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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 02/21/2003 5:34:44 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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 The 10th Cavalry was formed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1866. Very high standards of recruitment were set by the regimental commander and Civil War hero Benjamin Grierson. As a result, recruitment and organization of the unit required slightly over one year. By the end of July 1867 eight companies of enlisted men had been recruited from the Departments of Missouri, Arkansas, and the Platte. Life at Leavenworth was not pleasant for the 10th. The Fort's commander, who was admittedly opposed to African- Americans serving in the regular army, made life as difficult as he could on the new troopers. Grierson sought to have his regiment transferred, and subsequently received orders moving the regiment to Fort Riley, Kansas later that summer. Within two months of the transfer, the final four companies were in place. For the next eight years, the 10th was stationed at numerous forts throughout Kansas and Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). They provided guards for workers of the Kansas and Pacific Railroad, strung miles of new telegraph lines, and to a large extent built Fort Sill. Throughout this period, they were constantly patrolling the reservations in an attempt to prevent Indian raids into Texas. In 1867 and 68, the 10th participated in Gen. Sherman's winter campaigns against the Cheyennes, Arapahos, and Comanches. Units of the 10th prevented the Cheyenne from fleeing to the northwest, thus allowing Custer and the 7th Cavalry to defeat them at the decisive battle near Fort Cobb, Indian Territory.  In 1875, the 10th Cavalry moved its headquarters to Fort Concho in west Texas. Other companies were assigned to various forts throughout the area. The regiment's mission in Texas was to protect mail and travel routes, control Indian movements, provide protection from Mexican revolutionaries and outlaws, and to gain a knowledge of the areas terrain. The regiment proved highly successful in completing their mission. The 10th scouted 34,420 miles of uncharted terrain, opened more than 300 miles of new roads, and laid over 200 miles of telegraph lines. The scouting activities took the troops through some of the harshest and most desolate terrain in the nation. These excursions allowed the preparation of excellent maps detailing scarce water holes, mountain passes, and grazing areas that would later allow for settlement of the area. These feats were accomplished while having to be constantly on the alert for hit-and-run raids from the Apaches. The stay in west Texas produced tough soldiers, who became accustomed to surviving in an area that offered few comforts and no luxuries. The 10th Cavalry played an important role in the 1879-80 campaign against Chief Victorio and his renegade band of Apaches. Victorio and his followers escaped from their New Mexico reservation and wreaked havoc throughout the southwest on their way to Mexico. Col. Grierson and the 10th attempted to prevent Victorio's return to the U.S., and particularly his reaching New Mexico where he could cause additional problems with the Apaches still on the reservations. Grierson, realizing the importance of water in the harsh region, decided the best way to intercept Victorio was to take control of potential water holes along his route.  The campaign called for the biggest military concentration ever assembled in the Trans-Pecos area. Six troops of the 10th Cavalry were assigned to patrol the area from the Van Horn Mountains west to the Quitman Mountains, and north to the Sierra Diablo and Delaware Mountains. Encounters with the Indians usually resulted in skirmishes, however the 10th engaged in major confrontations at Tinaja de las Palmas (a water hole south of Sierra Blanca) and at Rattlesnake Springs (north of Van Horn). These two engagements halted Victorio and forced him to retreat to Mexico. Although Victorio and his band were not captured, the campaign conducted by the 10th was successful in preventing them from reaching New Mexico. The 10th's efforts at containment exhausted the Apaches. Soon after they crossed the border, Victorio and many of his warriors were killed by Mexican troops on October 14, 1880. The Vittorio episode formed a key part of the TV drama Buffalo Soldiers. We have to tell you that the final scene where Danny Glover deliberately allowed Vittorio and his band to escape to Mexico is not a historical fact. The 10th Cavalry would never let an adversary get away.  In 1885, the regiment was transferred to the Department of Arizona. Once again the 10th was involved in the arduous pursuit of renegade Apaches under the leadership of Geronimo, Mangus, and the Apache Kid. After twenty years of service in some of the most undesirable posts in the southwest, the regiment, now under the command of Colonel John K. Mizner, was transferred to the Department of Dakota in 1891. The regiment served at various posts in Montana and Dakotas until 1898.  During the Spanish-American the four regiments served in Cuba and fought along side Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders" and other units. While Teddy Roosevelt and his highly political volunteers got more press attention, the 10th Cavalry commanded by Col. John J. Pershing was instrumental in taking San Juan Hill. Many white officers refused to command black units thinking it would hurt their careers. Col. Pershing was given the nickname "Black Jack" because of his loyalty to the 10th and its troopers. It could hardly have hurt his career since he went on to command the American Expeditionary Forces in France in WWI and became the most famous American general of the first half of this century. In 1916 Black Jack Pershing was given the assignment of leading a campaign into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa. Pershing requested that the 10th Cavalry accompany him. The year spent chasing Villa proved to be the 10th Cavalry's toughest assignment. Finding Pancho Villa was like trying to catch a rat in a cornfield. Villa always seemed to stay ahead of the Army and avoid capture.  America's leaders soon lost interest in the Campaign and focused their attention on World War I which was raging in Europe. However the Europeans had been unable to find a use for the Cavalry troops which were already in the theater. The 10th Cavalry spent the war in the United States. In World War II a similar thing happened to the cavalrymen. The 10th Cavalry was relegated to caretaker duties at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Then in 1944 the 9th and 10th Cavalry were deactivated. But in 1958 the Ninth and Tenth Regiments were reactivated, and today, the First and Second Tank Battalions of the Tenth Cavalry at Fort Knox, Kentucky wear the Buffalo symbol. The Ninth Cavalry has a helicopter battalion in the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. NOTE: These units made up of black enlisted personnel and white officers were not the first of such units to serve on the Western Frontier. During late 1865 or early 1866 companies from the 57th United States Colored Infantry Regiment (Arkansas) and the 125th United States Colored Infantry Regiment (Kentucky) were assigned to posts in New Mexico to provide protection for white settlers in the area, and escort those going further west. Some of the companies served as mounted infantry.
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761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion of WWII
Researched by James E. DuBose
Three Black American rank battalions were activated during World War II. They were the 758th, 761st and 784th. The 761st was the first of these to go into combat. The battalion was activated in April 1942 at Camp Clairborne, Louisiana. General J. McNair gave birth to the idea of utilizing Black soldiers in the Armored Force. Many were opposed to the idea. One such individual who was opposed was one of Americas’ most famous generals,- George S. Patton, Jr., tank commander of the Third Army. Orders were issued to organize the first Black tank battalion in our nation’s history - the “758th. A cadre from the 758the was then used to organize the 761st. Many thought it was enough to have Black men in the armored division. However, it became a battle to get into battle. During World War II, the army was segregated, but due to the tenacious efforts of Eleanor Roosevelt as well as prominent Black leaders and the Black press, the 761st was given the opportunity to go into combat. After nearly a year of intensive training at the Central Army Installation of Camp Hood, the 761st departed and following a brief stay at Camp Shanks, New York, were enroute to the European Theater of Operations. Ironically, General Patton had requested that the best remaining separate Tank Battalion be sent to him in Europe. He would then later tell the men that he had asked for them because he had heard that they were good, and that he had only the best in his third army. In October 1944, the 761st landed in France on the Normandy peninsula. True to their battle cry the courageous World War II Black Panthers came out fighting. During their first encounter with the enemy, the 761st had been in combat for less than two months, Major General M.S. Eddy, Commanding General of Headquarters XII Corps, issued a special memorandum to the commanding office of the 761st Tank Battalion Stating, “I consider the 761st Tank Battalion to have entered combat with such conspicuous courage and success to warrant special commendation. The speed with which they adapted themselves to the frontline under the most adverse weather conditions, the gallantry with which they emerged from their recent engagement in the vicinity of Dieuze, Morville, Les Vic, and Gruebling entitle them surely to consider themselves the veteran 761st.” It is a matter of record that, in the early battles in France and in countless others, the men of the 761st conducted themselves admirably under stress as well as under the relentless fire of the enemy. The fighting at Tillet, the heavy causalities sustained by both sides and finally, the retreat of the expert German 13th SS Panzer Division as the 761 pushed forward, turned the tide. The 761 Tank Battalion fought with valor in France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria as well as in the “Battle of the Bulge.” They even participated in the liberation of Holocaust victims held in Nazi concentration Camps. The 761st, with their M4 Sherman tanks, racked up more than 180 days of continuous combat - although the average lifespan of a separate tank battalion on the frontlines in Europe during World War II was only ten to fifteen days. In addition to receiving high praise from the War Department a total of almost 400 battle awards were bestowed upon the men of the 761st. It took years for the unit’s soldiers to receive the decorations they deserved. A recommendation for a Presidential Unit Citation was submitted in 1945. President Jimmy Carter awarded it in 1978. A 761st Platoon Sergeant, Ruben Rivers, was one of 7 black soldiers who, after examining their war records, was awarded the Medal of Honor, 6 of them posthumously, by President Bill Clinton in 1997.
These brave men fought Indians, the elements, and racial predjudice, always with valor. The 9th accounted for 9 Medals of Honor in New Mexico campaigning. I think that the total CMOH count for the Regiment is somewhere around 27. This is remarkable considering the fact that these men were commanded by white officers, who were in turn commanded by white officers, and yet the paperwork for these awards went all the way to the top. The 10th Cavalry, by comparison, earned far fewer CMOH awards, but this may be due largely to the fact that there were possibly some in the chain of command who blocked a number of awards that should have been approved.
I have visited many of the places where these troopers served, in Kansas, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. My hat is off to them.
Lots of men can be fathers, but sounds like you've got a real Dad. An attribute we could all strive for.
Great presentation today, SAM and jen.
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