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Dragoons on Patrol

The year 1843 also saw the first significant migration over the Oregon Trail. To protect the emigrant traffic, the dragoons again went out on expeditions in 1844 and 1845. To strengthen security in the area and to end the fighting between the Pawnee and the Sioux, five companies of dragoons (including Company A from Fort Scott) traveled to Pawnee country in August of 1844. The next year, 1845, the dragoons met with the Sioux and other tribes during what is known as the South Pass expedition.

One of the purposes of the expeditions was to impress the Pawnee and Sioux with the strength of the dragoons. The soldiers came armed with sabers, breech-loading Hall's carbines, pistols and two howitzers or cannons. The dragoons requested the Pawnee to make a truce with the Sioux and to refrain from horse stealing. The Pawnee, at first refused to comply. The dragoons left the Pawnee camp, but as they did so they fired their howitzers as a demonstration. The Pawnee were impressed. They remained peaceful for the next four years.

The Sioux met with the dragoons near Fort Laramie in 1845. They were equally awed by the firepower of the howitzers. They thought that the dragoons were "a new and superior kind of white people." They agreed to leave the emigrant traffic alone, if the emigrants behaved themselves.

"54º 40" or Fight"

Colonel Stephen Kearney commanded the South Pass expedition. He led the soldiers along the Oregon Trail to Fort Laramie and then to South Pass, which they reached in June of 1845. This was the first time that an active U.S. military force traveled west of the Continental Divide.

An unstated purpose of the expedition was to place a military force near Oregon in the event of war. The United States and Great Britain both laid claim to all of the Oregon Territory and were unwilling to relinquish. 54º 40" was the line of latitude that marked the northern boundary of Oregon Territory.

The war cry "54º 40" or Fight", heard during President Polk's presidential campaign, reflected the desire of some Americans to control all of Oregon or go to war.

The threat of war with Great Britain must have loomed large in Colonel Kearny's mind as he awaited further instruction at South Pass. He waited one day and with no word of war, he and his troops began their return journey.

Compromise had staved off conflict. The problem was solved by extending the existing boundary between the U.S. and Canada-the 49th parallel-to the Pacific Coast, which divided the Oregon Territory in two.

"A straight forward, simple and well-meaning people"

While patrolling the Oregon Trail, the soldiers encountered several wagon trains heading west. This was of some concern to the dragoons because the teams and herds of the wagon trains consumed the grasses as effectively as a prairie fire, leaving little for the dragoons' horses.

One dragoon officer praised the Oregon emigrants as a "straight forward, simple and well-meaning people." He reflected that the trip to Oregon would take a great deal of courage and perseverance. For the most part, the relationship between the emigrants and the dragoons was mutually beneficial. The emigrants enjoyed the dragoons' protection, while the dragoons enjoyed the attention that the emigrant girls lavished on them.

Other pleasures of the trail included the scenery, the buffalo hunts and the welcome break from the daily routine of garrison life. The dragoons experienced the adventures of two trails in 1845. They returned via the Santa Fe Trail in order to escort the wagons heading east that year, completing a march of 2200 miles in just 99 days!

The dragoons accomplished a number of things on their expedition. They gained valuable experience which would be useful during the Mexican War. They attained knowledge of the terrain and established friendly relations with many Indian tribes. They also made the trail safer for overland travel, which encouraged further westward expansion and contributed to the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny.

Light Cavalry vs. Dragoons
By
Buford

Dragoons were basically mounted infantry (differences to be discussed). They carried a weapon known as a musketoon in the early days, which was a shortened musket. Later, they carried carbines. They basically 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 to do whatever fighting it did do mounted, typically using either the saber or pistols. Stuart's men were classic light cavalry.

In the early days (1840's), the only mounted unit in the US Army was the 1st Dragoons. In 1849, the 2nd Dragoons were formed, as was another unit called the Regiment of Mounted Rifles. Finally, in the 1850's, the 1st U.S. Cavalry was formed, which was light cavalry. It was followed in 1856 by the 2nd US Cavalry, which ranked among its early officers Edwin V. Sumner and colonel, RE Lee as lt. colonel, and a young lieutenant named John Bell Hood. In 1861, when the Late Unpleasantness commenced, these units were reorganized. The 1st Dragoons became the 1st US Cavalry, the 2nd Dragoons (the regiment that produced Buford, Merrit, Pleasonton, and Beverly H. Robertson, among others) became the 2nd US Cavalry, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles (which produced Buford's West Point classmate W.E."Grumble" Jones) became the 3rd US Cavalry, which served in the West, the 1st US Cavalry became the 3rd 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. The 6th US, of course, is the unit that got chopped to shreds at Fairfield.

Additional Sources:

www.civilwarhome.com

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On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on February 02:
1502 Damiao de Góis Portuguese humanist scholar
1649 Benedict XIII [Pierfrancesco Orsini], Italy, 245th pope (1724-30)
1748 Christian Gottfried Thomas composer
1754 Charles-Maurice duke of Talleyrand-Périgord French bishop/premier (1815)
1803 Albert Sidney Johnston General (Confederate Army), mortally wounded at Shiloh in 1862
1815 Nathaniel Collins McLean Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1905
1817 John Glover, English chemist (sulfuric acid), was born
1827 Abner Monroe Perrin Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1861 Solomon R Guggenheim philanthropist (died aboard the Titanic)
1861 Mehmed VI Vahideddin last sultan of Ottoman Empire (1918-22)
1882 James Joyce Ireland, novelist/poet (Dubliners, Ulysses, Finnigan's Wake)
1895 George S Halas [Papa Bear], end/coach (Bears), co-founder NFL
1905 Ayn Rand writer (Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead)
1906 Gale Gordon Los Angeles CA, actor (Here's Lucy, Our Miss Brooks)
1920 A. Wang, founder of Wang Labs and Wang Computers, was born
1923 Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Smith Ft Worth TX, gossip columnist (New York Daily News, NBC-TV)
1923 James Dickey Atlanta GA, author/poet/actor (Deliverance)
1926 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing President of France (1974-81)
1927 Stan Getz Philadelphia PA, jazz tenor saxophonist (Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey)
1937 Tom Smothers New York NY, comedian (Smother Brother Show)
1942 Bo Hopkins Greenville SC, actor (Dynasty, The Wild Bunch, Rockford Files)
1942 Graham Nash rocker (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-Southern Cross, Hollies)
1947 Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett Corpus Christi TX, actress (Charlie's Angels, Burning Bed)
1948 Jessica Savitch Kennett Square PA, news anchor (NBC)
1954 Christie Brinkley [Ex-Mrs Billy Joel], model/actress (Sports Illustrated, Vacation)
1963 Pebbles Flintstone fictional character on "The Flintstones"
2338 Data android character on Star Trek Next Generation

Deaths which occurred on February 02:
1032 Rudolf III last independent king of Burgundy, dies
1597 Lucas van Valckenborch Flemish painter, buried at about 61
1804 Caesar Rodney US judge (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 62
1918 John L Sullivan Massachusetts, heavyweight boxing champion, dies at 59
1969 Boris Karloff [Pratt], British actor (Frankenstein), dies at 81
1970 Bertrand Russell philosopher, British MP, dies in Merioneth at 97
1983 Sam Chatman elder statesman of the blues, dies
1987 Alfred Lion record founder (Blue Note), dies at 78
1989 John Cassavetes US actor (Rosemary's Baby)/director, dies at 59
1992 Bert Parks [Jacobson], TV host (Miss America Pageant), dies at 77
1994 Willie Mae Ford Smith gospel Singer/Songwriter, dies at 89
1995 Donald Pleasance English actor (Halloween, Will Penny), dies at 75
1995 Robert L Haller coon Dog Trainer, dies at 32
1996 Gene Kelly actor/dancer (Singing in the Rain), dies at 83

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 HERTZ GUSTAV G.
[09/21/67 DIC ON PRG LIST]
1968 RAGSDALE THOMAS
1968 ADKINS CHARLES L.---BARNESVILLE OH.
1968 BURNHAM DONALD D.---WEBB AL.
1968 PATTON KENNETH J.---MC KEES ROCK PA.
1968 PRINGLE JOE H.---HORNER WV.
[ID FOUND AT CRASH SITE]
1968 PUGGI JOSEPH D.---PLEASANTVILLE NJ.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0506 King Alarik II of Visigoten delegates Lex Romania Visigothorum out
0962 Pope John XII crowns German King Otto I the Great Emperor
1119 Guido di Borgogna elected Pope Callistus II
1386 Jogaila was elected King of Poland
1461 2nd battle of St Alban's-Lancastrians defeat Yorkists
1536 Pedro de Mendoza founds the Argentine city of Buenos Aires
1626 Charles I was crowned King of England.
1653 New Amsterdam becomes a city (later New York NY)
1802 1st leopard exhibited in US, Boston (admission 25¢)
1811 Russian settlers establish Fort Ross trading post, north of San Francisco
1848 1st shipload of Chinese arrive in San Francisco
1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican War; US acquires Texas, California, New Mexico & Arizona for $15 million
1852 1st British public men's toilet opens (Fleet St London)
1854 Pope Pius IX encyclical "On the persecution of Armenians"
1863 Samuel Clemens becomes Mark Twain for 1st time
1865 Confederate raider William Quantrill raids Midway, Kentucky
1869 James Oliver invents the removable tempered steel plow blade
1876 Baseball's National League forms with teams in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia, St Louis
1882 Knights of Columbus forms in New Haven CT
1892 Longest boxing match under modern rules; 77 rounds in Nameoki, Illinois between Harry Sharpe & Frank Crosby
1892 Bottle cap with cork seal patented by William Painter (Baltimore)
1893 1st movie close-up (of a sneeze), Edison studio, West Orange NJ
1901 Female Army Nurse Corps established as a permanent organization
1906 Pope issues encyclical against separation of church & state
1909 Italian writer Marinetti publishes Futurist Manifest in Paris
1919 Monarchist riot in Portugal
1922 James Joyce's "Ulysses" published in Paris (1,000 copies)
1923 Ethyl gasoline 1st marketed, Dayton OH
1925 Dogsleds reach Nome with emergency diphtheria serum after 1000-km
1926 3 men dance the Charleston for 22½ hours
1932 Al Capone sent to prison (Atlanta GA)
1933 2 days after becoming chancellor, Adolf Hitler dissolves Parliament
1933 Göring bans communist meetings/demonstrations in Germany
1934 Dutch Roman Catholic Bishops warn against fascism/Nazism
1935 Lie detector 1st used in court (Portage WI)
1940 Frank Sinatra's singing debut in Indianapolis (Tommy Dorsey Orchestra)
1942 Los Angeles Times urges security measures against Japanese-Americans
1943 Cubs return to original uniform after experimenting with a vest
1944 4th US marine division conquerors Roi, Marshall Islands
1944 Allied troops 1st set foot on Japanese territory
1948 President Truman urges congress to adopt a civil rights program
1950 1st broadcast of "What's My Line" on CBS-TV
1951 -35ºF, Greenburg, Indiana (state record until 1994)
1954 Snow falls on Gibraltar
1955 1st Presidential news conference on network TV-Eisenhower on ABC
1956 Coasters sign with Atlantic Records
1957 Liz Taylor's 3rd marriage (Mike Todd)
1958 Syria joins Egypt in United Arab Republic
1959 Buddy Holly's last performance
1959 Vince Lombardi signs a 5 year contract to coach the Green Bay Packers
1962 8 of 9 planets align for 1st time in 400 years
1964 GI Joe, debuts as a popular American boy's toy
1970 Pete Maravich becomes 1st to score 3,000 college basketball points
1971 Idi Amin ousts Milton Obote to become dictator of Uganda
1973 James R Schlesinger becomes director of the CIA (until July)
1973 "Midnight Special" rock music show debuts on NBC-TV
1974 Pope Paul VI encyclical "To Honor Mary"
1974 Smallest crowd at Cleveland Arena (Cavaliers vs Golden State-1,641)
1974 Barbra Streisand's 1st #1 hit, "The Way We Were"
1977 Radio Shack officially begins creating the TRS-80 computer
1980 FBI releases details of Abscam, a sting operation that targeted 31 elected & public officials for bribes for political favors
1982 "Late Night with David Letterman" premieres on NBC
1982 Government troops & Moslem-fundamentalists battle in Hamah Syria
1983 Chicago Archbishop Joseph L Bernardin is among 18 new cardinals invested
1986 Dalai Lama meets Pope John Paul II in India
1989 0ºF (-18ºC) or below in 15 US states
1989 F[rederik] W[illem] de Klerk replaces Botha as South Africa's Nationalist Party leader
1991 US postage is raised from 25¢ to 29¢
1992 IRS & Willie Nelson settle on $9 million tax bill (of $16.7 million)
1993 Frito Lay pays court ordered $2,500,000 to Tom Waits for using his song, "Step Right Up"
1995 The leaders of Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians held an unprecedented summit in Cairo to try to revive the Mideast peace process.
1996 The leaders of Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians held an unprecedented summit in Cairo to try to revive the Mideast peace process.
1998 Daniel Baldwin hospitalized in New York NY for cocaine overdose
2000 The TV cable Oxygen channel, dedicated to female viewers, made its debut
2002 Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers star John Stallworth were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
2003 Vaclav Havel stepped down after 13 years as president of the Czech Republic
2004 In Nepal some 15,000 people marched in downtown Katmandu demanding democratic reforms. Police broke up the rally with tear gas, water cannons and bamboo batons, injuring at least 12 people.
2004 Pakistan said Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of its nuclear program, has acknowledged in a written statement that he sent sensitive technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea to aid their atomic programs.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Scotland] Term Day (quarterly rents due today)
US : Muffin Mania Week (Day 2)
US : Groundhog Day (To ski or not to ski)
Macadamia Nut Month

Religious Observances
Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran : Candlemas (Presentation or Purification)
Christian : Feast of St Cornelius
Liechtenstein, Vatican : Candlemas/Feast of Presentation of Jesus
Wicca : Imbolg sabbat
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Jeanne de Lestonnac, French foundress

Religious History
1779 Pioneer American Methodist bishop Francis Asbury reflected in his journal: 'God is gracious beyond the power of language to describe.'
1881 The first formal church youth organization was established in the Williston Congregational Church in Portland, Maine, by the Rev. Francis E. Clark, 29. Originally called "Christian Endeavor," it became the prototype of the modern denominational "youth fellowship."
1907 In a letter written to American statesman William Jennings Bryan, Christian Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy counseled: 'The most important thing is to know the will of God concerning one's life, i.e., to know what he wishes us to do and fulfill it.'
1944 German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'There is a kind of weakness that Christianity does not hold with, but which people insist on claiming as Christian, and then sling mud at it.'
1955 English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'It is right...that we should be much concerned about the salvation of those we love. But we must be careful not to...demand that their salvation should conform to some ready-made pattern of our own.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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