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The 1847 campaign dress uniforms of the dragoon infantry officer and infantry column are shown in this illustration. U.S. Army U.S. 62 ARMY I August 2010 By COL John F. Antal U.S. Army retired The American soldier’s Corps of American Light Dragoons. Although there were legacy of courage began never many dragoon units in the nascent American Army, with the “shot heard round the world” in April 1775 at the they were invaluable. GEN Washington used dragoons for battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass. After this initial clash scouting and intelligence missions, to harass enemy forage of arms, the Second Continental Congress adopted the parties and, on occasion, to fight mounted. At the Battle of militia regiments besieging the British garrison in Boston Brandywine near Philadelphia, Pa., on September 11, 1777, as Continental regiments. Units of Infantry and Artillery American cavalry saved the Army by warning GEN Wash- became part of the Continental Army, but the Congress ington of British Gen. William Howe’s flank attack, allow- didn’t see the need for Cavalry, so no cavalry units were ing Washington to withdraw in good order before Howe called for. GEN George Washington took command of the could block the American retreat. Later, at the Battle of Army on July 3, 1775, and, after the British evacuated Cowpens in South Carolina, American BG Daniel Morgan Boston in March 1776, the war changed to one of maneu- used dragoons commanded by LTC William Washington ver. Washington quickly saw the need for mounted forces, (GEN Washington’s second cousin) to screen the deploy- and the first real cavalry forces of the Continental Army ment of BG Morgan’s force from the observation of the ad- joined Washington in the summer of 1776. Virginia sent vancing British. LTC Washington’s cavalry then withdrew three troops of cavalry, one of which was commanded by a and, as the battle developed, charged, serving as the left 21-year-old captain named Henry Lee. CPT Lee was des- thrust of BG Morgan’s classic double envelopment that de- tined to become a cavalry legend during the Revolutionary feated British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton’s legion. The Battle War and earned the nom de guerre Light-Horse Harry Lee. of Cowpens was a perfect example of American tactical ge- nius—and a severe blow to the British. The defeat at Cow- The U.S. Cavalry is Born pens and the subsequent battle at Guilford Courthouse The Congress, preferring the name dragoons to cavalry, forced British Gen. Charles Cornwallis to withdraw to soon authorized more dragoon units. On September 13, Yorktown, Va., and eventually surrender to GEN Washing- 1777, the Congress appointed Polish volunteer and profes- ton. At the end of the Revolutionary War, the Congress dis- sional cavalryman Count Casimir Pulaski to command the banded the dragoon regiments. August 2010 I ARMY 63 Cavalry in the Civil War had to hold the vital high ground until the lead elements of Dragoons were reformed to fight bravely in the War of GEN Meade’s army, GEN John Reynolds’ I Corps, could ar- 1812 and the Mexican War. It was in the Civil War, how- rive. Buford’s cavalry dismounted and fought on foot with ever, that the recognition of the dire need for a mobile carbines, pistols and cannon. The fight started at 5:30 A.M. fighting force came of age when the American Army estab- Buford was outnumbered and outgunned, but the Union lished the Cavalry as a unique branch troopers fought a defense in depth and of equal importance to the Infantry fell back to successive lines of defense and Artillery. In 1861, when the Civil to McPherson Ridge. Buford’s cavalry- War started, the Union Army had five men stopped the Confederate column regular mounted regiments: the 1st on Chambersburg Pike at Willoughby and 2nd U.S. Dragoons, the 1st Run and prevented the Confederates Mounted Rifles, and the 1st and 2nd from gaining the high ground near Cavalry. These units were redesig- Cemetery Ridge. Buford’s losses were nated as U.S. Cavalry Regiments 1 heavy. Just when it looked like his through 5, and a sixth regiment was troops would no longer be able to recruited. It took time and great ex- keep the Confederates at bay, Reyn - pense to train these cavalry regiments, olds arrived. By 10:30 A.M., I Corps and initially the Union cavalry per- joined the fight. For the rest of the day, formed poorly against Confederate Union cavalry and infantrymen fought cavalry forces. side by side as the tide of battle pulled The balance of quality was chang- in favor of the Union. ing by 1863 as the Union cavalry grad- GEN Buford’s decision to stand and ually learned the bitter lessons of war fight at Gettysburg had decisive con- and continually improved its fighting sequences. Had Buford not made his techniques. On June 9, 1863, Union determined stand and if the Confeder- cavalry fought Confederate cavalry Digital Stock ates had pushed him back before GEN under GEN J.E.B. Stuart to a standstill GEN J.E.B. Stuart Reynolds had arrived, the Confeder- at the Battle of Brandy Station, Va., in ates would have gained the high the largest cavalry-on-cavalry fight of the Civil War. The ground at Cemetery Ridge. If GEN Lee, an expert tactician, Union cavalry was then put to the ultimate test at Gettys- had defeated the Union Army at Gettysburg, he would burg, Pa., on July 2, 1863. have had little to stop him from taking Washington, D.C., The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under the and possibly ending the war in a Confederate victory. As it command of GEN Robert E. Lee, was on the march to end was, Buford’s cavalry bought precious time and helped cre- the war by invading the North. As ate the conditions for the Union vic- GEN Lee’s army marched north, the tory at Gettysburg. “The zeal, bravery, Union Army of the Potomac, under and good behavior of the officers and MG George Meade, raced north trying men … was commendable in the ex- to catch Lee and stop him from turn- treme,” Buford wrote after the battle. ing east and attacking toward Wash- “A heavy task was before us; we were ington, D.C. Union GEN John Buford’s equal to it and shall all remember with 1st Cavalry Division found the lead el- pride that at Gettysburg we did our ements of Lee’s army, a Confederate country much service.” infantry division commanded by GEN American cavalry had earned its Henry Heth, marching toward Gettys- spurs in the Civil War and was vital to burg from the west. GEN Buford, a the eventual Union victory in 1865. veteran Indian fighter and a hard-as- The Cavalry then moved west, fought nails cavalryman, immediately de- in the long and difficult Indian Wars ployed his cavalry to delay the Con- and performed superb service in the federates. GEN Buford knew that he Spanish-American War, even if COL Teddy Roosevelt’s 1st Volunteer Cav- COL John F. Antal, U.S. Army retired, alry Regiment and the 9th and 10th served 30 years in the U.S. Army as a Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) fought with- leader, senior staff officer and comman- out their horses in Cuba and made der. A graduate of the U.S. Military their famous charges up Kettle Hill Academy at West Point, he was an Air- and San Juan Hill on foot. borne Ranger and has published 10 Army U.S. In World War I, advancing technol- books on military subjects. GEN John Buford ogy in the form of machine guns, rapid- 64 ARMY I August 2010 firing artillery and aircraft placed the future of the horse cav- tack on German machine guns during the battle, the alry in doubt. To break the “deadlock of the trenches,” the lessons learned from his brief command of American tank British introduced the tank to the Western Front in 1917. The units would bear fruit in the next war. tank was a new, confounded contraption and had many Spearheaded by tanks, the rapid German victories in problems. Many professional soldiers said it was nothing 1939–1941 shocked the world and disrupted long-held views more than an oddity. A confident and determined American about the tank. The tank was now a strategic weapon of war- lieutenant colonel named George Pat- ton thought otherwise. The Tank and Modern War Patton was a cavalryman, but he immediately saw the potential of the tank and was one of the first officers to join the new U.S. Tank Corps. In August 1918, he took command of the 1st Provisional Tank Brigade, equipped with 144 Renault FT-17 tanks. By Sep- tember, Patton had trained two tank battalions for the upcoming offensive at St. Mihiel, France. During the bat- tle, Patton led from the front; he be- lieved that tank leaders had to be for- ward, where they could see what was happening in the heat of battle and make decisions on the spot. He pushed his tanks forward across the rain-soaked ground while he often ran forward on foot, armed with only his .45-caliber Colt M1911 automatic pistol. At the small village of Jonville, Army U.S. he ordered his tanks forward “cav- LTC George Patton alry-style” and caught the Germans off guard. His tankers knocked out a dozen machine guns, fare, and America’s Army in 1940 was struggling mightily to captured four cannons and sent the Germans running.