For many years there has been a controversy as to what a dragoon is. Is he simply an infantryman on horseback, or something else?On the 15th. of June in 1832, Congress authorized the United States Mounted Ranger Battalion, “for the defense of the Santa Fe trade route.” The men of the unit were to be one-year volunteers, who would provide their own arms and horses, for which they would receive, one dollar a day in compensation.
There was a great need for this battalion. Lt. (later general) Philip St. George Cooke, of the 6th. U.S. Infantry, was escorting the Santa Fe trade caravan of 1828. The caravan left the protection of the infantry at the Arkansas River, which was the recognized boundary between the U.S. and the new country of Mexico. The infantry set up camp at the river and waited for the caravan’s return, from the end of July until October 11th., during this period they were under almost a constant siege by mounted Comanches. Cooke reported that “It was a humiliating condition to be surrounded by these rascally Indians, who, by means of their horses, could tantalize us with hopes of battle, and then elude our efforts, and could annoy us by preventing all individual excursions for hunting, etc. and who could insult us with impunity.” It became obvious that it was impossible for infantry to deal with mounted war parties of the Plains Indians.
The formation of the Ranger Battalion served several purposes. They showed the government the wisdom of a mounted unit. The also, however, showed the need for a regular unit of horse. Henry L. Ellsworth (a commissioner dispatched from Washington to negotiate a treaty with the warlike tribes), wrote,
“The Rangers generally, are smart active men at home, good farmers & respectable citizens. They enlisted only for one year, to explore the country and expect to return to their families again when their term is out- in the meantime, they seemed determined to keep up republican equality, by acknowledging no superior…and let me here say, I consider the Rangers…almost a failure- their dress in the first place is practically the poorest clothes they have or can get- their equipments are only one rifle- this often gets out of order, and then the Ranger has no weapon… Now, their appearance is that of so many poor hunters- they strike no awe.”
At the end of 1832, the Secretary of War, Lewis Cass, reported that it cost $150,000 more a year to maintain the Battalion of Mounted Rangers than it would for a full regiment of dragoons. The fate of the Rangers was sealed. By July of 1833, the men of the Ranger Battalion had served their 1-year’s enlistment, and demanded their discharge. Earlier that year Congress had authorized The United States Regiment of Dragoons, on the 2nd. of March. This is the date used as the real birthday of the United States Cavalry.
Some of the officers were taken from the Rangers. Henry Dodge had commanded the Rangers and would now serve as Colonel of the new regiment. Another former Ranger was Capt. Nathan Boone, youngest son of Daniel Boone. Most of the other officers were taken from the regular army. There was Lt. Philip St.George Cooke, late of the 6th. U.S. Infantry, and the new Lieutenant Colonel, Steven Watts Kearny. There was also a Lt. Jefferson Davis who would serve as the first adjutant. This same order, which brought the Regiment of Dragoons into existence, stated that: “The Ranger Battalion would continue in service until formally relieved by regular cavalry. It was referring to the Regiment of Dragoons!
Now to the point of this article, what exactly is a dragoon? In the American Heritage Dictionary, a dragoon is defined as: “a heavily armed mounted trooper.” Webster’s New World Dictionary calls him: “a heavily armed cavalryman.” You will notice that neither of these definitions makes any reference to an infantryman on horseback!
The very weapons issued to the Dragoons clearly show how the government intended to use the Regiment.
First we have the saber. This single-edged weapon has always been the very symbol of the mounted warrior. The saber, however is a momentum weapon, it is devastating when swung from the back of a swift moving mount.
During the Mexican War a small patrol of Dragoons came across five times their number of Mexican guerrillas. The troopers started to reach for their carbines, but their commander shouted: “No firing men! If twenty Dragoons can’t whip a hundred Mexicans with the saber, I’ll join the Infantry!” The Americans drew their sabers and charged. They killed six guerrillas, wounded thirteen and took seventy prisoners.
We now come to the pistol. It was carried on the saddle in a pommel holster. On the holster were five cylindrical loops, to store extra ammunition for the single shot pistol. You notice everything is carried on the horse, not much good if you are dismounted away from your mount! The pistol itself had a swivel-ramrod. It was attached to the piece and as such was harder to use than a separate one. The advantage of it though was it beat the hell out of having to dismount if one dropped the unattached type. If you are on the ground already, who cares, bend over and pick it up!
From the above, it is obvious that the pistol was intended for use on horseback. Even toward the end of the Mexican War, when some Colt Walker or Hartford Dragoon revolvers appeared, they still only came with pommel holsters.
The Walker weighed well over five pounds when loaded, and the Hartford not that much less. None of these pistols are really the type you would thrust in your belt, {remember the holster is attached to the saddle!} and go running around the countryside on foot.
The “long-arm” of the Dragoons was the Hall carbine. The Hall was ordered for the Dragoons at the same time as their founding in 1833. It was one of the most advanced weapons of its day. More than likely is was the first breech-loading cap-lock arm ever issued to an entire regiment. Thirteen years later during the Mexican War, most of the regular U.S. Infantry were still using flintlocks, which were all muzzle loading.
What is so important about a breech-loading cap-lock? Think about the loading process. Dismounted, you put the butt on the ground put the cartridge in and then ram it home. You then take the weapon up and put some powder in the frizzen, and you are all ready to go! The process is a little more complicated on horseback! You must turn the weapon around so as to have access to the muzzle, then try to start the cartridge, then get out the ramrod and try to seat the load, then turn the weapon around and prime the frizzen. This is not the easiest thing to do on a standing horse, but on one that is at a trot or gallop? All of this requires changing hands several times, which of course, increases the chance of dropping the damn thing. Even if the carbine were attached to the sling, dropping it would have least embarrassing if not deadly results.
With the breech-loader, the weapon is kept firmly held in the left hand, along with the reins. The weapon is then reloaded with the right. The cartridge is pushed home with the thumb and a cap then applied for ignition. There was no need for a ramrod. From the inception of The Regiment of Dragoons, in 1833, till its name was changed in 1861, the ordnance manuals of the United States always refer to cavalry accoutrements, never “accoutrements for guys who sometime get on a horse!”
The above facts, and many others, make it plain what the government had in mind with The Regiment of Dragoons. Congress has always wanted to get the most for its money. It could outfit five Infantry Regiments, for what one Regiment of Horse would cost. This was the reason they have always opted for a unit that could function on foot as well as horseback. When the situation demanded it, horsehandlers would take the mounts to the rear, and the troopers would move out as light infantry. In the American Revolution, dismounted horsemen would storm up King’s Mountain to defeat the Tories. Dragoons, on foot, fought the Seminole in the swamps of Florida. The tradition would continue forward and be with Buford’s dismounted troops on the first day of Gettysburg. Out West, during the Indian Wars, there was much more, ”Horsehandlers to the rear” than Hollywood would have you believe.
Yes, the United States Army did have a name for mounted infantry. It was used very expertly by General Crook in the Apache Wars. Many other officers made good use of them. They referred to Infantrymen, put on mules or horses for transportation only. They called these troops mounted infantry, NEVER DRAGOONS!
