U.S. Cavalry Museum

Fort Riley, Kansas (USA)

Originally called Camp Center, Ft. Riley was established in the 1850s to provide protection to immigrants migrating westward on the Oregon and Sante Fe Trails. Its cavalry units policed the Kansas Territory during the pro and anti-slavery bloodshed that preceded the Civil War and it was the last home of General George Armstrong Custer before he met his fate at the battle of the Little Big Horn. The museum includes exhibits of cavalry activities from their early beginnings in the Revolutionary War up to their modern deployment in the Persian Gulf. It also features the work of outstanding military artists in both oil and bronze.

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IMPORTANT: Ft. Riley is a secured military compound. To gain admittance to the base you must first stop and obtain a visitor's pass. You will be required to provide photo ID. Admission to the museum is free but donations are gladly accepted.
A cavalryman of the U.S.-Mexican War (1846 - 1848)
This statue reminds me of "Comanche", the only representative of the U.S. Army left wounded but alive at the site of Custer's defeat near the Little Big Horn River in present day Montana.
A dragoon of 1833 wielded the first "recognized" major cavalry sword produced in the early United States. It was patterned after an 1820 British saber.
The dress helmet of an Apache scout.
Then Captain George B. McClellan traveled to Europe to examine the saddles used in the Crimean War before developing his trademark McClellan saddle.
"Light Horse Harry" Lee, father of the famous Civil War General Robert E. Lee, led his cavalrymen in lightning swift raids during the American Revolutionary War. His unit captured over 400 British Soldiers in an attack on Paulus Hook, New Jersey.
Join the Cavalry!
The U.S. Cavalry Museum is open to the public from 9:00 to 4:30, Monday- Saturday; 12:00 to 4:30, Sunday. It is closed Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.
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Page Designed and Created by Mary Harrsch
Background Image "2nd Cavalry Bugler"
by Don Troiani, 1989, oil on canvas
All Images copyright 2002
Permission granted for noncommerical, educational use with appropriate credit