The Muskogee cimeter. [volume] (Muskogee, Indian Territory, Okla.) 1901-19??, 1916-08-05
THE GALLANT TENTH CAVALRY
HATS OFF!

tThis editorial closes Isaac Fishers
work on Tuskegee FarmerD
Somewhere In the wilds of Mexico,
without Christian burial but with
bodies cold and stark upon the
ground bodies pierced by bullets oil
steel-under the withering heat by
day and watched by thesilent moon
and stars by night, unpitted out
there. save by mcrciful Cod
somewhere In str.fc-tOrn Mexico,
there rest in death the Hover of the
gallant Tenth Cavalry Negro sol
diers, who wore the uniform or the
United States OF America.
The story Of "a Battle.
We have not all the facts tJune
26), but on June Il, 1916, General
Frederick Funston reported that
There was a clash this morning al
Carrizal. near villa Ahumada, be
tween Carranza and American troops
In which General Gomez and others
were killed, the number unknown.
The number of American killed or
wounded unknown The report
further stated that the Americans
were decoyed into IA trap by flag oi
the American troops were the Tenth
Cavalry
On June %. 1t became definitely
known that troops { and k OF tn"
Tenth Cavalry, colored, were the
American soldiers in the engage
ment and that they held the hcld
for FIVE hours before retreating, al
though they were outnumDercd
to l."
On June %, seven survivors OF
those engaged in the battle at Car
rizal struggled into the American
Headquarters and General Pershing
reported To our Government that the
American cavalry command engaged
at Carrizal was the object of IA
treacherous attack by Carranza sol
diers and virtually was wiped out.
The manner and cause of this
"wiping out" Is pertinent:
Reaching point within one mile
OF Carrizal on the morning of June
81, Captain Boyd, senior officer in
command of troops G and h, sent a
note to General Gomez, Mexican
commander. askin- porn .o.yh TO
pass through the town. soc, .cral Co
mez requested IA con %, with Cap
tain Boyd before l.IuutE the re
quest. and "A flag Of ,.., VAS raised
while the two sides conferred.
Mark. now although the truce
should have prevented this, just as
the conference concluded. a terrible
Mexican machine gun began pouring
"A hail of bullets into the ranks of the
Tenth Cavalry. Let the Associated
Press finish the story:
Captain Boyd had ordered his
men tn dismount as the machine gun
opened fire. and the combined effort
of the Mexican charge, the machine
gun fire and the rifle fire from the
Mexican garrison at CarriZal, which
had almost surrounded the little
American force under cover of the
parley sought by General Gomez,
stampeded the horses.
with their mounts gone, caught
without means OF escape, ringed
about on three sides with the fire OF
an overwhelming force the fate Of the
little detachment Is believed by oili-
GERS here to have been sealed.
1T is thought that only the most
stupendous luck backed by desperate
yalor could have oXtricated Captain
Boyd's men from the trap.
Since these reports, we have had
very little real news as To how many
OF our boys were massacred; hut we
know that the flower of the com
mand have been sent To their death
or disabled.
How Did They Die? How Fight?
How did these soldiers die? They
died as they had lived since they put
on the uniform like brave men.
They have been praised again and
again for their bravery, soldierly
qualities and great value To the ser
vice OF the United states. But lets
read the record
General Porshing Oeading the eN-
pedition into McNico) reported that
the troops under Captain Boyd and
Captain Morcy showed the greatest
courage and exhibited the most ster-
ling lighting qualities.
Said another message from the
American field headquarters.
Trapped and lighting against
heavy odds, the troops of the Tenth
Cavalry. engaged at Carri2al on
Wednesday, charged twice directly
into the jaws of the ambush which
the MeXicans had laid for them
But there is still another tribute.
which We must preserve for all
times. Speaking of the bloody battle
OF the Alamo and the brave Ameri-
cans who, trapped like rats, gave
their lives there for their country,
the editor OF the Atlanta Constitu-
tion declares that the stand those
white Americans mads at that bloody
place "will ever he recorded as one
of the most notable heroic incidents
of world history"
Now mark the following tribute
from that writer:
"And so II seems that Carrnal l. tn
become another Alamo! With the
same trap, the same heroic defense,