline, gaso-line, and more than 2,000 miles before major overhaul becomes necessary. And all this has been accomplished without Increasing the light tank of seven and a half tons by a single pound. Besides tanks and vehicles of Its type, a mechanized force calls for armored cars, wheeled vehicles armored and armed with machine guns only. For long-distance reconnaissance, patrols pa-trols and raids, such vehicles are held indispensable, indispen-sable, and the time may not be far distant when they will replace entirely that faithful companion compan-ion of our troopers, the cavalry charger, who helped push back the frontier in the conquest of America. ( by Western Newspaper Union. |