US Cavalry Association

08/28/2026

Figure It Out Friday

These cavalrymen were assigned to a place where they performed an important job for nearly four decades, yet their contributions were largely forgotten.

Can you identify:

Where this photograph was taken?
Which cavalry regiments these soldiers represented?
What unusual role they performed there?

This one is for our serious historians. Place your best guess in the comments, but no searching!

08/27/2026

📬 Last chance to get the September 2026 U.S. Cavalry Journal delivered to your door!

The September issue of the U.S. Cavalry Journal will be mailed next week, which means this weekend is the final opportunity to join the U.S. Cavalry Association and be added to the mailing list for this issue.

Your membership does more than bring the Journal straight to your mailbox. It also helps support our Museum, Library, Archives, educational programs, and our mission to preserve and share the valuable history of the United States Cavalry for future generations.

🐎 Join this weekend to receive the September Journal!

📞 Call the USCA office Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. CST

🌐 Or join online anytime at:
www.uscavalryassociation.org/join/

Become part of the U.S. Cavalry Association and help us keep Cavalry history alive, preserved, and accessible.

08/26/2026

What Happened Wednesday: Buffalo Soldiers at the Battle of Ambos Nogales

On August 27, 1918, soldiers of the 10th U.S. Cavalry, the famed Buffalo Soldiers, went into battle on American soil along the Arizona-Mexico border.

But the Battle of Ambos Nogales did not erupt out of nowhere.

For nearly a decade, the Mexican Revolution had created instability along the border. Rival factions fought for control of Mexico, weapons crossed the international line, and American troops regularly patrolled the region. In 1915, Mexican authorities erected an eleven-wire fence along International Street in an effort to control movement and prevent weapons from reaching enemy forces. It was removed later that year, but tensions continued.

Those tensions grew even sharper after the United States entered World War I in 1917. The intercepted Zimmermann Telegram had revealed Germany's proposal for an alliance with Mexico if Mexico entered the war against the United States. American military intelligence also received reports of German activity around Nogales, although historians continue to debate the extent of direct German involvement in the fighting.

By August 1918, the border situation was increasingly volatile. Mexican troops had established positions overlooking the American side, armed men were gathering around Nogales, and U.S. forces were closely watching the international line. The 10th Cavalry was among the units assigned to patrol and defend the region.

At approximately 4:10 p.m. on August 27, a Mexican civilian attempted to cross the international boundary without stopping for inspection. A U.S. customs official ordered him to halt. The confrontation quickly escalated into gunfire.

Within minutes, the international boundary had become a battlefield.

Lieutenant Colonel Frederick J. Herman of the 10th Cavalry rushed his Buffalo Soldiers forward, while elements of the 35th Infantry joined the fight. Troops of the 10th Cavalry advanced against positions overlooking Nogales. During the battle, Captain Joseph D. Hungerford of Troop C was killed while leading his men, and First Sergeant James T. Penny assumed command of the troop.

The fighting continued until Mexican officials requested a conference and a cease-fire was arranged. By the following day, American and Mexican commanders had resolved the immediate confrontation.

The Battle of Ambos Nogales also had a lasting physical consequence.

Although Mexican authorities had briefly erected a fence between the two Nogales communities in 1915, the violence of August 1918 helped lead to the construction of a permanent border barrier, creating a much more visible division between Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora.

The Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry are often remembered for their service during the Indian Wars, but their story continued far beyond the nineteenth-century frontier. At Ambos Nogales, they were still serving on America's western border, this time amid the Mexican Revolution and the global tensions of World War I.

That’s what happened this week in U.S. Cavalry history.



Sources:

U.S. Army, Fort Huachuca Museum, The 10th Cavalry and the Battle of Ambos Nogales, historical publications on the 10th Cavalry and border service.

National Park Service, historical materials on the Battle of Ambos Nogales and the U.S.-Mexico border during World War I.

Arizona Memory Project, Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, historical records and newspaper material concerning Ambos Nogales.

Library of Congress, materials concerning the Mexican Revolution, U.S.-Mexico border relations, and the Zimmermann Telegram.

National Archives and Records Administration, records relating to U.S. military operations along the Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution and World War I.

08/25/2026

08/25/2026

Trooper Tuesday: Dr. Wilbert Fred Wilson

Today we remember Dr. Wilbert Fred Wilson, one of the last surviving veterans of the historic Buffalo Soldier regiments.

Born on October 25, 1920, in Stamps, Arkansas, Wilson entered the U.S. Army in 1941 and served with the 10th U.S. Cavalry during World War II. He worked as an Army medic during the final years of the regiment’s horse-mounted era and served at a time when the U.S. military was still segregated.

The 10th Cavalry helped defend the American Southwest, including the California-Mexico border region, where troops guarded transportation routes, communications facilities, water systems, and other critical infrastructure against the threat of enemy attack or sabotage.

Wilson was honorably discharged from active duty in 1943 and reportedly continued serving in the Army Reserve, later attaining the rank of captain.

His experience as a medic helped inspire a second remarkable career. Wilson became a physician and practiced medicine in California before retiring to Tulsa, Oklahoma, around 1975.

In retirement, he devoted much of his time to preserving Buffalo Soldier history. Through public programs, school visits, and his involvement with the Ninth and Tenth Horse Cavalry Association, Wilson helped ensure that younger generations understood that the Buffalo Soldier story did not end on the nineteenth-century frontier.

Dr. Wilbert Fred Wilson died on July 9, 2007, and was buried with military honors at Fort Gibson National Cemetery.

His life connected the Buffalo Soldiers, World War II, medicine, and public history in one extraordinary journey of service.

Trooper Tuesday honors Dr. Wilbert Fred Wilson, 1920–2007.

08/24/2026

Museum Monday: Army Commendation Medal

This week’s Museum Monday features an Army Commendation Medal from our Rosanski Collection. Rosanski served with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War.

The Army Commendation Medal is awarded for heroism, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service. Originally established as the Army Commendation Ribbon in 1945, the familiar medal was later authorized and officially became the Army Commendation Medal in 1960.

The bronze, hexagonal pendant features an American eagle with a shield on its breast and three crossed arrows below. Its distinctive ribbon is myrtle green and white, with five narrow white stripes through the center. Also preserved with the medal are Rosanski’s matching ribbon bar and lapel emblem.

Artifacts like this allow us to preserve the individual stories behind the uniforms, units, and campaigns of U.S. Cavalry history.

Source: U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, Army Commendation Medal

08/21/2026

FIGURE IT OUT FRIDAY!

This week’s mystery is hiding a few clues right in plain sight.

This ribbon in the U.S. Cavalry Association collection is marked:

“110th Cavalry
Mounted Service Night
1926
101st Field Artillery”

But that leaves us with plenty of questions.

What exactly was a “Mounted Service Night” in 1926? Why were the 10th Cavalry and 76th Field Artillery connected to the same event? Was this ribbon awarded for a competition, exhibition, military tournament, or something else?

And, of course, who might have taken this ribbon home nearly 100 years ago?

We have our theories, but for Figure It Out Friday, we want to hear yours first.

Cavalry historians, artillery experts, collectors, and military-history detectives, what can you tell us?

Drop your research, sources, theories, or educated guesses in the comments. 🕵️‍♀️🐎

08/20/2026

We are braving the heat today to get National Flyers out to the community!

If you are a local Canadian County business we missed, contact us!

08/19/2026

🐎📜 WHAT HAPPENED WEDNESDAY: Kilpatrick’s Cavalry Strikes Jonesborough

On August 19, 1864, roughly 4,400 Union cavalrymen under Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick rode into Jonesborough, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign.

Their objective was critical: damage the Macon & Western Railroad, the vital rail line still supplying Confederate forces defending Atlanta.

After fighting their way into Jonesborough, Kilpatrick’s troopers tore up sections of track and burned railroad buildings and supplies. But destroying a railroad permanently was no simple task. Heavy rain hampered efforts to heat and twist the rails, while Confederate cavalry and infantry were closing in, forcing the raiders to keep moving.

The Confederates repaired the damage quickly, and trains were again running into Atlanta within only a few days.

The raid demonstrated both the reach and the limitations of cavalry operations. Mounted troops could strike deep behind enemy lines, disrupt communications, destroy supplies, and threaten vital infrastructure, but holding ground long enough to permanently sever a railroad was another matter.

The experience helped convince Major General William T. Sherman that cavalry raids alone would not be enough. Later that month, he moved much of his army against the railroads south of Atlanta, helping force the Confederates to evacuate the city.

On August 19, 1864, thousands of cavalrymen rode into Jonesborough and struck directly at the lifeline keeping Atlanta supplied.

🐎 Remember the Troopers.

08/18/2026

🐎⚔️ TROOPER TUESDAY: COL Thompson Lamar “Tom” Raney

For this week’s Trooper Tuesday, we remember a cavalryman whose Army career began on horseback and carried him through three wars and nearly four decades of service.

Colonel Thompson Lamar “Tom” Raney was born March 13, 1920, in Fresno, California. He entered the Army in 1939 and joined the 6th Cavalry at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, serving in Headquarters Troop as a radio packhorse driver. He later attended Officer Candidate School at Fort Riley and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Cavalry in July 1942.

Assigned to the 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, Raney went overseas in 1944 and landed at Omaha Beach on June 24. The battalion fought across Normandy, Northern France, Belgium, Holland, the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.

On August 24, 1944, at Miserey, France, Raney encountered a superior enemy force while helping establish a command post. He led the attack, captured the town, and took approximately 60 enemy soldiers prisoner. For his actions, he received the Silver Star.

In 1945, while commanding the battalion’s Reconnaissance Company during operations across Germany and the Rhine, his leadership under heavy resistance earned him the Bronze Star.

Raney later served in Korea, commanded with the 12th Cavalry in Germany, served on the Army General Staff at the Pentagon, completed two tours in Vietnam, and served as G-3 of VII Corps and U.S. European Command.

His decorations included the Silver Star, multiple Bronze Stars, four Legions of Merit, three Army Commendation Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Tom remained devoted to cavalry throughout his life. He loved horses, served as president of the 823rd Tank Destroyer Association, and was inducted into the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame.

Colonel Raney passed away October 26, 2005, at age 85 and rests with his wife, Marianne, at Arlington National Cemetery.

From packhorses to tank destroyers, Korea to Vietnam, Tom Raney truly lived a lifetime of service.

Once a Trooper, always a Trooper. Remember the Troopers. 🐎