THE HELIOGRAPH
THE FORT HUACHUCA CAVALRY ASSOCIATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________
February 2013
Vol. VIII, Issue 1
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President ² CW4 Rodney Preuss, USAR (Ret)
First Vice President ² SFC Ken Carroll, USA (Ret)
VP Ways and Means ² Mrs. Anastasia Virden
VP Plans & Programs ² CDR Troy Wilcox, USN
VP Education ² Maj. Christopher Zimmerman, USAF (Ret)
VP Public Relations ² Mrs. Martina Peters
Treasurer ² Mr. Steve Kurtz
Secretary ² Mrs. Alice Carroll
The Heliograph is published quarterly by the Fort Huachuca Cavalry Association, Inc
Editor ² Christopher Zimmerman
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
UP FRONT
DUSTY TALES
This month B Troop will be participating in one of the
\HDU¶VPDMRUHYHQWV ± Civil War in the Southwest at the
Picacho Peak State Park on 16-17 March. For details,
look on the Park Website. Much information is available
concerning the three battles portrayed. Let your fingers
and Google or Bing do the searching and Read On!
Fort Huachuca: Last of the Indian Wars Posts
nd
On the 22 of February, B Troop Retired Wyatt and
Sabre at a ceremony conducted at the B Troop Stables.
It was a very nice ceremony during which many
individuals recounted key events and interesting
anecdotes spanning the careers of both War Horses.
Southern Arizona has been militarized for over three
hundred years. It has been occupied by four different
armies in that time. Close to one hundred forts were
built in Arizona before it ever became a state. Almost all
of them were built to protect the people living here from
Indian attack. The last fort to be built, and the only fort
still in active use, is Fort Huachuca.
Fort Huachuca in the 1880s
Wyatt is now enjoying His retirement at Chula Vista With
one of &KULV DQG'HEELH¶V QHLJKERUVZKLOH 6DEUH LVRXW
DW:KLVSHU¶VEHLQJUH-united with Natchez.
Many thanks to both for their long and faithful service!
See you all at Picacho Peak!
Rod
The first military forts in Arizona were built by the
Spanish. Forty Seven years after Columbus landed in
the Bahamas, the Spanish Conquistadors began to
explore this region. Franciscan friar Marcos de Niza (a
Frenchman) first entered this area in 1539, but he did
not establish any fortifications. He was followed much
later by Jesuit priest, Father Kino, (an Austrian) who built
the first mission in Arizona, San José de Tumacácori in
1691. All in all, the Spanish built some twenty seven
forts and missions in Arizona. The remains of three of
the Spanish presidios still exist at Tubac, at Tucson, and
on the San Pedro river.
The biggest threat to Spanish interests were the
Apache Indians who not only fought the Spanish, but
also, all the other Indian tribes in the region. The
Apaches attacked the presidio in Tucson while it was
being built, almost destroying it, and managed to drive
the Spanish out of the fortification on the San Pedro
before it could be completed. The Spanish forts featured
12-foot high walls, towers, and cannons. The Spanish
fought the Apaches for almost 300 years, but were never
able to defeat them.
In 1821, Mexico gained
independence from Spain and took over administration
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Mexico was unable to accomplish much in the
region due to an economic depression and the
fortifications were mostly abandoned.
Apaches
continued to raid the settlements still occupied by
Mexican citizens who had not wisely fled south when the
Spanish troops had left.
However, in 1846, the
Mexicans had a much more serious problem on their
hands with the beginning of the Mexican-American War.
The war ended in 1848, but southern Arizona remained
a part of Mexico until 1853, when it was sold to America
as part of the Gadsden Purchase.
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until 1856. However, in 1861, it was claimed briefly by a
Confederate force until driven out by the California
column at the beginning of the Civil War. Once the Civil
War was over, the United States government was able
to turn its attention to the Indian problem. The Army was
charged with protecting settlers in the region just as their
Spanish predecessors had been. They initially tried to
use the remains of some of the old Spanish presidios,
but most were abandoned in favor of new facilities.
Camp Wallen, the first Army facility in the San Pedro
valley, was established in the ruins of an old Spanish
ranch fortification, but was soon abandoned due to a
malaria problem.
The Army had been at war with the Apaches
since the Bascom Affair in 1861. General George Crook
had been sent to Arizona to quell the fighting from 1871
to 1876, but was transferred to the Department of the
Platte to deal with the Plains Indians. As soon as he left,
Apache raids began again in earnest. Mexico, like
America, was greatly troubled with the Apache raids.
Although a treaty permitted cross-border pursuit, Mexico
objected to the practice and demanded the US build
forts along the southern border to stop the raiding
parties.
Mindful of the politics of the situation,
Commander of the Department of Arizona, Colonel
August Valentine Kautz (a German), decided to establish
a temporary camp on the north side of the Huachuca
Mountains.
Colonel August Valentine Kautz
On February 12, 1877, Kautz sent Captain
Samuel Marmaduke Whitside (a Canadian) to find a
suitable site for a new post to protect settlers in the San
Pedro and Santa Cruz valleys.
Captain Whitside,
th
commander B Troop, 6 US Cavalry, left from Fort
Lowell in Tucson to carry out this mission. Passing by
the Whetstone Mountains, Whitside first checked out the
ruins of Camp Wallen on the Babocomari river. The
abandoned camp, which was completely trashed, was
rejected as a potential site and Whitside proceeded to
the Huachuca Mountains eight miles away.
Captain Samuel Marmaduke Whitside
Arriving at the mouth of Huachuca Canyon,
Whitside realized he had found the perfect location for
the new post. With commanding views of the San Pedro
valley, Whitside determined that the site would allow for
early detection of Apache raiding parties using the
plunder trails between America and Mexico. The site
also had plenty of timber for building, abundant grass for
grazing cavalry mounts, and plenty of water. It was an
ideal location for protecting the people in the region. On
3 March, 1877, Camp Huachuca was established.
Captain Whitside immediately began conducting
patrols in the area up to 40 miles from the camp.
Interestingly enough, the first combat action was against
Mexican bandits instead of Apaches. Captain William
th
Rafferty, M Troop, 6 Cavalry, chased the bandits back
into Mexico and killed a number of them. However,
action against the Apaches was soon to follow. A few
months later, Lieutenant Robert Hanna, commanding D
Company, Indian Scouts chased a raiding party that had
attacked Camp Huachuca on 18 August, making off with
a few horses.
Hanna, demonstrating what future
operations would be like, pursued the Apaches all
across southern Arizona and then north, catching up to
them at the San Francisco river. The engagement
resulted in 10 Indian casualties and 13 prisoners. They
had pursued the Apaches for three weeks, covering
some 700 miles in the process.
Captain Samuel Whitside commanded Camp
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soon became a permanent installation and visitors were
profoundly impresses with what the captain had
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surprisingly as it did in the 1880s when Whitside was still
commanding. It remains as the sole survivor of a
hundred military fortifications built in the region; a living
monument to 300 years of struggle to bring peace to
southern Arizona.
. 6 Apr
Rose Festival. B Troop will parade down
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during the annual rose festival parade.
12 Apr
B Troop Assumption of Command. CDR
Troy Wilcox will take the reins of command of
B Troop in a ceremony on Brown Parade
field on Fort Huachuca. Wilcox will lead his
first cavalry charge at the end of the
ceremony.
19 Apr
USAICoE Assumption of Command. The
new commanding general of Fort Huachuca
will assume command of the US Army
Intelligence Center of Excellence on a
ceremony on Brown Parade field on Fort
Huachuca. B Troop will conduct a cavalry
charge at the conclusion of the ceremony.
26 Apr
Installation Retirement Ceremony.
Fort
Huachuca will honor the those soldiers and
civil servants who are retiring in a ceremony
at Brown Parade field. B Troop will conduct
a cavalry charge at the conclusion of the
ceremony.
BOOTS AND SADDLES
Schedule of upcoming FHCA and B Troop events
2 Mar
Fairbank Days. B Troop will participate in the
annual historic event at the ghost town of
Fairbank on the San Pedro River between
Tombstone and Whetstone on Hwy 82. The
day will feature hiking tours of the local area,
Spanish colonial re-enactors, and a train
robbery re-enactment. The FHCA will have a
booth set up next to the B Troop
encampment.
3 Mar
Cochise College Rodeo. B Troop will carry
the
national
colors
during
opening
ceremonies for the rodeo at Wren Arena on
Fort Huachuca. Board member Anastasia
Virden, will sing the national anthem.
16-17 Mar Civil War in the Southwest.
B Troop will
help re-enact the Battle of Picacho Peak and
other battles that occurred in the American
southwest during the Civil War. Lots of
cannon fire, musket fire, and singing around
the campfire during this epic weekend. The
event takes place at Picacho Peak state park
45 miles north of Tucson. The FHCA will
have a booth set up in the vendor area.
See B Troop Website at
http://huachuca-www.army.mil/pages/btroop/index.html
For up-to-date schedule of B Troop events