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Tule River War: 1856

January 11, 2005

From their earth-and-rock fortification at the base of a small, solitary mountain, the Yokuts Indians were determined to defend their land. By William and John Gorenfeld THE 1850s WERE A DEVASTATING time for California Indians, as swarms of contentious and tough miners poured into their homelands. The Indians were often ruthlessly slaughtered or enslaved, and [...]

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Ben Beall at West Point: Dropped from the Rolls

January 11, 2005

The Beall Chronicles: An account of a Dragoon officer to be By George Stammerjohan and Will Gorenfeld While stationed out on the western plains, Major Benjamin Beall recounted to Lt. Orlando Wilcox how, in the year 1814, he arrived at the Military Academy, a brash youth, fully “equipped with a pointer and a liquor flask.” [...]

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Dragoon Uniforms

January 1, 2005

The Dragoon Uniform: Fancy vs. Fact by George Stammerjohan and Will Gorenfeld The 1850s present a confusing picture of the Dragoon image. On the one hand, the Regulations of 1851 gave a neat picture of what a suitably uniformed, dashing Dragoon should look like: dark blue frock coat, “flower pot” shako, and gray-blue trousers. The [...]

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Dragoon Weapons

January 1, 2005

Dragoon Firearms: More Legend than Fact by Will Gorenfeld Model 1847 Dragoon Musketoon (smooth bore .69 calibre) One persistent myth concerning the Dragoons on the frontier is that they were well-equipped with the most modern of weaponry. In reality–and that reality would remain true until the late fall of 1858–the Dragoons who served out on [...]

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Dragoon Saddles, Tack, and Equipage 1847

December 31, 2004

By clicking here you may view an 1847 company return for Dragoon saddle, tack, and equipage. (The original document is at the Indiana Historical Society.)

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History of the First Dragoons

March 6, 2004

THE FIRST REGIMENT OF CAVALRY.*By CAPT. R. P. PAGE WAINWRIGHT, 1ST U. S. CAVALRY. General Stephen W. Kearney The “United States Regiment of Dragoons” was organized by Act of Congress approved March 2, 1833, becoming the “First Regiment of Dragoons” when the Second Dragoons were raised in 1836. Its designation was changed to “First Regiment [...]

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