Albert P. Morrow

[elisabeth]

I hadn't realised till I stumbled on this today --

civilwarcavalry.com/?p=117

-- that for a brief period, the 7th had two of "Buford's Boys" among its officers. No more than a trivia snippet, perhaps, but rather a nice one!

[Melani]

Captured three times in one year--is that a record? And what unit was he with in the 1876 Sioux campaign?

[elisabeth]

Sounds as if he stayed with the 9th, from the way it's written -- but yes, it'd be nice to know more. I'll see what I can find!

[elisabeth]

Well, looks as if that may be an error. The 9th got involved with the Sioux at the time of the Ghost Dance craze, but not before that, as far as I can see. There's this, from the Journal of the Military Service Institution, Vol. XVI, No. 75, May 1895:

www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/R&H/R&H-9CV.htm

and this:

www.9thcavalry.com/timeline.htm

Sobering reading, this; it makes the 7th's record against Indians look very meagre indeed!

[fred]

Y'all--

Ah-h-h! Freddy-boy’s ubiquitous notes to the rescue:

* The 7th Cavalry was organized at Fort Riley, KS, in Aug66.
* About half the men first organized were foreign, many from Germany & Ireland.
* A great number could barely speak English.
* Organization was complete by Dec66.
* Commanding officer was COL Andrew J. Smith, who also commanded the District of the Upper Arkansas.
* Second in command was LTC G.A. Custer. Because of Smith’s additional duties, Custer became the de facto CO of the regiment.
* Company E was organized by 10Sep66.
* By Nov66 it was on duty at Fort Hays, KS.
* Co. E CO was CPT Albert P. Morrow; second in command was LT David W. Wallingford.
* By 1Jun67, the regiment was on the move. Companies B, C, F, G, I, & L were detailed to other KS posts. A, D, E, H, K, & M left Ft Hays & the Smoky Hill route & marched to the Platte. Morrow left E Co. & was replaced by CPT Edward Myers (born in Germany in 1830).

Not much, but... .

Best wishes,
Fred.

[ephriam]

According to Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the U.S. Army (p. 729), Albert Payson Morrow was mustered out of the volunteer service on Aug. 7, 1865 and then received his commission as a captain 7th Cavalry on July 28, 1866. He was promoted to major of the 9th Cavalry on March 6, 1867.

He was promoted and transferred to the 6th Cavalry in 1882; third cavalry in 1891 and retired the following year.

[elisabeth]

Great stuff, both.

No wonder Morrow was happy to transfer out of the 7th, if he had the ghastly Wallingford as his lieutenant! The 9th must have looked much more attractive ...

Fred, for once maybe I can add something to your notes! At least two companies, I & L, had left Fort Hays by as early as November 1866: Co. I to Fort Wallace, under Keogh, who took command there on November 30th; and Co. L, under Mike Sheridan, to Fort Morgan. The two travelled together as far as Wallace -- apparently taking in the Cheyenne conference at Fort Zarah on the way, which is rather interesting -- and Sheridan then continued on to Morgan, presumably arriving there in early December.

[Sources: the Langellier/Cox/Pohanka Keogh biography, pp 103-104, for the broad journey; New York Times Archive, story dated January 13th 1867, for the Fort Zarah stop-off. (I don't know if they were ordered to the Zarah conference to provide an extra military presence, or just decided it was something they ought to see for educational purposes. But their presence must have had official sanction, obviously.)]

Not sure when B, C, F & G left Hays, however.

[ephriam]

I have a little more information:

According to the Seventh Cavalry Regimental Returns, Company E left Fort Riley, Kansas, on October 12, 1866, for Fort Fletcher, renamed Fort Hayes the following month. Captain Albert P. Morrow joined the regiment Dec. 11, 1866 and took command of Co. E.

Lieut. Wallingford was assigned to Company E in January 1867, but was on detached service at Fort Riley in charge of recruits initially. He did not arrive at Fort Hayes until March 29, 1867. A few days later orders arrived promoting Morrow to Major in the Ninth Cavalry; Lieut. Wallingford assumed command of the company on April 8, 1867. It appears that Morrow and Wallingford’s service together only overlapped by a few days.

Company I and L were not at Fort Yates. Rather, they departed Fort Riley in November 1866 (exact dates not recorded).

Company B and C left Fort Riley in November 1866 for Fort Lyon
Company F and G left Fort Riley Oct. 12, 1866 for Fort Ellsworth

Hope this helps.

ephriam

[elisabeth]

Excellent stuff.

Am I right in thinking that Fort Ellsworth became Fort Harker very shortly after F & G would have arrived there?

[ephriam]

You are. For Ellsworth was renamed Fort Harker on Nov. 17, 1866.