Oklahoma Journeys

Week of February 24, 2008

First Dragoons Organized

In the early 1830s the first Army forts were built in the Indian Territory, but the Army had to recruit soldiers to man those forts. It was this week of 1833 that the Army organized the First Dragoon Regiment for service at Fort Gibson. Life in the army on the western frontier was not at all what the movies made it out to be, and that’s the story on this week’s edition of Oklahoma Journeys from the Oklahoma Historical Society.

From the Oklahoma Historical Society, this is Oklahoma Journeys. I’m Michael Dean.

As the five civilized tribes were being removed from their homelands in the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the Indian Territory, the federal government felt the need to extend its influence into the western frontier. Thus three forts were built in the Indian Territory…Fort Gibson next to Tahlequah in the Cherokee Nation, Fort Towson in the Choctaw Nation, and Fort Washita in the Chickasaw Nation. The problem facing the Army was how to man these new outposts. It was in this week of 1833 that the Army organized the First Regiment of Dragoons. The dragoons were soldiers who could ride to battle and fight either on horseback or on foot. In reality they were the first unit of cavalry but with a different name. This was an elite unit, recruited from a better class than the rest of the army, with recruits coming from throughout the United States.

Who were these soldiers, members of the dragoons, this newly formed elite regiment? Congress specified they had to be native-born Americans, age 20 to 35, over 5 feet 5 inches in height, and most importantly, they had to be sober at the time of enlistment. Recruiters back east promised these prospective soldiers they would be “scouring the far prairies on fine horses, amid buffalo and strange Indians.” Additionally many joined because they were led to believe that their wants and comforts were to be attended to, that they would not be subject to Army discipline, and that they would have nothing to do but ride on horseback over the country, exploring the western prairies and forests, and indeed spend their time in continual delightful, inspiring occupations.

Life on the western frontier was tough. Duty was difficult. For recreation the troops formed a regimental band. The first members of the dragoons brought their fiddles, clarinets, and the banjo. Added to this was the drum and bugle, and in time they formed the regimental band. The band played for parades, ceremonies and social events. They played for the regiment when they left on expeditions, and they played for the annual ball held by the enlisted men with officers and their wives being invited guests. Often the bandmaster also served as the dancing master, instructing those needing it in the art of dance. They had a regimental library, and they were noted for their dramatic group that performed plays.

Far more dragoons died of illness than accidents or combat. Fort Gibson was known as the charnel house of the army. In 1834 after the Arkansas River flooded, there was standing water everywhere, and as a result, Fort Gibson suffered one of the worst outbreaks of malaria ever experienced by the Army.

You can learn more about the Army of the Western Frontier by visiting Fort Gibson near Tahlequah, or Fort Towson and Fort Washita, both in southeastern Oklahoma. All of these former military sites are owned and operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Oklahoma Journeys is a production of the Oklahoma Historical Society, dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing our State’s past. I’m Michael Dean.