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Unit Histories
"The Formation of the 10th Cavalry" (1) (2) (3) 4
"WILD BUFFALOS" IN ARIZONA
Spring, 1885, saw the Regiment moved into the Department of Arizona, where Geronimo, The Apache Kid, Mangus, Cochise, Alchise, Aklenni, Natsin, Eskiltie and many other Apaches had dotted the landscape with the graves of settlers. General Crook, Indian fighter and administrator, headed the Department.
En-route to stations troops of the Regiment marched along the tracks of the Southern Pacific Railroad. At Camp Rice they were joined by Troop I, and for the first time the Tenth Cavalry was assembled as a unit. The twelve troops, Headquarters and band held together until Camp Bowie, where they split up and scattered over the territory. They took station as follows: Headquarters and Troop B, Whipple Barracks; A, Fort Apache; C, F and G, Fort Thomas; D, E, H, K and L, Fort Grant; I and M, Fort Verde. Lieutenant Colonel Wade took station at Apache; Major Mills at Thomas; Major McClellan at Verde, and Major Van Vliet went to Grant. The chaplain served at Apache. Troops D, E, H and K immediately entered the field under Major Van Vliet in pursuit of Geronimo.
They rode the Mongollon Mountains as far east as Fort Bayard, New Mexico, in vain. All troops of the Regiment were called out in this campaign. Eager young officers used influence to become attached to parties of Indian scouts. Thus it was that Lieutenant Shipp accompanied Captain Crawford into Mexico, and Lieutenant Finley was with Captain Lawton, Fourth Cavalry, when he defeated Geronimo.
Lieutenant Powhattan H. Clarke was the second man of the Tenth awarded the Medal of Honor (See Clarke in the Biography section of this site). While accompanying Captain Lebo's Troop K from Calabasas into Mexico, after a 200-mile march, the troop met Geronimo's band in the Pinto Mountains on May 3, 1886. A desperate battle occurred, and the Apaches made good use of the cliffs and gorges. Wounded and lying exposed to enemy fire, was Corporal Winfield Scott. Without hesitation, Lieutenant Clarke ran to Scott's aid and carried him to safety.
Troop H, Captain Cooper, commanding, ran down and defeated Chief Mangus in the White Mountains east of Fort Apache in October.
About half of the Regiment turned out in pursuit of The Kid, a dangerous disciple of Geronimo, in 1887. The Kid was never caught, but Lieutenant Carter P. Johnson gained commendation for the skill, energy and endurance with which his men followed the chase.
In July, 1886, Headquarters moved to Fort Grant, thence to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in November of the same year. A general order of October 7, 1886, ending the Indian Campaign, read in part:
"In the early days of April last, the hostiles, then in Sonora, Mexico, began their depredations, and on the 27th of that month invaded the territory of Arizona. They at once met active opposition; Captain T. C. Lebo, Tenth Cavalry, true to his reputation as a gallant and successful cavalry leader, moving first against them. He followed the hostiles rapidly for over two hundred miles, and finally, on May 3rd, forced them to an encounter. During this spirited engagement the officers and men evinced great bravery, contending against an enemy on ground of their own choosing, among rugged cliffs, almost inaccessible. During the engagement Corporal Scott, a brave soldier, lay disabled with a serious wound, exposed to the enemy's fire, and Lieut. P. H. Clarke, Tenth Cavalry, rushed to his assistance, carrying him to a place of safety. Such acts of heroism are worthy of great praise. After the engagement the hostiles continued their flight, and for nearly a fortnight the troops, under Lieut. Benson, Captains Lebo and Lawton, continued the pursuit without cessation.
"Subsequently the trail of the hostiles was taken up by several other detachments acting in concert, each commanded by energetic and capable officers, until Captain J. T. Morrison, Tenth Cavalry, hear Fort Apache, captured all their horses, and they took flight on foot, south, and were driven across the Mexican Border. The other band, meanwhile, had been pursued by other commands over the Santa Rita Ridge, Whetstone, Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains, were surrounded and much of their stock and equipment captured by Lieut. R. D. Wash, Fourth Cavalry.
"The march of Lebo's troop! 20 miles in two hours; Benson's ride of 90 miles in 19 hours, and Dr. Wood's skill and remarkable marches with a detachment of Infantry, are worthy of mention."
Colonel Grierson was promoted to Brigadier General and was selected to relieve General Nelson A. Miles in command of the Department of Arizona. Colonel Grierson in farewell to the Regiment, said:
"In pursance of General Orders No. 97, current series, Headquarters of the Army, announcing his assignment to the command of the Department of Arizona, the undersigned relinquishes command of the Tenth U. S. Cavalry.
"In doing so he desires to express his deep regret at being thus separated from the Regiment he organized and has so long commanded, but he is gratified to be able, at this time, to refer even briefly to its splendid record of nearly twenty-two years service to the Government, while under his command: rendered, as it has been in the field and at the most isolated posts on the frontier; always in the vanguard of civilization and in contact with the most warlike and savage Indians of the plains.
"The officers and enlisted men have cheerfully endured many hardships and privations, and in the midst of great dangers steadfastly maintained a most gallant and zealous devotion to duty, and they may well be proud of the records made, and rest assured that the hard work undergone in the accomplishment of such important and valuable service to their country is well understood and appreciated, and that it cannot fail, sooner or later to meet with due recognition and reward.
"That the high standard of excellence gained by the Regiment for discipline and efficiency in the past will be fully sustained in the future; that the most signal success will ever attend the officers and soldiers of the Tenth Cavalry in all their noble efforts and undertakings, official or otherwise, is the heartfelt wish of their old commander."
Next to command the Tenth Cavalry was Colonel J. K. Mizner, who joined at Fort Apache in August, 1890. Lieutenant Colonel George C. Hunt had commanded during the interval. The field and staff then included: Majors C. B. McClellan, Van Vliet and Norvell; First Lieutenant T. W. Jones, Adjutant; First Lieutenant L. Finley, Quartermaster, and F. H. Weaver, Chaplain.
The Indians in Arizona had settled down to a peaceful life. Lieutenant Clarke and a detachment of picked men had a roving commission to run down the few free hostiles. Two expeditions went out to the Moki country in 1891, and General Corbin accompanied the second, which included Troops B and E.
In 1998 troops of the 10th, under the command of West Point Graduate, Lt. John J. Pershing played a critical role in the war against Spain in Cuba. The future General Pershing was nick-named "Black Jack" because of his service with the 10th. Just before WWI Pershing deployed the 10th as the first boarder patrol along the boarder of Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. Their goal was to keep "Pancho" Villa and his followers out of the small boarder towns where dozens of innocent American citizens were killed or wounded. The were part of the Punitive Expedition into Mexico in 1916 and 1917 and was commanded by Lt. Colonel Charles Young, The third African-American West Point Graduate.
The companies of the 10th were stationed at West Point in the early 1930’s and as tensions grew in Europe training began in earnest for a possible combat campaign. A group of the 10th was cadred to form a new 28th Cavalry. This too was an all African-American unit since the Army remained segregated.
The 10th Cavalry was sent to Northern Africa and disbanded in March of 1944. The proud Cavalry Troopers had to volunteer for combat assignments with infantry units in Italy. All African-American soldiers were forced to give up corporate or sergeants stripes when they volunteered. Most earned their stripes back, but at the time it was a bitter pill to swallow.
In 1948 President Harry S Truman abolished segregation in the armed services. In the 1950’s the cavalry horse gave way to the tank and the 10th became an armored cavalry division. An integrated 10th saw action in Vietnam and was decorated for service from 1967 to 1973.
