2d Dragoons

David.Gettman December 5th, 2011

2d Cavalry Association Custom Print
Our gift to you for a donation of $150

Here is a chance to do good and receive a beautiful and unique print from the 2d Cavalry Association.
Dr. Al Biglan recently sponsored a project to produce a unique custom print for the 2d Cavalry Association. Through his generosity Jamie Warner, a legally blind artist, created a beautiful print depicting the history of the 2d Cavalry Regiment, shown here:

Artist: Jamie Warner – Size: 31″ X 25 1/2″

During our 2011 reunion Jamie signed and numbered each print.

Now we are offering these beautiful prints (31 X 25 1/2 inches) as our gift to you for a minimum donation of $150. By the way, your donation is completely tax deductible.

Click on the link below to make your tax deductible donation.

During the donation process you will have the opportunity to purchase framing and select your shipping preferences.

Click this link to DONATE NOW!

If you have any questions about the print or how to donate please contact me.

Thank you for your continuing support of the 2d Cavalry Association, our Dragoons and their families.

Toujours Pret,

Chris Golden
Executive Director
2d Cavalry Association
chrisgolden@rcn.com
617-413-5787

You can see a related news article and video about the artist, Jamie Warner, here:
Jamie Warner

• Current , From the Editor
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David.Gettman August 15th, 2011

Numerous sources and contributors have combined to make this site what it is. To give proper credit to all would be near impossible for my limited time and resources and would bring to a halt any further work on the site.

The majority of the material used in the creation of this site is from two sources, “SECOND UNITED STATES CAVALRY – A HISTORY” and “ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY”.

SECOND UNITED STATES CAVALRY – A HISTORY The Ghosts of Patton’s Third Army

Compiled, edited and published by Historical Section, Second Cavalry Association
A. L. Lambert, Major, Cavalry
G. B. Layton, Captain, Cavalry

Illustrations by Walter Gerling, Staltach, Bavaria

Printed by Munchner Graphische, Kunstanstalten Gmbh. (Bisher F. Bruckmann), Munich, Germany, 1947

This book started the whole site. My dad picked up a copy when he was with 2ACR in Germany during the early 1950′s and it has been with me my entire life. When the 2d Cavalry Association offered me the opportunity to create this website under the guidance and tutelage of Isaac Golding, then Association Adjutant, I used this book as the cornerstone. I wanted to finish the WWII era first while there were still some of the veterans around to read it, and it has proven to be a treasure trove with all the veteran and family contacts through the website over the years.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY

By Joseph I. Lambert, Major, Second Cavalry

Copyright 1939 by Commanding Officer, Second Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kansas

Capper Printing Company, Inc.

This book has been invaluable for filling in the first one hundred years of the 2d Cavalry’s history, and has also produced a wealth of veteran and family contacts through the website from pre-WWII when the Regiment was still horse mounted.

We acknowledge and appreciate the work of these individuals and the many others who were involved in the compilation of this material. Notations will be posted on articles giving credit to the source where possible as time affords.

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TacomaDave January 20th, 2010

The following is a listing of all the sections contained on this site, for the most part in a time-line, and all the stories in each section, also for the most part in a time-line.

You can pick a particular section to browse, or a specific story, or better yet start at the beginning and work your way up through history to the present with the oldest continuously serving mounted regiment in the US Army today. Continue Reading »

• Site Index
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David.Gettman January 23rd, 2009

A tribute to the troopers of the 2d Dragoon’s, past, present, and future.

This is a Windows Media File of about 30mb. It may take a few minutes to load. If you don’t have a high speed cable connection, it is recommended you save the file to your computer for play.

Click here to view video: OLD SOLDIER

Many of these photos I “pilfered” from members photo albums on DRAGOON BASE. Several were sent to me by veterans of the regiment, or by their surviving relatives, and then some have just been laying around the house forever. I hope you enjoy them.

To see information on each photo: Continue Reading »

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David.Gettman January 22nd, 2009

Researched and Written by Wally Tomtschik

Dragoons used different tactics than Cavalry. In the old history of the 2d Dragoons, very few of their number actually were killed. They were masters of using the land and could live off the land very comfortably.

The horses were treated with loving care and protected from harm, being used for transportation rather than in battle, with a horse holder holding the horses out of sight, hidden in the background. The horse holder would hold 4 horses. Dismounted, the other 3 Dragoons would fan out and cautiously approach the enemy.

Unlike light Cavalry, that went in with sabers clanking and the bugler blasting away, Dragoons went in very heavily armed and were masters of stealth, kind of like the “Navy Seals” of the Everglades. The Dragoons took great pride in their orange piping and hat cords, which differentiated them from Cavalry.

Learning their trade from the Seminoles in Florida, the Dragoons would quietly sneak up on an enemy, many times surrounding them. They would find cover and wait. When the time was right, they would close in and “tighten the noose” in unison with massive firepower, subduing the enemy. It was not easy for a white man to sneak up on an Indian, but the Dragoons could. Being the original policemen of new territories, there was not wanton killing of innocents, but those that chose to not live peaceably were killed in battle or brought to justice. Continue Reading »

• Dragoon 1836-1861
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David.Gettman January 21st, 2009

From:
ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY
By Joseph I. Lambert, Major, Second Cavalry
Copyright 1939 Commanding Officer, Second Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kansas
Capper Printing Company, Inc.

Spain ceded Florida to the United States on July 17, 1821. Emigration from adjoining states began at once, but it was found by the new settlers that the most desirable land was occupied by the Seminole Indians, who were originally Creeks from Georgia. According to the census by the superintendent of Indian affairs in 1822, there were less than 5,000 of these aborigines, including 800 negro slaves. Their village consisted of log or palmetto huts surrounded by cleared fields of less than twenty acres.

After much insistence by the white people, a commission was appointed to make a treaty with the Indians in 1823. Under this treaty they were specifically limited to certain areas, and placed under the patronage of the federal government. The Indians did not like the provisions of the treaty, saying they were not given enough land upon which to live decently. There was much ill feeling between them and the settlers because of the difficulty of the latter in inducing the Indians to give up runaway slaves. After much persuasion, the chiefs reluctantly signed a treaty in 1833, whereby they agreed to remove to Arkansas and live among the Creeks. Their own people repudiated this treaty and positively refused to move to the new land. The chiefs were called together again in 1835, and when five refused to agree to the treaty, they were told by the commission that their names had been stricken from the rolls as chiefs. This of course heightened the ill feeling and suspicion of the Indians. In October, 1835, one of the friendly chiefs was murdered when he attempted to flee to the troops for protection. In December the Indian Agent, General Thompson, and an officer accompanying him were murdered just outside Fort King. A detachment of one hundred men, under Major Dade, while marching from Fort King to Fort Brooke, together with eight officers, was ambushed December 28, 1835, and all of the party killed, except two men who escaped. Plantations were attacked, and much of the state was soon laid waste by the bloodthirsty Indians. Continue Reading »

• Seminole War 1836-1842
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David.Gettman January 20th, 2009

From:
ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY
By Joseph I. Lambert, Major, Second Cavalry
Copyright 1939 Commanding Officer, Second Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kansas
Capper Printing Company, Inc.

Until the year 1833 our cavalry had an uncertain existence, the troops being raised for emergencies and disbanded when their services were no longer necessary. After the Revolutionary War, the first mounted troops to be organized in this country were four companies of light dragoons in 1792. This was later reduced to two companies and then under the act of 1798 increased to a regiment of eight companies. But this was short lived, for it was reduced again to two companies in 1800 which were mustered out in 1802. Another regiment of light dragoons was organized in 1808, and in 1812 a second regiment was organized. In 1814 these two regiments were consolidated into one, and in 1815 the men and officers retained were merged with the artillery. The cavalry ceased to exist until the First Dragoons was organized in 1833. At this time a system of promotion was established whereby officers could expect to remain permanently in the service and gain increased rank with the passing years.

To augment the force being assembled in Florida to fight the Seminole Indians, the Second Dragoons was organized in 1836. Following is an extract from the act of Congress raising the new regiment:

An Act authorizing the President of the United States to accept the services of volunteers, and to raise an additional regiment of dragoons or mounted riflemen…. Continue Reading »

• Seminole War 1836-1842
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David.Gettman January 19th, 2009

From:
ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY
By Joseph I. Lambert, Major, Second Cavalry
Copyright 1939 Commanding Officer, Second Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kansas
Capper Printing Company, Inc.

Even before the arrival of the Regiment for its first assignment, the men who became Company D had their first encounter near Micanopy, Florida on 10 June 1836. They drew “first blood” as members of the Regiment in July 1836 in a spirited engagement at Welika Pond, near Fort Defiance, Florida, on 19 July 1836.

In December 1836, the first four Company’s sailed from New York to Charleston, South Carolina, for immediate service in Florida. Company I joined them in Charleston, and Harney took command. The Regiment arrived at the mouth of the St. John’s River, Florida, in January 1837 and marched to Fort Mellon on Lake Monroe, arriving on 6 February. This post fell under attack only two days later, embroiling the Company’s almost immediately in the war.

On 9 September 1837, three Company’s of the Second Dragoons and two of Florida volunteers surrounded an Indian village. At first light, the force captured the village, including the important chief, King Phillip.

This action represented a shift in tactics. Garrisons had previously waited in forts and responded when attacked, only to find that the Seminoles had melted back into the Florida Everglades. Though some experts doubted the wisdom of employing mounted troops in that terrain, the Second Dragoons pioneered the practice of taking the battle to the enemy. The Indians responded by signing what would be a short-lived peace treaty. Continue Reading »

• Seminole War 1836-1842
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David.Gettman January 18th, 2009

From:
ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY
By Joseph I. Lambert, Major, Second Cavalry
Copyright 1939 Commanding Officer, Second Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kansas
Capper Printing Company, Inc.

The first baptism of fire for the regiment occurred at Micanopy, Florida, on June 10, 1836. Company D, under Lieutenant Wheelock, First Dragoons, was stationed at the stockade at this place as a part of the garrison under Major Heiliman, Second Artillery. About 200 Seminole Indians led by Osceola attacked early in the morning, hoping to draw out the troops and then capture the stockade. Lieutenant Wheelock mounted his dragoons and enveloped the enemy right, while one of the companies of artillery moved around the enemy left. Meanwhile another detachment of the Second Artillery held the front with a six-pounder. After severe fighting the enemy was driven away and the troops returned to the stockade. For great courage in their first fight the men were commended by the President.

Micanopy, June 10, 1836.

GENERAL-“I have the honor to report that yesterday morning a party of Indians, estimated at one hundred and fifty or two hundred, made their appearance in front of this place, at the distance of about three-quarters of a mile. Their objective was evidently to draw us out; and not having any disposition to balk their views, I directed Captain Lee to take his company and skirt a hammock on the right of this post, and gain the left of the enemy. At the same time I directed Lieutenant Wheelock to mount with his dragoons, and make a corresponding movement on the left; and Lieutenant Humphreys, with a detachment of D and E Companies of Second United States Artillery, to move across the field in front, holding a six-pounder, with a few men in reserve. Continue Reading »

• Seminole War 1836-1842
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David.Gettman January 17th, 2009

From:
ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY
By Joseph I. Lambert, Major, Second Cavalry
Copyright 1939 Commanding Officer, Second Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kansas
Capper Printing Company, Inc.

Again on July 19, 1836, Company D, under Captain James A. Ashby, who had just joined the day before, took an important part in the fight at Welika Pond near Fort Defiance. With twenty-six men from his company and a detachment of artillery, Captain Ashby was escorting a train from Fort Drane to Fort Defiance when attacked by Indians just outside the latter place. In the first part of the fight Captain Ashby was severely wounded but refused to leave his post until the battle was won. After arrival of reinforcements from the fort, the Seminoles were driven from the vicinity and the train proceeded to the post. For this gallant conduct here Captain Ashby was breveted to major. Continue Reading »

• Seminole War 1836-1842
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