The Tenth Cavalry

Benjamin H. Grierson, the regiment's colonel, was an unlikely cavalryman, the Handbook of Texas suggests. Kicked and nearly killed by a horse at eight, he grew up afraid of horses, led the Youngstown band at thirteen and taught music in Jacksonville, Illinois. His cavalry raid through Mississippi in late April 1863 made him a Northern hero. He and his wife came to love West Texas and planned to retire there. After his 1890 retirement he regularly visited his Fort Concho ranch until his 1897 remarriage gradually ended the trips. He died at his summer home at Omena, Michigan.

What the plaque says

Following the Civil War, the United States Congress authorized the creation of six regiments of black U.S. Army troops. The Tenth Cavalry was organized in 1867 under the leadership of Col. Benjamin Grierson (1826-1911). The order creating black troops also specified that they would be commanded by white officers. Facing problems of racial discrimination at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Grierson wanted the Tenth Cavalry reassigned to the West, and they arrived at Fort Concho in the Spring of 1875. The contributions of the men of the Tenth Cavalry to the settlement of the American West are of major importance. They took part in grueling scouting and mapping expeditions and campaigns against hostile Indians, often facing days without proper supplies or water on the high plains. They were instrumental in the defeat of the Mescalero Apache Indians led by Chief Victorio in 1880. The men of the Tenth Cavalry were stationed at Fort Concho until 1882, when they were moved to Fort Davis. Transferred frequently after 1885, members of the unit eventually served throughout the world, including Cuba, North Africa, Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. (1987)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Concho National Historic Landmark — steps away
  The stone post at the forks of the Concho, headquarters of the Tenth Cavalry from 1875 to 1882, saved by a woman with a museum and now a city-run landmark of 23 original buildings.
• San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts — steps away
  A free art museum on the Concho beside Fort Concho, founded in the fort's 1868 quartermaster building and known nationally for its biennial ceramics competition.
• Miss Hattie's Bordello Museum — 0.4 mi
  The upstairs rooms on Concho Avenue where a brothel ran from 1902 until the Texas Rangers closed it in 1952, shown on short guided tours with most of the furnishings original.
• Concho River Walk — 0.7 mi
  Four miles of lit trails along the North Concho through downtown San Angelo, rebuilt after voters taxed themselves in 2004, with gardens, sculpture, a river stage and stocked trout.

More markers nearby

• Fort Concho — steps away
• John Yellott Rust — 0.6 mi
• First United Methodist Church of San Angelo — 0.6 mi
• Sacred Heart Catholic Church — 0.6 mi