Dismounted Fighting

One of the myths of the old cavalry is that they always fought mounted.  This myth has been perpetuated in film, but is often advanced in Civil War battle re-enactments.  Mounted attacks are more colorful and dramatic when depicted on film and in battle re-enactments.  The truth is that mounted cavalry attacks were normally only used against other mounted units or against unprepared or scattered infantry units.  For a cavalry unit to attack a prepared infantry unit would have been suicidal.  Men on horses make very large targets for infantry and trying to hit anything with a pistol or carbine while on a galloping  horse is a difficult enterprise unless at very close range. 

In reality, a cavalry unit would typically dismount when fighting.  This practice of dismounted cavalry to fight was perfected by Phillip Sheridan during the Civil War.  However, you will never see this standard tactic depicted in the movies or in a re-enactment because it is difficult to do and somewhat boring to watch.  However, since it is the mission of B Troop is to promote the history and heritage of the cavalry, we have resolved to demonstrate the tactic of dismounting cavalry to fight on foot. 

The tactic of dismounting cavalrymen to fight requires the right equipment and lots of practice.  The Indian Wars period halter has a special link-strap that was used to bind the horses together when their riders were dismounted.  The idea was for each group of four troopers would dismount three men and have the fourth man hold the horses.  The three dismounted horses would be linked together and the fourth man would stay mounted and hold them.  The dismounted men would advance and engage the enemy with carbine fire.  While this was happening, the horse-holder would maneuver the linked horses to the rear and out of the line of fire.   

Although this all sounds very simple and straightforward, it is in reality, very difficult to do.  The men have the complicated task of mounting and dismounting with a carbine slung over their backs and the horses have to be trained to be able to be led while linked together. 

Mounting and dismounting with a slung carbine takes a fair amount of practice.  The rider must first remove his carbine from its scabbard, attach it to his carbine sling, sling it over his back, and dismount without clobbering himself in the head with the carbine.  Getting off this way is much easier than getting back on.  The first thing you discover is that the carbine sling chokes you slightly when you drop the carbine over your back.  This is not as bad, however, as when you are trying to remount and the carbine swings around to your right side and gets tangled in your leg so that you end up sitting on your own rifle. 



Our efforts to master this simple maneuver resulted in a few bruises and much hilarity.   I outdid everyone else in buffoonery when I manged to fall off my horse during the mounting effort.  My carbine had slipped to my right while mounting so I attempted to shift my weight to re-center the rifle as I slung my leg over.  At that moment, the Apache decided to shift himself to the left which caused me to fall head first over his right side.  As I lay on the ground with my trusty carbine at my side, Apache stood and looked down at me with bemused look on his face while my comrades enjoyed a good laugh at my expense. 

After we had beat ourselves senseless with this exercise, we decided to try it while linking the horses.  Again, this was initially amusing, as the horses had no clue what they were supposed to do.  I was the horse-holder and was having a hard time convincing the three linked horses that they were supposed to follow me as I wheeled to the left.  The #3 horse, the one closest to me, refused to budge and was generally annoyed about the whole activity.  However, the first and second horses figured it out and began to push him around the arc so that we were able to execute a fairly decent wheel movement while linked. 

Meanwhile, the troopers had become fairly adept at dismounting with carbines slung and forming a skirmish line.  I eventually figured out how to time the wheel movement of the linked horses so they arrived on line just as the skirmishers were returning to remount.  After we had practiced it for about an hour, we began to look like a fairly competent mounted fighting force instead of a group of confused lunatics. 

The difficulty of executing what was once a routine procedure of the cavalry, makes me wonder how often it was practiced.  Doing it with a handful of men and horses is one thing, but I can't imagine this maneuver being executed with thousands of horses.  It must have been really something to watch. 

Graduation Ceremony

Fort Report B-Troop Riding School Graduation from U.S. Army Fort Huachuca on Vimeo.
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This video was taken during the Cavalry Riding School graduation ceremony.  It shows just how fast the horses move out during the charge.  One of the horses, Journey, spooked at some traffic cones when his rider made a left flank.  You can see Journey back up and move away from the cones before taking off.  He still managed to get down the field ahead of the other horses though. 

It was a nice ceremony and we all went back to the stables after to celebrate with a barbecue. 

Charlie's Sarcoid Removal

Charlie has had a sarcoid on his face for a long time now.  The mil vets tried to treat it by surgically removing part of it and treating the rest of it with a type of cream that kills the cancer cells.  However, after several months, it was obvious that the treatment had not worked and had, in fact, made it worse.  An ugly cauliflower-like growth appeared on the right side of Charlie's face making him essentially unusable for ceremonial work. 

Last Thursday we received approval from the mil vets to take Charlie up to Arizona Equine for treatment.  AZ Equine provides the best horse care you can get in this state and we frequently take the Army horses up there for treatment.  Our mil vets are good, but AZ Equine deals exclusively with horse issues on a daily basis and sometimes you just have to go with the experts, even though it is much more expensive. 

Charlie at home after the surgery

Charlie was moved into the operating area stocks as soon as we arrived, sedated, and prepped for surgery.  Once Charlie was sedated, the surgeon made a circular incision all the way around the sarcoid on Charlie's cheek.  What happened next was like a scene from "Silence of the Lambs."  They peeled back the flap of skin and snipped it loose from the underlying tissue with a scissors.  It was like watching someone getting scalped in slow motion.  Once they removed the "scalp," they cut some of the suspicious looking areas from the sub-dermal layer.  It was pretty grotesque, but fascinating at the same time.  Charlie pretty much dozed through the whole thing with his chin resting on a specially designed horse-head prop. 

After they had finished, the wrapped his head up in bandages and then Debbie put on his Mexican-wrestler hoodie to help keep the bandages in place.  It will take a couple months for the skin to grow back and Charlie will always have a bald spot on his cheek.  The bald spot will mostly be covered by his ceremonial tack, so he shouldn't look to unsightly as long as the sarcoid doesn't come back.   

Rose Thorns

Photos by Kelly Paige

Today was my first attempt to participate in a public event since my riding accident back in January.  We participated in the Rose Festival Parade in Tombstone.  I guess I should have realized by the dark storm clouds in the sky that I was better off staying home.  It was a cold and windy day.  Not much rain, thankfully, but unusually cold for an April day in Arizona. 

Our preparations at the stables went smoothly enough, or at least I thought so.  We elected to keep all the horses in last night because of the weather, but still everyone was able to tend to their steeds and be ready to roll at the appointed time.  The weather was lousy, but not lousy enough to result in the cancellation of the parade--something all of us would have accepted without complaint.  We had two new riders participating in their first event since passing their final riding tests last Wednesday. 



Heading up Allen Street

When we arrived in Tombstone, things continued to go smoothly, until I overheard someone saying that our new sidesaddle rider had forgotten her bridle.  This was a problem since we couldn't just leave her behind by herself.  One other horse and rider (me in this case since I was her escort) would have to stay behind or her horse would have panicked when the rest of the herd rode away.  Some people began to suggest that I just tow her along by her lead rope.  I rejected this idea on the grounds that if her horse broke away she might end up being dragged up Allen street by her stirrup. 

Instead, we decided to get someone to bring us another bridle.  I called my wife, who was only 30 minutes away to bring a bridle from our tack shed.  Meanwhile someone else called a friend and asked them to go back to Fort Huachuca and get a bridle from there.  It turned out to be a fortuitous phone call as we soon had another problem on our hands. 

Lady escort

Somehow, we managed to lock the keys to one of our trucks inside the truck. Unfortunately, the three troopers who had been in the truck had left their uniform in there.  We then contacted the individual who was on his way to the fort (thank goodness for cell phones) and asked him to get the spare keys to the truck and bring those along with the extra bridle.  Fortunately, all the tack and keys made it to us before we had to step out on the parade. 

The parade itself went fine.  We had the usual incidents of audience interaction with the denizens of Tombstone.  One guy actually walked up to a trooper during the parade and started asking questions.  Another individual decided to argue points of historical authenticity with our Executive Officer as we rode through town.  These kind of incidents seem to be unique to the town of Tombstone.  Maybe it is something in the water...or the whiskey. 

Parading past a few brave souls

When we returned to the fort and released the horses into pasture, we gathered on the porch to review the day's events and assign appropriate beverage fines for what had transpired.  Both the nubes had forgotten an item of equipment.  Although all the goof ups had been pretty exasperating, no one really got angry about it.  In fact, we all had a pretty good laugh about it.  We are just fortunate to have people in our outfit that find ways to overcome problems, no matter how ridiculous they may be. 

More Cavalry Charge Practice

On Saturday the troopers took the students out for more charge practice except this time they took pistols along to enhance the experience.  The horses typically get a little more excited when the pistols come out.  The weather was perfect and the field was in good shape.  

The riders forming up into a skirmish line. 

Last week they worked at mostly a trot and slow canter, but this week they moved up to a full gallop.  It is a much different kind of experience when the horses are really moving. 

The riders trying to hold the line while charging.

Things were going pretty well until one of the students was bucked off when they transitioned to a gallop.  Fortunately the rider wasn't hurt except for a few bruises.  It just goes to show how dangerous this business can be.  The student was wearing a helmet which likely saved her from serious injury. 

However, the practice session ended fairly well and everyone got back to the stables safely. 

Cavalry Charge Practice

The pre-brief

As part of the riding school, we spend a couple of Saturdays training the students in open field charges.  The open field charge is the most exciting and potentially dangerous activity the troopers engage in.  The troopers perform a pistol charge at the end of each ceremony on post so it is important to train both riders and horses in how to do it safely.  The charge is a rare opportunity to ride a horse as fast as it will go (unless you're a jockey).  The charge only lasts about 14 seconds, but it is an exhilarating 14 seconds.  It is during the charge that riders find out if they really want to pursue cavalry riding as a hobby. 

Walking on line

The practice starts out pretty slowly with the riders forming a skirmish line and walking the parade field to look for holes or objects in the ground.  If a horse steps in a hole while at a gallop, it would likely result in the destruction of both horse and rider, thus inspecting the field is an essential step in the training.  Once the field is determined to be safe, the instructor leads the students up and down the field at various gaits until everyone is comfortable.  It is a good exercise in horse control as the horses know this is the place they do charges and become excited the moment they step onto the field.  By forcing the horses to walk and trot on line up and down the field, the students and horses gain more confidence in each other.  Getting a horse to charge is easy, getting him to stay on line with the other horses, and stopping him before exits the field is sometimes the challenging part. 

Cantering on line

If all goes well, the instructor has the students draw sabers and switch to neck reining at a canter.  The first lesson ends when all the students can control the horse with one hand, stay on line, and keep the horse's speed down.  The second lesson (on another weekend) will build on this training and the students will eventually be allowed to ride their horse at a full gallop up the parade field. 

Wrapping up

Brown Parade ground is nestled between 19th century officer's houses and cavalry barracks at the mouth of Huachuca Canyon.  It is a very historic setting and offers some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and of the San Pedro valley.  The troopers riding there today join a long line of cavalrymen who have practiced and drilled on that rectangle of grass for the last 135 years. 

Picacho Peak Part II

Prepping the horses for the first battle of the day.

 

Riding to the first battle

B Troop contributes the only cavalry presence during the weekend.  However, they also provide a significant contribution to the Union artillery with their mountain howitzer.  It is pretty obvious that without B Troop, there wouldn't be much of a show.   


The day starts with the battle of Valverde.  In the afternoon the battle of Glorietta Pass is re-enacted.  And in the late afternoon, B Troop recreates the battle of Picacho Pass.  The first two battles are virtually the same as far as the mechanics of the battle.  B Troop is sent forward periodically to deal with Confederate skirmishers or advancing infantry and then fall back when their ammo runs out.  The battlefield is so small, the participants are almost standing toe-to-toe.  The spectators are also very close to the action and they can literally feel the concussion from the artillery fire. 

Skirmishing with Confederates

The battlefield is next to a large volcanic rock outcropping that the spectators climb to get a better view of the action.  The terrain is rocky, scrubby, and full of cactus.  The cavalrymen have to be careful where they ride so as not to get a horse stuck in a saguaro or barrel cactus.  Behind the battlefield is an RV park which makes it hard to get decent photos of the battle without RVs in the back ground.

Repositioning for another attack

The mountain howitzer in action

The audience