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The War With Spain!The Spanish-American War in 1898 found the Regiment in Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. They were assembled in Georgia as all Regular Army Units and several hundred thousand volunteers began to assemble in the southern United States. This was the first time that the entire Regiment had been together since the Civil War. They moved to Mobile, Alabama, in preparation for movement to Cuba. Troops A, C, D, and F boarded transports with their horses, and the remainder of the Regiment moved overland to Tampa, Florida, where the rest of the forces were being assembled. Due to a lack of transports, the remainder of the Regiment did not board ships, but instead gave up its wagons to assist the movement of Teddy Roosevelt’s "Rough Riders" to the ships.
The four troops that arrived in Cuba found that they were the only horse-mounted cavalry available for the campaign. They worked primarily for General Shafter, the commander of troops in Cuba, doing a variety of jobs. Teddy Roosevelt observed that "the Second Cavalrymen are everywhere. All day long you see them. All night long you hear their clattering hooves."
The troops from the Second Cavalry fought at El Caney, San Juan Hill, Aquadores, and around Santiago Cuba. Troop B was committed to the Puerto Rican campaign in July and August. In 1899, the entire Regiment began pacification duty on Cuba and remained there for three years.The Early Twentieth Century:
From 23 January to 18 July 1905, the Regiment broadened its experience by participating in the Cavite Campaign, Philippine Islands. On 14 February 1910, the Regiment fought in the battle of Tiradores Hill near Pindar on Mindanao. The Regiment followed this up with several clashes with the Moros: one at Mount Bagoak, Jolo, on 3 December 1911, and another near Mount Vrut, Jolo, 10-14 January 1912.
Back in the United States in June 1912, the Second Cavalry took the mission of enforcing the neutrality laws along the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. "I should consider myself fortunate to again have your splendid Regiment as part of my command," General Pershing wired Colonel West(the 15th Col. of the Regiment)when the Second had left Jolo Island, Philippines, in 1912.
The section of the international border between the United States and Mexico assigned to the Regiment gradually extended from El Paso to Presidio, Texas, a distance of 262 miles. This operation represented the first "border surveillance" and "border security" mission for the Regiment – a precursor of future missions later in the century.
The Regiment departed Fort Bliss, Texas, in December 1913 for Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, for training and maneuvers. These field exercises, often in conjunction with the National Guard units of the northeastern states, were often under the personal direction of General Leonard Wood.
The year 1914 culminated with the Regiment’s Horse Show Team representing the Army in the annual horse show at Madison Square Garden in New York. Representing the Army in national competition would be a task the Regiment excelled in for many years. The beautiful silver trophies awarded to the Regiment are still used to commemorate excellence within the Regiment. The Dragoon Lightning Trophy was originally awarded to the Regimental horse team in 1914. One of the award-winning team members was First Lieutenant George Brett, the son of Medal of Honor winner Lloyd Brett.
As the nation began to think about involvement with the European war, the Army recognized a need for a pool of trained leaders. General Wood led the drive to train business leaders and professionals for the future needs of the Army. The Second Cavalry established training camps in Plattsburg, New York, to train business leaders from New York City and Philadelphia in the rudiments of Army life. This was so successful that the Regiment established a second camp in Fort Ogelthorpe, Georgia, near the Civil War battlefield of Chickamauga. The Regiment, under the command of Joseph T. Dickman, the Seventeenth Colonel of the Regiment, trained over 13,000 of these men in five provisional regiments. This program of training a pool of leaders ready to respond during times of national emergency became the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Dickman commanded the Third U.S. Infantry Division during the "Great War." His leadership at the second battle of the Marne River would forever mark the Third Infantry Division as "The Rock of the Marne."The First World War:
World War I was another chapter of American history in which the Second Dragoons distinguished themselves. In April 1918, a scant three weeks after leaving the United States, the Second Cavalry found itself landed in France in the Toul sector. After being initially deployed to perform military police duties and to manage horse remount depots, the Regiment was the only American unit used as horse cavalry during the war. A provisional squadron formed by Troops B, D, F, and H was the last element of the Regiment ever to engage the enemy as mounted horse cavalry.
General Pershing’s words were again realized half a world away when, with 31 dragoon troopers Headquarters Troop as his escort, he landed first in England and then at Chaumont, France. The commander of Pershing’s headquarters element was Captain George S. Patton, Jr.
The Second Dragoons fought in the Aisne-Marne offensive from 18 July to 6 August 1918, where the American First and Second Divisions penetrated the western flank of the German Marne salient at Soissons. Detachments from the Regiment also took part in the Oisne-Aisne offensive from 18 August to 11 September. The greatest commendations the Regiment received in the war came for its part in the reduction of Saint Mihiel Salient. From 12 to 16 September, Troops A, B, C, D, F, G, and H fought magnificently under Lieutenant Colonel D.P.M. Hazzard’s command.
At this time in the war, General Pershing massed six divisions on an 18-mile front. The First Division jumped off, bypassing Mont Sec (which the French had assaulted in vain for years), and reached the German line of Heudocort-Nosard. From there, the Second Cavalry passed through the forest of La Belle Oziere, Nosard, and Vigneulles, and scouted the open country as far as the Heudicort Creue, and Vignuelles. They would eventually advance all the way to Saint Maurice, Woel, and Jonville to pursue the enemy.
The final Allied offensive, the Meuse-Argonne campaign lasted from 26 September to 11 November 1918. The Second Cavalry was attached to the American 35th Division, playing an important role as the left flank element of eight divisions and later as the main effort between the Meuse River and the Argonne Forest. The plan of the American First Army was to bypass the strong points of Montfaucon and Romagne on both sides. Then the forces would seize the high ground at Barricort with a converging effort that was designed to shatter all German positions before Sedan.
The 35th Division spearheaded the assault on the left with an engagement in which the troops of the Second Cavalry fought bravely during a six-day battle between 26 September and 2 October 1918. The battle started at Vauquois and wound through Bois de Rossigy, Quvrage D'Aden, Cheepy, Charpentry, Baulny, Bois de Montre Beau, and Exermont. The men from the Regiment were commended for "...accomplishing their tasks with fearlessness, courage, and disregard for danger and hardship." Three rainbow colored campaign streamers were added to the Regimental standard during World War I.
With the Germans driven across the Meuse at Sedan, the stage was set for the Armistice on 11 November. The Second Cavalry remained with the Army of Occupation in Germany at Koblenz until August 1919. The Inter-War Years:
After its service in the Army of Occupation, the Regiment returned to the United States for duty at Fort Riley, Kansas. There it remained from 1919 to 1939, performing peacetime duties as a school training regiment. This Cavalry School prospered under the guidance of a host of visionary men destined to be general officers in World War II. The list includes such revered names as Patton, Truscott, Keyes, and Mattox, among many others.
At Fort Riley the Regiment experimented with the first armored cars, and in 1936, as more money became available for maneuvers, it participated in the first armored and cavalry maneuvers. In 1936 the Second Cavalry celebrated its first centennial, marking 100 years of devoted service to the nation. In 1938, two armored regiments, the 1st and the 13th, and an augmentation of artillery and light airplanes joined the Regiment for maneuvers. Then, as now, the Regiment was leading the Army in the development of a combined arms organization and tactics. |
