Fifth Cavalry Rides Again

THE 5th CAVALRY RIDES AGAIN

By Don Schellie Photos by Alvin S. Abrams In lawn chairs clustered beside their Winnebago, they were enjoying cups of mid-morning coffee in the freshness of a springtime Saturday. Two Iowa couples of middling years, they had chosen their campsite in remote, rolling desertlands of Southern Arizona, miles of rutted, unpaved road from the cares and pressures of civilization.

As cups were being refilled, Apache horsemen a half dozen or more of them in full dress topped a nearby hill, and with shrieks that passed for war cries, galloped through the Iowans' camp and disappeared beyond the next hill. Minutes later, well before the stunned campers could recover, a troop of hard-riding cavalrymen cleared that very same rise and rode into camp. The commander raised his arm, and in a blur of horseflesh, roiling dust and uniform blue, the troopers reined their mounts. “Seeing the tourists, we realized that the whole moment, the whole field exercise, was blown for us, anyway,” Bruce Smith recalls, “so the lieutenant touched fingertips to his campaign hat, paid respects to the campers from back East, and then asked them which way the

(Preceding panel) Could we step back a century or more in time to the early territorial days, chances are we probably would stumble across just such a Saturday night campfire scene as this one, re-created in the here and now by members of Tucson's 5th Cavalry Memorial Regiment, participating in the annual Indian Wars Memorial Encampment.

Authenticity down to the finest detail of clothing, livery, equipment and firearms is a hallmark of the memorial regiments. Here the 4th Artillery of Tucson stands at the ready to fire its modern-day copy of a 19th century 12-pound mountain howitzer.

Indians had gone. I wish you could've seen those folks. They were just shocked and none of them could say a word, but one woman managed to poke a shaky finger, off, down the valley." Nodding his thanks, the officer barked an order, and as the stirring, brass notes of the "Command to Gallop" shattered the still of that Arizona morning, the troopers thundered off in pursuit of the Apache renegades, as the Iowans watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths. The soldiers, an anachronism in blue wool, were members of Tucson's 5th Cavalry Memorial Regiment, A Troop, in the field to recreate a dramatic episode out of Arizona's long and colorful history. And those Apaches who so started the folks from Iowa? To a warrior they were phonies, recruited for the weekend from the ranks of other period military memorial units, in order to give the cavalry troopers something more substantial, if less elusive, to chase, than shadows out of the hazy past.Smith mustered into the 5th in September, 1966, two months after the outfit was formally organized. Until July of that year there had been a looselyknit group of frontier cavalry enthusiasts in Tucson, who came together occasionally for ceremonial purposes. In 1966 the men were invited to raise the American flag at the Independence Day community fireworks display, and at that time, Smith says, they decided to band together as A Troop of the 5th Cavalry Regiment. It was largely for sentimental reasons that they chose that designation, because it was the 5th Cavalry that in 1873, saw to the construction of Camp -later Fort-Lowell, seven miles northeast of Tucson. Abandoned by the Army in 1891, the site has since become a sprawling Pima County park, which keeps alive the name of the frontier post. A few buildings of the original fort complex still exist on what is now private property skirting the park. On the grounds of Fort Lowell Park proper, However, only vestiges of the old post's adobe structures have withstood the wind and sun and rains of more than a century. Fifteen years ago a reconstruction of the commanding officer's quarters was dedicated and has since served as a museum, with displays that tell the story of military life in the territory. Administered by the Arizona Historical Society, it is open free of charge to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays. Not many yards from the museum is another circa 1963 adobe structure, which is informal headquarters of the memorial cavalry outfit. Equipment is stored there, meetings are held in the building, and the troop regularly drills on the surrounding acres of grassy park, where once rode the likes of General George Crook, Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood and Captain John Gregory Bourke. Above all else, historic accuracy is what the men of A Troop try to emulate in their long-running game. For the firstTwo years of its existence, members were uniformed and equipped as troopers were back in 1873. For various reasons they found the 1873 period “technically impossible” to reproduce with dedicated accuracy, and an updating seemed in order. In 1968 the change was made. That year the troop became affiliated with the Arizona Historical Society, and since that time the horse soldiers “do 1885-86,” as Smith puts it. To be historically valid, members have chosen September 10, 1886 the day the renegade Apache Geronimo was shipped from Fort Bowie to exile in Florida as their focus date. If a piece of equipment or article of uniform was in use by cavalrymen in the Southwest on or before that day, it is acceptable for A Troop use, otherwise it goes back into the attic trunk.There was a time when members of the 5th wore mostly original government issue, but because of the increasing value of those old pieces as collectors' items, the trend in recent years has been to use articles that have been faithfully reproduced from original patterns. Smith himself is proprietor of a a Tucson firm, Fiddler's Green, which deals in “historic uniforming and military antiques.” What Smith cannot turn up through his sources of supply, he manufactures in his shop. So exacting is his pursuit of detailed accuracy, that he special orders custom made buttons for use on the flies of uniform breeches he fabricates.While the 5th looks to old photographs in the historical society's archives for authenticity of dress and gear, for purposes of drill and ceremony it turns to its bible, the pocket-sized “Manual 1883, United States Army Cavalry Tactics.” As nearly as possible, troopers do everything by the book, even to the matter of preparing food to be served at the Indian Wars Memorial Encampment, which the 5th hosts each year. At Fort Crittenden in 1977, the encampment drew historical military units from throughout the United States, with members of ten cavalry regiments, four infantry companies and one artillery battery participating. At the end of the chow line soldiers found, among other delicacies, hardtack, salt pork slabs and pots of beans, all prepared according to time-honored Army recipes. Many of the early encampments were staged at Fort Lowell, but in recent years gatherings have been held at Arizona forts Huachuca, Bowie and Crittenden.

The 5th Cavalry is one of several post-Civil War outfits in Arizona. Another cavalry unit is located at Fort Huachuca, and in Phoenix there is an infantry company. Also based in Tucson are an artillery battery and an infantry field music fife and drum unit. But the 1880s isn't the only game in town or in the state. Military history clubs in Arizona also memoralize particular units from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and World War II.

(Below) For a short period of six years (1867 to 1873) Fort Crittendon, on Sonoita Creek in Santa Cruz County, served to protect settlers from Indian raids. The cavalry stationed here performed the scouting expeditions; the infantry, post duty.

(Bottom) During the 1800s, Geronimo, at right, made war with everything he could muster, from muzzle-loaders to repeating rifles. McLaughlin Historical Collection

5th Cavalry continued from page 34

Obviously there is some irony in the fact that the original 5th Cavalry Regiment had long since departed Arizona Territory by the time September 10, 1886 the focus date turned up on the calendar. The 5th was back in Kansas then, doing garrison duty, says Smith, while the 4th and 6th regiments were serving here in Arizona, playing hide-and-seek with Geronimo and his band. On this historic point the cavalrymen allow themselves a broad, if rare, wink at fact.

Barrel-chested, balding and with an abundant, carefully-tended moustache, Bruce Smith looks every inch the frontiersergeant, which is exactly what he is. He plays three-striper to Michael L. Woodcock's first lieutenant. As troop commander, Woodcock, who works with Smith at Fiddler's Green, holds the outfit's only elected military position. Chevrons of the sergeant and a corporal rotate among members of the troop, and Thomas H. Peterson Jr., who is curator of collections at the Arizona Historical Society, presently is corporal. Because it is a non-profit, educational Arizona corporation, the 5th Cavalry is governed by a board of directors elected from its membership.

Present strength of the 5th is about 15 men, and among the ranks are historians, an archeologist, a camera repairman, a schoolteacher, a truck driver, an audio-visual technician, a bank teller and an Air Force captain who commands a Titan missile silo when he isn't chasing renegade Apaches.

Becoming a trooper in the 5th calls for an eventual investment of upwards of $1000, what with field, garrison and full dress uniforms, assorted accouterments, model 1860 cavalry saber, .45 caliber single-action Colt pistol, Springfield carbine model 1873, caliber .45-70, horse gear including a McClellan saddle, and whatever additional paraphernalia might strike a horse soldier's fancy. Uniforms, weapons and other equipment usually are acquired piecemeal over a period of years, however, softening the blow to the pocketbook. A few men own horses and the others rent mounts as needed.

Though its Indian Wars Memorial Encampment is its major annual event, the 5th also stages a weekend bivouac at Fort Lowell Park each springtime in conjunction with the Tucson Festival Society, participates in parades and performs certain ceremonial functions. And there are monthly meetings and regular mounted drill sessions that must be attended. But it's not all work for the men of A Troop."This is much more than just a hobby with us," explains Troop Commander Woodcock. "It almost becomes a way of life. Because it is so time-consuming, we try to bring our wives and families into our activities as much as we can." And the ladies of those men of the 5th enter into troop functions with enthusiasm that rivals that of their husbands. All own either actual 1880s dresses or else have sewn them, using fabrics and patterns of the period.

Of course the Christmas Ball is the social event of the year, and always it is very festive and very formal, with full dress uniforms required for the gentlemen, elegant gowns for their ladies. This December past some 40 costumed couples from post-Civil War units around Arizona, waltzed to the 1880s music of a brass quintet. There was a grand march led by the troop commander and his lady, plenty of proper military punch to sip, and there was a Christmas cake, marched cere-moniously to the serving table upon crossed sabers. In keeping with all else, the decorations reflected the flavor of earlier times, and the tall pine was richly festooned with strings of cranberries and popcorn.

Five years ago when Smith and his wife, Karen, were married at Tucson's posh Arizona Inn, theirs was a period wedding, complete with arched sabers and all the other military trimmings. Guests turned up in uniform or period dress, the justice of the peace wore a frock coat, and the bride and groom marched down the aisle as fifes and drums played.

But ask Sergeant Smith that inevit-able question about why he likes to put On an old blue uniform and gallop about playing soldier, and he will grin through that big moustache of his and talk about what a colorful, romantic lot those old horse soldiers were, and about how they've been forgotten by their government, all but overlooked by historians, misrepresented by Hollywood. And then he might grumble something about wanting to right some past wrongs, give the troopers their due, polish up their tarnished image. But there's more to it than that. Some of us are history buffs who enjoy taking things a step beyond the printed page," Smith says, "and with others the appeal is in collecting weapons and uniforms, or maybe the chance to get out-of-doors and ride a horse. I enjoy the excitement of trying to approximate a historical period as nearly as possible. It's about as close as you can come to a time tunnel. And it's an emotional release, an escape from the confusion and hard realities of modern living, but more than that, it provides an opportunity to slip backward in time to a period that I'm convinced was a lot less complicated than what we know today."

A troop gives Tom Peterson a feeling that he is living, or perhaps reliving, history, giving him the chance to better understand what it was like to be in a trooper's boots during that storied period in Arizona's past. "It's not the 'Charge,' with the yelling, screaming and wind-in-the-face thing that excites me," he says. "It's far more difficult to explain than that."

After a thoughtful pause, Peterson spoke of an experience he had last year when the 5th was bivouacked at longabandoned Fort Crittenden. Mounted, he was waiting on the parade ground during a lull in activities. "I was daydreaming, and suddenly it came to me that there was no sign of civilization out there, no pavement, no automobiles, no pollution, nothing to remind me that I am alive in the 1970s. It occurred to me then that I was sitting in a McClellan saddle, on a horse, just as a trooper would've been doing in that very spot more than a century ago, and I was seeing those same hills he would've seen, feeling that same itch of wool he would've felt, smelling that same horse sweat he would have smelled, and - well, it was a powerful, almost overwhelming sensation. And that, I suppose, probably comes as close as anything to explaining why I'm in the 5th Cavalry."