The Tenth Cavalry

Duane's take

The marker's the one telling this story, and I'm just the voice carrying it down the road for you. Now settle in, because this one goes back to the aftermath of a war that tore a country in two, and it reaches all the way around the world before it's done. Following the Civil War, the United States Congress authorized the creation of six regiments of black U.S.

Army troops. Six regiments. That was not a small decision for its time, and the order came with a condition built right into it — these troops would be commanded by white officers.

That was the rule from the start. The Tenth Cavalry was organized in 1867, and the man given the task of leading it was Colonel Benjamin Grierson, born in 1826, died in 1911. Now Grierson set up at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and that's where they ran straight into problems of racial discrimination.

The regiment was headquartered there, and the welcome was about as cold as the plains wind. Grierson wanted out. He wanted the Tenth Cavalry reassigned to the West, and that push paid off.

In the spring of 1875, they arrived at Fort Concho right here in Tom Green County. And that's where this story starts to get big. Scouting expeditions across territory that didn't forgive mistakes.

Mapping expeditions across ground that didn't show up on any reliable chart. Campaigns against hostile Indians on the high plains, often going days without proper supplies or water. Days.

Not an afternoon of inconvenience — days without water on the high Texas plains. The contributions these men made to the settlement of the American West, the marker says plainly, are of major importance. And then came 1880.

The Mescalero Apache, led by Chief Victorio, were a force that had tested soldiers across the region. The men of the Tenth Cavalry were instrumental in Victorio's defeat that year. That is not a small word — instrumental.

They were stationed at Fort Concho until 1882, when they were moved to Fort Davis. Then the transfers started coming frequently after 1885, and once that door opened it never really closed. Cuba.

North Africa. Germany. Korea.

Vietnam. A regiment organized in 1867 on the Kansas plains eventually saw the whole wide world. The Tenth Cavalry carried that history with them every mile of it.

What the marker says

Following the Civil War, the United States Congress authorized the creation of six regiments of black U.S. Army troops. The Tenth Cavalry was organized in 1867 under the leadership of Col. Benjamin Grierson (1826-1911). The order creating black troops also specified that they would be commanded by white officers. Facing problems of racial discrimination at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Grierson wanted the Tenth Cavalry reassigned to the West, and they arrived at Fort Concho in the Spring of 1875. The contributions of the men of the Tenth Cavalry to the settlement of the American West are of major importance. They took part in grueling scouting and mapping expeditions and campaigns against hostile Indians, often facing days without proper supplies or water on the high plains. They were instrumental in the defeat of the Mescalero Apache Indians led by Chief Victorio in 1880. The men of the Tenth Cavalry were stationed at Fort Concho until 1882, when they were moved to Fort Davis. Transferred frequently after 1885, members of the unit eventually served throughout the world, including Cuba, North Africa, Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. (1987)