Panoramic Photographic View of the Fifteenth U.S. Cavalry Fort Bliss, Tex. Medal of Honor Winner Apache Wars Veteran Col. G.H. Morgan Commanding
(15th U.S. Cavalry Fort Bliss Texas)
El Paso Texas: J.U. Medley, 1915. Panoramic photographic view of the mounted troops of the Fifteenth U.S. Cavalry; this being at the moment in history when the U.S. border was particularly troubled with the predations of Pancho Villa and where ranches and farms were attacked by the incursions of bandits from Mexico; very striking and good contrast, allowing terrific detail to be seen, even in the distant buildings of the surrounding area; typical photographer's handwritten indentifier in white ink on black ground on front foreground, giving title details; especially interesting is that each troop is identified, officers quarters, the Colonel, Adjutant, Lt. Col, Capt. of K. troop, with one member in particular, "Parker & Pancho (the horse?)", Sgt.'s quarters, "M.G.P. Machine Guns" all captions accomplished in a small, clear hand in black fine-lined ink and do not detract from the imagery and make the image more intriguing; size of photo: 10" x 53" length; Colonel George Horace Morgan was born in Canada in 1855 and Appointed from Minnesota, Cadet, United States Military Academy, June 1876; First Lieutenant, 3rd U.S. Cavalry, 12 June 1880 First Lieutenant, 26 November 1884 Captain, 15 March 1896 Major, 28th U.S. Volunteer Infantry, July 1899 Honorably discharged from the Volunteer Service, 1 May 1900 Breveted First Lieutenant, 27 February 1890 for 'gallant service in action' against Indians at Big Dry Wash, Arizona, 17 July 1882 where he was severely wounded and Awarded the Medal of Honor, 15 July 1892 for this distinguished conduct in action against hostile Apache lndians, holding his ground at a critical moment, and firing upon the advancing enemy until himself disabled by a shot; at the time he was serving as a volunteer with Lieutenant West's command of Indian Scouts and Troop I, 6th United States Cavalry; Colonel Morgan retired January 1, 1919 and besides being a holder of the Congressional MOH and every other honor possible to a distinguished cavalryman who participated in the Indian, Spanish and Philippine, and World Wars. On a contemporary note, Colonel Morgan is still thought of highly, so that 'Camp Morgan' was opened up in his honor in September 28, 2000, in Donja Slatina, near Samac in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina to aid the US forces there; The Colonel married Mary "Mollie" Brownson, who studied art and painting under the famed sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. (Mr. Borglum is noted most for his sculpting of the Mount Rushmore memorial) (Information: Arlington National Cemetery website); an interesting research sidenote for this photograph: one officer, the only one seated on a completely white horse in the foreground, who bears a striking resemblance to General Pershing; he was in the area at the time; also, Lt. George Patton is possibly located in this group shot, as he was sent to Fort Bliss in 1915 where he led routine cavalry patrols until 1916 when he accompanied General Pershing as an aide on his punitive expedition against Pancho Villa into Mexico. While on a foraging mission for the expeditionary force, Patton killed 'General' Cardenas, the head of Villa's bodyguard, and another Villista; Fort Bliss had a long military history in the Indian and Mexican conflicts and had been moved, built and rebuilt several times in the nineteenth century; it was predominantly a cavalry post from 1912 until 1942 when it became a center for antiaircraft artillery training; slight wear; end-tips creased slightly, now flattened out nicely; very slight 'roll' to the image, couple of tiny red spots, unobtrusive, may be wax; probably had been rolled for a long time; very good condition, a good Mexican border wars and Texas item and worthy of further research. Very Good (Item ID: 12524)
$750.00
