From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry by Theophilus F. Rodenbough, with forward by Edward G. Longacre, University of Oklahoma Press, 2000, 561 pages, with pictures, appendixes and other information about the Second Cavalry.

From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry is a reprint of a book written in 1875 by Captain Theophilus F. Rodenbough, late of the Second United States Cavalry. It is a narrative history of the now longest serving regiment in the U.S. Army, the 2nd Dragoons (now the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (Light). Rodenbough is not the sole voice, though, as he has included numerous recollections from officers and enlisted men alike. The descriptions of the battles reflect the fog of war, often reflecting the information at hand at the time, not third person histories written with the benefit of distance and time, making them all the more authentic.
Rodenbough served as an officer in the 2nd Cavalry from 1861 through 1870, retiring at the rank of Colonel of Cavalry because of wounds suffered in the Civil War, including the loss of an arm at the Battle of Opequan, VA. His descriptions of the life of the common soldier and officer, beginning with the Second Seminole War and concluding with the post-war campaigns through 1871 in the west are informative and graphic. If you are looking for a scholarly tome that details each battle and engagement with order of battle and maps, this is not the book for you. For the most part Rodenbough uses eyewitness accounts of contemporaries, many of which he knew or had access to and journals or published accounts for his information and stories, stringing them together in a roughly chronological order.
It seems that throughout the history Rodenbough relates, the 2nd Dragoons, renamed the Second United States Cavalry at the beginning of the Civil War, was in the front lines of every major engagement the U.S. Army fought. After being formed for the Second Seminole War the 2nd Dragoons immediately started earning its spurs. The losses suffered by the troops involved, mostly due to diseases, are described in some detail, losses which sometimes decimated companies. The Regiment required refitting and rebuilding after the end of the war, after which they were sent west. The 2nd Dragoons played a leading role in the war in Texas and then Mexico, guaranteeing losses which requiring another round of rebuilding and recruiting. This was a recurring event in the history of the 2nd Cavalry. In fact, at the close of the Civil War at the battle in which Rodenbough lost his arm, not a single officer was left to command the unit, causing the enlisted men to be put under command of the First Regiment.
If there was a dirty job to be done, an impossible mission to accomplish or a battery to be charged, the 2nd Dragoons were up to the job. The taking of the guns at Rasaca de la Palma by a squadron of the regiment under Captain May is only one of many examples of the brashness and dash of the regiment, the results of which were heavy casualties, among both man and beast. Other times they made long, forced marches with few rations through blizzards in search of elusive hostile Indians, explored untamed wilderness or endured seemingly unending boredom at frontier posts. Rodenbough and his contributors do a masterful job of telling the stories of these brave and intrepid soldiers.
A few things in the book surprised me. It seemed that most of the time the 2nd was actually commanded by a captain, major or lieutenant colonel in the field, the regimental commander being on detached duty or on staff. First or Second Lieutenants often commanded companies (Rodenbough never uses the word "troop") and Captains squadrons (any group of 2 or more companies was a squadron). Parts of companies often were parceled out to other companies or combined to form a larger force. One of the distinctions of the unit was that, when permitted, each company was mounted on like-colored horses.
The style of the book is that of the period, meaning that the language is formal and the vocabulary somewhat dated, but the stories come through loud and clear. As a former officer who served in the 2nd Armored Cavalry, which proudly still remembers Captain May and the rest of its history, this book made me all the more proud to have ridden in the same path. While the exertions of Border Duty were nothing compared to those of the wars Rodenbough writes about, the 2nd has always been the first to fight and the last one out.