9th Cavalry Timeline
1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900
1860
August 13, 1866 (Louisiana) Gen. Phillip Sheridan, commander of the Military Division of the Gulf, was authorized to raise one regiment of "colored" cavalry that was to be designated the 9th Regiment, pursuant to General Order 56 of Auust 1, 1866. A recruiting office was established in New Orleans, Louisiana and later that fall, a second office was opened in Louisville, Kentucky. Of the original recruits, the majority came from these two states and were veterans of the Civil War. Enlistment was for five years, with recruits receiving thirteen dollars a month, plus room, board, and clothing.
September 21, 1866 (Louisiana) the 9th Cavalry Regiment was activated at Greenville, Colonel Edward Hatch commanding
March 13, 1867 (Louisiana) 9th Cavalry ordered to Texas, with HQ in San Antonio.
There it was charged with protecting stage and mail routes, building and maintaining forts, and establishing law and order in a vast area full of outlaws, Mexican revolutionaries, and raiding Comanches, Cheyennes, Kiowas, and Apaches. To compound their problems, many Texans felt that they were being subjected to a particularly harsh form of post-war reconstruction by Washington, and saw the assignment of the Black troopers as a deliberate attempt by the Union to further humiliate them. As such, the relationship between the troopers and locals was often at or near the boiling point. Despite prejudice and the almost impossible task of maintaining some semblance of order from the Staked Plains to El Paso to Brownsville, the 9th established themselves as one of the most effective fighting forces in the Army.
April 9, 1867 (Texas) Mutiny broke out in Companies A, E, and K and before order could be restored, one lieutenant received a mortal wound and another lieutenant was forced to shoot two of his troopers
Early July 1867 (Texas) Headquarters and Companies A, B, E and K were dispatched to re-activate Fort Stockton, Texas which had been abandoned by the Northern Armies during the Civil War. Companies C, D, F, G, H and I, with Lt. Colonel Wesley Merritt commanding, were dispatched to Fort Davis, Texas
October 1, 1867 (Texas) A revenge-bent party of Kickapoos drew first blood from the Buffalo Soldiers. They ambushed and killed Corporal Emanuel Wright and Private E. T. Jones of D company, as they escorted the mail from Camp Hudson to Fort Stockton, at Howard's Wells.
December 5, 1867 (Texas) Engaged at Eagle Springs, one man killed
26 December, 1867 (Texas) A force of Kickapoos, Lipans, Mexicans and some white renegades, estimated at nine hundred strong, attacked the bivouac of Captain William Frohock and K Company at Fort Lancaster, some seventy-five miles (as the crow flies) east of Fort Stockton. This was the Buffalo Soldiers first opportunity to face their foes "toe to toe". It turned into a vicious three- hour fight, leaving K Company in possession of the field. Their victory was twenty dead and a large number wounded. But they had also suffered, the loss of three herd guards. Privates Andrew Trimble, William Sharpe and Eli Boyer were taken by surprise, roped and dragged away. Now missing and presumed dead. But this fight proved the virtues of hard work, discipline and a sense of purpose. It showed the Ninth that they were combat effective, at least to the ones that fought that day.
January 1868 (Texas) Fort Quitman, Troop F attacked sixteen times by a large band of Indians
August 1868 (Texas) Fort Quitman, Troop H attacked, Indians driven off without loss
September 1868 (Texas) A detachment from Fort Davis composed of troopers from Companies C, F and K, 9th Cavalry, under the cormnand of 1st Lieutenant Patrick Cusack, met with more success. In pursuit: of a band of about 200 Apaches, who had been raiding near Fort Stockton, the lieutenant and his men came upon the Indians just north of present day Big Bend National Park. Two of Cusack's men were wounded in the attack. Indian casualties numbered between 20 and 25 warriors with as many wounded. The soldiers captured over 200 head of stock and all of the Indians' provisions and epuipment
June 5, 1869 (Texas) Johnson's River, Troop L engaged, no losses
June 7, 1869 (Texas) Pecos River, 32 men of Troop G engaged under Captain Bacon
September 15, 1869 (Texas) Brazos River, Troops F and M under Captain Carroll, had a skirmish, and again on the 20th and 21st, the same command being augmented by detachments from Troops B and M, engaged the same band of Indians
October 28 and 29, 1869 (Texas) Troops B, E, F, G, L and M had a running fight of 40 miles at the head waters of the Brazos River, killing a number of Indians. This is the affair to which the late General Sherman so often referred with his quizzical inquiry as to which way Bacon ran
November 29, 1869 (Texas) Head of Llanos River, Troops L and M under Captain E. M. Heyl had a desperate fight and Heyl was seriously wounded
25 Dec, 1869 (Texas) A sergeant and 4 men of Company E, 9th Cav. defended Johnson's Mail Station on the Middle Concho River against an Indian attack. The Indians stole five Army horses
1870
ca. 1870 Seminole Scouts formed
January 6, 1870 (Texas) Guadeloupe Mountains, Troop H engaged
January 11, 1870 (Texas) Lower Pecos River, Troop L engaged
January 16, 1870 (Texas) Troop G and detachment of L, under Captain Bacon, surprised an entire village, capturing 83 head of stock and all supplies
January 21, 1870 (Texas) a command of Troops C, D, I and K, under Captain Dodge engaged in a skirmish in the Guadeloupe Mountains
April 3, 1870 (Texas) 15 men of Troop H, under a non-commissioned officer, ran into some Indians near San Matrin's Springs, killing one
April 25, 1870 (Texas) Crow Springs, 50 men from Troops C and K, under Major Morrow, captured 30 horses and the supplies of a village
May 19 and 20, 1870 (Texas) at Kickapoo Springs, Sergeant Emanuel Stance with five men of Troop F, surprised and attacked a small village, wounding four Indians and capturing two white boy prisoners and 15 horses. For this action, Sergeant Stance was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
May 29, 1870 (Texas) Bosaler Canon, Troop I engaged
Summer of 1871 (Texas) Colonel William Shafter led three companies of the 9th Cavalry from the post on an expedition which led them into the previously unscouted region of the southern Staked Plains. Although Shafter failed to encounter any Indians, he did capture a Mescalero squaw who, through an interpreter, gave much valuable information on Indian activities in the area. In addition, he proved that the Army could successfully survive in an area that was almost void of surface water. In October of the same year, Shafter led an expedition of 9th Cavalry troops into the Big Bend. Again no Indians were confronted, but the knowledge gained of area terrain proved invaluable to subsequent patrols and scouts
April 20, 1872 (Texas) Troops A and H engaged, Lieutenant Vincent killed at Howard's Wells .
1872 (New Mexico/Arizona) Apache Indian scouts first recruited
September 26-27, 1874 (Texas) Near Fort Blanco, Adam Paine and three scouts fight off a band of Indians. 1 Medal of Honor was given for this engagement.
April 25, 1875 (Texas) Pecos River, Scouts under Lt. Bullis engage a band of Indians. 3 Medals of Honor were recieved as a result of this action.
Winter and Spring of 1875 and 1876 (Texas) 9th Cavalry transferred to the District of New Mexico
The 9th was transferred to the District of New Mexico during the winter and spring of 1875 and 76. Over the next six years they were thrust into what had been a 300-year struggle to subdue the fiercely independent Apaches. In 1874 - sparked by pressure from greedy contractors supplying the reservations, and by cattlemen, lumber men, and settlers hungry for Apache land - Washington approved a policy of concentrating the Apaches on a select few reservations. Unfortunately, the main reservation was at San Carlos, Arizona, a desolate wasteland despised by the Apache. The independent lifestyle and culture of the Apaches and their hatred of the San Carlos reservation insured the hostilities that were to come. The renegade Apaches that periodically fled the reservations were highly skilled horsemen with a superior knowledge of their ancestral lands. Under the command of skilled warriors like Skinya, Nana, Victorio, and Geronimo, the Apaches proved to be an elusive and worthy adversary for both the troopers of the 9th and later the 10th Cavalries. As 1881 came to a close, the battle-weary Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th Cavalry had been serving continuously on the Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona frontiers for 14 years.
April 15, 1876 (New Mexico) Florida Mountains, Troop F engages, one Indian killed and 11 horses captured
September 2, 1876 (New Mexico) Cuchillo Negro Mountains, an engagement involving a detachment of Troop C and E, under Lieutenant Wright; a small camp is captured and a number of lodges destroyed
1877 (Arizona Territory) Camp Huachuca is established to protect the border.
January 24, 1877 (New Mexico) A scouting party from Fort Bayard commanded by Lt. Henry Wright, with six men of Company C and three Navajo scouts, was surrounded by a party of 40 to 50 Chiricahuas in the Florida Mountains, near Deming, New Mexico. Weapons were fired and then used as clubs. In the center of the melee Corporal Clinton Greaves fought like a cornered lion and managed to shoot and bash a gap through the swarming Apaches, permitting his companions to break free .... For this heroic action, Corporal Greaves was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Commendations go to Pvt.'s Richard Epps, Dick Mackadoo, John Adams and Scout Jose Chaves.
January 28, 1877 (Mexico) Sierra Boca Grande Mountains, detachment of Troops C and A capture a small camp
August 6, 1878 (New Mexico) Dog Canon, Troop H was engaged
January 15, 1879 (New Mexico) Troop A under Lieutenant Day engaged and captured a number of horses and mules
March 8, 1879 (New Mexico) Ojo Caliente, Troop I engaged
May 28, 1879 (New Mexico) in the Black Range, Troops C and I under Captain Beyer captured a camp and 16 horses, losing one man killed and 2 wounded
September 4, 1879 (New Mexico) Ojo Caliente, four men were killed
September 8, 1879 (New Mexico) West Las Animas River, 24 men of Troop G under Lieutenant Hugo were engaged losing one man
18 September 1879 (New Mexico) Troopers from Companies B, C, E and G of the 9th Cavalry were ambushed by Victorio, War Chief of the Warm Springs Apaches, at Las Animas Creek in the Black Range of New Mexico. Conflicting reports put the number of troopers killed at either five or six, along with either two or three Navjo scouts. Several troopers were awarded Congressional Medals of Honor, having saved the wounded troopers
September 29 and 30 1879 (New Mexico) on the Cuchillo Negro River, parts of Troops B, C, E and L engaged under Major Morrow, 2 men killed
October 2 and 3, 1879 (Colorado) Milk River, Troop D went to the relief of Thornburg's command and succeeded in reaching it, losing all its horses. 1 Medal of Honor was given as a result of this action
October 27, 1879 (Mexico) Guzman Mountains, Troops B, C, G, and H, under Major Morrow engaged, losing one man and one scout
