Nick Stern  | 03 Jul 2019 7:08 a.m. PST |
I am attempting to map out the terrain represented in the film "Ulzana's Raid". In the movie, distances are quoted in terms of time. For example, it takes two hours to ride from Fort Lowell to the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Based on: "Forty Miles a Day on Beans and Hay" would five miles an hour be a reasonable average, or does that represent walking the horse half the time? Would a fit horse and rider be able to travel faster than 5 MPH? |
| Grelber | 03 Jul 2019 8:06 a.m. PST |
Peter Young has cavalry at the walk moving at 4 mph, and at a mixed walk and trot 5 mph, at the trot 8 mph and 12 mph at the gallop. Of course, horses couldn't gallop for two hours. A two hour ride might include a few minutes to water the horse. Grelber |
| 79thPA | 03 Jul 2019 8:27 a.m. PST |
Travel speed is going to depend on a number of factors, to include terrain, weather, and condition of both the horse and rider, etc. That said, I seem to recall reading that 25 miles per day was the typical travel rate of ACW cavalry. A horse in decent shape can trot at 8 or 9 MPH for 20 minutes. At least that is what I have read as I am not a horse guy. Your bigger problem is that the San Carlos Indian Reservation is almost 200 miles from Fort Lowell. I know at least one "horse guy" is on TMP and, hopefully, he(they?) will chime in. |
| donlowry | 03 Jul 2019 9:07 a.m. PST |
Cavalry could reasonably be expected to make 30 miles a day -- for a few days. After that, the infantry passes them. |
| advocate | 03 Jul 2019 9:28 a.m. PST |
And are you moving in friendly territory or might you be attacked? If the latter, formation and caution will slow you down. |
 ColCampbell | 03 Jul 2019 10:41 a.m. PST |
I'm reading The Real Horse Soldiers about Grierson's 1863 raid through Mississippi. In it Grierson really pushed his troopers, sometimes riding 25 to 30 miles per day. That was almost too much for the horses, especially at times when they were traversing swampy terrain in east central Mississippi. The terrain you're talking about traversing is definitely not swampy, but it will be more hilly, rocky, and dry than what Grierson's troopers covered. Also watering horses will be a crucial task. Jim |
| Frederick | 03 Jul 2019 11:32 a.m. PST |
Depends a bit on the terrain – in theory US cavalry were expected to cover 40 miles a day over good terrain, in practice closer to 20 |
| John the Greater | 03 Jul 2019 12:08 p.m. PST |
I'm not sure where you got a two hour ride from Ft Lowell to the San Carlos reservation. It's about 140 miles (233 km) which is a pretty good clip even by car today. Riding over rough desert terrain and taking stops to rest I would say 20 mph (33.3 km/hr) would still be at the high end of possibility. |
| Nick Stern | 03 Jul 2019 1:43 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the all the input. I didn't make up the distance between the fort and the reservation, it's straight from the movie. At the fort, McIntosh says he will ride to the reservation in a couple of hours. He arrives and confronts the Indian Agent then he rides back to the fort and joins the cavalry patrol, all in the same day. What can I say? It's Hollywood. |
| dBerczerk | 03 Jul 2019 6:51 p.m. PST |
28mm cavalry move at 4 MPH. 54mm cavalry move at 6 MPH. |
| John the Greater | 04 Jul 2019 11:11 a.m. PST |
What can I say? It's Hollywood. I'm stunned…… |
| raylev3 | 05 Jul 2019 10:06 p.m. PST |
I used to ride with B Troop, 6th Cavalry at Fort Huachuca, AZ. (Ceremonial and parades, but we sometimes rode across the desert…BTW if you're not accustomed to horses, even riding two days straight is PAINFUL AS HELL.) We were trained, and per the book, that routinely it was a walk and trot to cover distance, with a pause to rest the horses every hour. So I'd go with Peter Young's 5MPH estimate. Obviously, in an emergency, you could push the horses faster, and individuals could move even faster. |
| Ed Mohrmann | 11 Jul 2019 9:49 a.m. PST |
If anyone really wants to know about the ins and outs
of cavalry travel in Arizona 1862 – 1888 (roughly
the period during which the USA attempted to subdue
the various tribes called 'Apache') I'd recommend
Peter Cozzen's first volume in his Indian wars series. The accounts he quotes (complete, in most cases) make
it seem difficult to understand how horse-borne (or
mule-borne) soldiers, scouts and packtrains got
anywhere. The terrain was VERY demanding on the men
and animals. Cozzens does cite instances where
individuals or small groups (2 or 3 men) might cover
30 miles in a day, but those are rare. Remember, these were written by people who 'were there,
did that' and Cozzens is careful to cite 3 or more
sources for each of the instances on which he reports. The loss in animals was particularly high, especially
when the troops operated in mountainous terrain. |
