From Yorktown to Santiago: with the Sixth U. S. Cavalry [Hardcover]

W. H. Carter Lt. Colonel (Author), Frederic Remington et al. (Illustrator), John M. Carroll (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1989

The Sixth U.S. Cavalry had its birth at the outbreak of the Civil War with its first action at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1862. They fought in the Army of the Potomac under General Sheridan throughout the war. From 1865 to 1871 the regiment was stationed in Austin and Fort Richardson, Texas, acting as both a federal policing unit in the Reconstruction military government and as protectors against the Comanches along the frontier. After 1871 they moved into Kansas and the Indian Territory and in 1874 were under the command of Col. Nelson A. Miles in his operations against the Comanches, Cheyennes, and Kiowas. The regiment was then stationed in Arizona and New Mexico and spent the next ten years in operations against the Apaches. Their last action against the Indians was at Wounded Knee in 1890. Fighting did not come again until the short-lived Spanish-American war in 1898 where the unit was prominent in the battle of Santiago. The author was a 2nd Lieutenant when he joined the Sixth Cavalry in 1874 and remained on their rolls for his entire career. In 1900 he wrote this history of the unit and had it privately published in Baltimore. Unfortunately a large part of the edition was destroyed by fire, make the original book one of the scarcest and most expensive histories of a major military unit.

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About the Author

WILLIAM H. CARTER was born in Tennessee in 1851. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1873 and participated in many of the events described in this book. He retired a Major General in 1915. He was also the author of Old Army Sketches, and Horses, Saddles, and Bridles.JOHN M. CARROLL of Bryan, Texas, is a well-known military historian. He has authored or edited over 200 publications, including Custer in Texas, The Black Military Experience of the American West, and Von Schmidt the Complete Illustrator.

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The breaking point of the long continued strain between the sections was reached on the day when the election of Abraham Lincoln was made known, and yet the North was slow to believe that the South would hazard the fate of the republic because of political disappointment.

Events follows each other in evil combination until at last the veil was lifted from the eyes of the amazed men of the North. The stupendous war, which was to follow with all its attending horrors, was beyond the conception of the wisest thinkers of the age/ He who dared to intimate that enormous armies would be called into being before the rebellion could be crushed, was scorned as of unbalanced mind.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 343 pages
• Publisher: State House Press (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0938349422
• ISBN-13: 978-0938349426
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,277,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HooYah! My Cavalry Heritage in all it's glory, July 13, 2003

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This review is from: From Yorktown to Santiago: with the Sixth U. S. Cavalry (Hardcover)

Being a Texan, and a 6th cavalry veteran, I was very pleased to see the glorious history of my air cavalry brigade (currently assigned to Korea).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Story of A Fine Unit, September 18, 2001

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El Cutachero (MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Yorktown to Santiago: with the Sixth U. S. Cavalry (Hardcover)

The Sixth US Cavalry Regiment was organized in 1861 at Yorktown, VA, for service in the Regular Army during the Civil War. After the war, it served on the frontier and was in the Cavalry Division organized in 1898 for the invasion of Cuba. This was the division which also included the Black 9th and 10th Cavalry, and the 1st US Cavalry. The 1st US Volunteer Cavalry was also there. This book gives an outline history of the regiment through the years with most emphasis on the Civil War. Because most of the books were destroyed in a fire, this has been one of the scarcest...unit histories until this much needed reprint by this private press. With a short introduction by John M. Carroll, the well known historian of the Indian Wars, this fills a gap in many collections.