Dedicated to maintaining the history and life of the cavalry

JOHN ROBERTS

I was born the son of a simple country family in Chestertown, N.Y. in the year of 1828. I have always worked hard and kept busy from sun up to sun down so I have kept to myself and remained a bachelor so far. I mostly make my living as a logger. My family owns 2 sections of land with many fine stands of timber, mostly Cedar with a spattering of Oak and Hemlock. With the growth of this country lumber is always in demand and the mill pays a fair price. In the harsher times of winter I do piece work for my uncle in his blacksmith shop. This work is what caused my change in occupation. I got into a disagreement with Ronald and William Morehouse about a recent farrier job on one of their horses. They wanted to blame the loss of a shoe on my work and not their carelessness and a fence. I refused to reset the shoe for free and they tried to physically insist. After I wupped them both I decided to head west. Since their second cousin was the Sheriff and their uncle was the Judge I was sure to spend some time in jail. I had been hearing of the magnificent stands of timber out that way. I thought maybe if I made it to the Washington Territory I could file on some land and maybe even start my own lumber mill. I figured the best way to get there would be in the Dragoons. I could earn some money to get started and learn the lay of the land while I was at it. I hadn’t heard about too much trouble with Indians out that way so I figured it was a safe choice. With my prior experience using horses to skid logs, haul freight and even racing in county fairs I was sure to get assigned to a horse.

So in January of 1860 I got on a freight wagon headed for Albany where I found an Army recruiter. I was first sent to the Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. It was here that I learned that there was some regular fighting with hostile Indians. I started thinking maybe this wasn’t the safest choice but I would stay the course. Soon after that I moved onto Fort Leavenworth where I was attached to Co. A., a small contingent of other new recruits and other replacements headed for the Washington Territory. We made it to the rest of the Company without incident in August. For the next year there were a number engagements with hostiles but I learned quick, our 1st Sgt knew what he was about.

In August of 1861 we were re-designated as the 1^st Regiment US Cavalry. With the reality of the Southern Rebellion all the companies except D & G were brought in from the West. I had been hoping that the trouble would die down while I was away. I couldn’t believe we would soon be fighting against our fellow countryman.

We arrived at Camp Sprague outside Washington DC in January 1862. We are now part of the Army of the Potomac. I believe in keeping this country together so I will do my duty. I just hope I reach the end quickly and in one piece so I can get back to the Washington Territory. It does have some beautiful forests.