Features

Fort Huachuca’s Horse Soldiers

Famous Fighting Unit Lives On in Arizona.

 

B Troop, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (Memorial), located at historic Fort Huachuca, Arizona is unique among the Army horse detachments scattered around the United States. It is the only mounted ceremonial unit manned solely by volunteers and is also the only one that represents a specific unit that rode in the Old West.

 

B Troop was established in 1973 by then-Post Commander Colonel Arthur Corley, who believed that the legendary fort should have an authentic horse detachment to help keep alive the Army’s cavalry heritage. He decided that the unit would memorialize a famous fighting unit that had ridden out of Fort Huachuca in 1886 to bring in Geronimo.

 

Thirty-five years later the rugged little horse detachment still rides on. The volunteers in the unit have regular Army duties, but before and after work each day they head down to the stables to tend to their mounts. It is a big commitment and not a hobby for the faint of heart. Like the men they memorialize, they are expected to take care of all the mundane little tasks associated with being a cavalryman and also be able to ride fast and shoot straight.

 

The troop participates in a variety of parades, riding demonstrations, riding competitions and community events but the majority of their work is in the form of military ceremonies. The cavalrymen line up on the parade field just like the other soldiers except they are mounted on “geldings of hearty color” decked out in black-leather 1880’s tack and wearing the dark blue wool uniforms of the frontier cavalry. They are an impressive sight and add much color to the proceedings.

 

The toughest task for the cavalrymen is compelling their trusty steeds to stand still in formation for an hour. The parade ground is a horse’s worst nightmare. It is full of loud noises and strange movements, all of which excite a horse’s natural instinct to flee. They must put up with dozens of flapping flags, the booming of cannons and, worst of all, the dreaded marching band that weakens the resolve of even the bravest horse. From a distance the line looks relatively tranquil, but up close you can see the horsemen are engaged in a constant low-key dance of legs, spurs, and hands to keep their jittery beasts still. Looking at old photos of past Army ceremonies, it is clear from the blurry images of the horses that things haven’t changed much in the last hundred years.

 

However, it is not the ceremony itself that is so impressive, but what happens after. At the conclusion, B Troop performs a pistol charge for the spectators. It is the reason many people come to the proceedings. The horses live for this moment, as do the troopers. At the end of the ceremony the horses immediately start dancing and spinning in anticipation of the charge. As the troop commander sets up the line for the charge, he doesn’t waste much time going through the preparatory commands; the longer he takes, the more likely somebody’s horse is going to break ranks. When the command, “Charge!” is finally hurled into the air, the line launches forward in an awesome, rumbling display of 19th century- style “shock and awe.”

 

There is nothing like the thrill of pounding across a couple hundred yards of grassy field on a snorting war horse moving at forty miles per hour–with an Army long Colt in your hand belching out fire and smoke. The trooper momentarily loses all world-awareness. Not even the sound of the bugler or the booming of artillery can penetrate the cocoon that envelops horse and rider in a charge. All a trooper can hear is the sound of his horse’s hooves, the roar of his sidearm, and the wind burning in his ears.

 

B Troop represents a bygone era in which the United States Army tamed the wild places of the West with horses and guns. The horse cavalry is just a symbol now, but the blue-clad men with their flashing sabers still inspire pride in the way the old John Wayne movies used to do (and still do for many folks). And for a few seconds after each ceremony at Fort Huachuca, a handful of men catapult themselves back in time to an era when a soldier’s best friends were his horse and his Colt.

Related posts:

1. The Last U.S. Calvary Charge Lieutenant Edwin Price Ramsey Leads The Charge   Enemy...
2. U.S. Cavalry Competition   Annual Event Demonstrates the Challenges and Hardy Determination...
3. Horse Artillery   Confederate Major John Pelham eyed the advancing Union...
4. Custer’s Horses on the Battlefield   “Ride ’em hard, and put ’em up wet,...
5. Cavalry Mounts and Colt .45s Mounted Pistol Marksmanship, U.S. Cavalry   Roswell, New Mexico,...
6. CMSA Calvary Class This division stands at the forefront of everything the...
7. Parting Shot     Grooming the Cavalry Way   “In basic training...
8. Charging Ahead Into History   A Reenactors Passion For History   Draw sabers!!”...
9. Horse Does Matter WHAT THE PROS HAVE TO SAY   What Makes...
10. U.S. Calvary School   Student Soldiers   The bluecoats charge across the...