FIVE YEARS A CAVALRYMAN; OR, Sketches of Regular Army Life on the Texas Frontier, TWENTY ODD YEARS AGO. BY H. H. McCOXXELL, Late Sixth U. S. Cavalry. JACKSBORO, TEXAS: • J. N. HOGKHSACO., FUISTBKS. l.S'^'.l. Wintered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by H. H. McCONNELL, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. DEDICA TION. Tf) THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE SIXTH UMTEP STATES CAVALRY, AM) TO THE OLD SETTLERS ox THE FRONTIER OF TEXAS, Still on This Side, THESE SKETCHES ARE Respecffullu Dedicated BY THE . AUTHOR. PREFACE. <3y'0 apology is needed for these sketches, but a word ^pl regarding them may be in place. The last few year>s have witnessed an overwhelming flood of litera­ ture pertaining to the l^ite war, but little, however, has ever been written illurtrating phases of the life of .the regular soldier on the frontier in times of peace. The author joined the regiilar army just after the close of the war, and during his term of service on the Texas frontier kept minutes of the scenes passing around him—more or less imperfect, perhaps, in the manner^ but, to the be;:t of his knowledge and belief, correct as to the matter—and as the section of country he became familiar with, has in the time elapsed since the sketches were written undergone a wonderful change—from the comparatively untracked wilderness of 1866, to the settled aud progressive civilization of 1889—it is lioped they will interest the "old-timer" who has been "through it all," and who can look back in retrospect and vouch for the faithfulness of the de- scrii)tions given; and also hoped that the "newcomer" as well, will read them with wondering, interest at the development he tinds here in contrast to the crude simplicity existing a few years since. And if any of the members of the various regiments—• the Fourth, Sixth, and Tenth Cavalry, the Tenth, Eleventh, Seventeenth, or Thirty-Fifth Infantry—who have at one time or another "soldiered" amid these Vm PREFACE. scenes, should happen to read what is here written— and should it serve to while away an hour of monotony, or bring back a pleasant recollection of other days—the l)urpose of the author will have been served. He believes he has " nothing extenuated nor aught set down in malice," and has only related what came under his own observation or within his own experience, and told it impartially. And with the hope that at the last great muster one and all may be found in line, not a single one marked "absent without leave," nor "in confinement," nor "awaiting sentence," the author sends forth his sketches, asking for them a favorable recep­ tion, if found worthy. H. H. McCONNELL. Jackshoro, Texas, Sept. 1, 1889. FIVE YEARS A CAVALRYMAN. FIVE YEARS A CAVALRYMAN. CHAPTER I. OFF TO CARLISLE—FRESH FISH—THE BARRACKS— FELLOW SOLDIERS—TOUGHS—TATTOO—TAPS—THE BOUNTY JUMPER—BULLY WELCH—THE ROUTINE OF A DAY — FLESH POTS—RUMORS—KNAPSACKS PACKED—OFF FOR THE FRONTIER. THE morning of a beautiful day in October, 186-, found me on the cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in company with six or seven other individuals, bound for the same destination as myself, all in charge of a Sergeant of the regular army, who was conducting the party to the Cavalry Barracks at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at that time the rendezvous for all recruits enlisted in the mounted branch of the regular service. The motives that may have induced me to place my­ self in so unenviable a position as a " recruit" in the ranks of the army are not pertinent to these sketches, and need not be entered into. The fact remained, and I accepted the situation, determined to see all the sunny side of army life, and to bear its shady aspects with a brave heart, for I knew pretty well in advance the many hardships, discomforts and long weary days 12 FIVE YEARS A CAVALRYMAN. that were implied in the words, " during my term of service." About five in the afternoon we reached Carlisle and marched out to the barracks, situated a mile from the station. As we entered the garrison and marched past the guard-house we were greeted with ciies of "fresh fish," "gi-eenies," etc., which reminded one very vividly of the congratulations extended by the unfortunate inmates of Libby or Andersonville, in the days of the war, to the fresh arrivals consequent on some new disaster to the Federal arms. The party having been reported to the Adjutant, we were marched to the portion of the barracks designated for our use and turned over to the Sergeant in charge. A very disagreeable looking Corporal having taken down a list of our names, we were conducted to the kitchen and had our supper, namely, about one quart of an infusion, called tea, and a slice of bread. This dispatched, were marched to the Quartermaster's, drew blankets and such other clothing as we required, after which we were assigned to our quarters and had our sleeping places designated. The room where I was located was in the second story of the barracks which formed the northern side of the quadrangle, and contained eight double bunks, each holding four men, that is to say, two in the lower tier and two in the upper. The room was scrupulously clean and neat, and was. occupied by twenty or thirty men, some playing cards, some lying on their bunks, and one or two vainly endeavoring to read by the dismal light of the solitary candle allowed in the room. Having spread my blanket on the bunk allotted to me, stowed away my effects and lighted my pipe, I seated myself on the edge of my bunk, and, with what philosophy I could muster, set to FTVE YEARS A CAVALRYMAN. 13 work to form some idea of the class of men I was destined to pass several years of my life among. After listening a few moments to their conversation, and from what I could gather from their language and general appearance, I soon satisfied myself that the majority of them were " bounty jumpers," blackguards and criminals of various degrees, or, at any rate, men who had sought the army as an asylum from the punish­ ments that the law would have justly meted out to them had they remained in civil life. Subsequent ex­ perience has in a great measure justified this view as to the class of men who enter the army in a time of peace, when no patriotic call induces the better classes to enlist. Of course, there are some honorable excep­ tions—^the veterans of ten and fifteen years service, who were in the army previous to the war, and who have made the army the business of their lives, forming a comparatively decent class; and the men who have seen service under the military governments of the Old World form another class; but these differ greatly from the average of American young men who seek the ranks of the regular service. There were, however, in that room that night, as I afterward discovered, a few young men who would have done credit to any walk of life, and since then I have known a number of enlisted men whose hands I should be proud to grasp wherever I might meet them. These and similar reflections served (not very pleas­ antly I must confess) to while away the evening until nine o'clock, when the "tattoo" sounded. We fell in for roll caU, and fifteen minutes afterward " taps " gave the signal for " lights out," and I soon fell asleep, not­ withstanding the disagreeable and novel nature of my surroundings, and so ended my first day's experience as a " regular " in Uncle Sam's army. The first call of 14 FIVE YEARS A CAVALRYMAN. the bugle awoke me in the morning from a sound and refreshing sleep, and I had my first experience of dis­ cipline by having the Corporal of the room yell at me as I was going out to inhale a mouthful of fresh air: " Here, you! Come back and fix up your bunk!" I was then and there initiated into the mysteries of fold­ ing my blankets according to "regulations," and rolling my overcoat according to the method of a cavalryman, which accomplished, we fell in for "reveille." I now discovered that there were about one hundred recruits in the mob to which I was attached, it being designated "C" troop, and formed one of the three troops or companies into which the whole number of recruits was divided, the other troops being "A" and " B," respectively. The garrison at Carlisle consisted of one full company of cavalry, known as the " perma­ nent troop," filled up from time to time with men selected from among the recruits at the garrison. Competent members of this troop were appointed *' lance" or acting non-commissioned officers and as­ signed to the recruit troops for duty. Roll call over, " stable call" sounded, and about one-half of our troop was left-faced and marched to the stables, situated in rear of the barracks, and which contained about one hundred of the most vicious brutes in the way of horses that I have ever encountered. The "bucking" and " pitching " of a little Texas broncho, as afterward ex­ perienced, is only a mild and pleasant diversion when compared to the antics of one of those sixteen-hand- high, well-fed cavalry horses that had become case- hardened by contactf with a generation of recruits.