Mounted Service School
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The United States Army Cavalry School was part of a series of training programs and centers for its horse mounted troops or cavalry branch.


History

In 1838, a Cavalry School of Practice was established at Carlisle Barracks,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, which in time also became the Army's recruiting center for new mounted recruits. Commanded by
Edwin Vose Sumner Edwin Vose Sumner (January 30, 1797March 21, 1863) was a career United States Army officer who became a Union Army general and the oldest field commander of any Army Corps on either side during the American Civil War. His nicknames "Bull" or "Bul ...
, the program was started from scratch. The close association between field artillery and mounted units began with the location of the Army's light artillery, also in Carlisle, in 1839. Captain Samuel Ringgold trained his recruits and tested equipment for the "flying artillery", as it was called, and gained fame during the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
. Beginning in the 1880s, the U.S. Army reestablished schools to provide intensive training in military specialties. The first of these was the School of Application for Infantry and Cavalry, founded at
Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...
,
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
in 1881 by
William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
. For graduates of the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
, the school allowed practical application of the theories they had learned at the academy. Here, also, student officers detailed from the field improved their knowledge of their profession. In 1901, the school was expanded into the General Service and Staff College and opened to officers of all branches; today, it is the
Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
In 1887, the U.S. Congress appropriated $200,000 for a school at
Fort Riley, Kansas Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Gea ...
, to instruct enlisted men in cavalry and light artillery, but five years went by before the Cavalry and Light Artillery School was formally established and moved from Fort Leavenworth. The Fort Riley post hospital, built in 1855, was remodeled in 1890 and became the headquarters and home for the school. In the years that followed, the school changed names. It was called the Mounted Service School from 1907 until
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when instruction ended for the duration of the war. In 1919, the Cavalry School took its place and continued until October 1946. With the final disposition of tactical cavalry horses in March 1947, the Army ended all training and educational programs dealing with mounted troops. With the closure of the cavalry school, a new educational function continued on 1 November 1946 at Fort Riley with the Ground General School, training newly commissioned officers in basic military subjects. After 1950, it continued as the Army General School until May 1955, when Fort Riley's education and training mission ended as it became the headquarters for the U.S. 1st Infantry Division.


U.S. Cavalry Museum

In 1957, Building 205, the former home of the Cavalry School became the U.S. Cavalry Museum, telling the story of this branch of service from the American Revolution to the 1950s.


See also

*
U.S. Army Remount Service A part of the Quartermaster Corps, the U.S. Army Remount Service provided horses (and later mules and dogs) as remounts to U.S. Army units. Evolving from both the Remount Service of the Quartermaster Corps and a general horse-breeding program unde ...
*
United States Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army. Organization The school is made up of the following components: * 197th Infantr ...


References

{{reflist


External links


– "Army Service School" in Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons. 1912

U.S. Cavalry Museum at Fort Riley
United States Army schools