13, October 1876 (+133)
To: General U. S. Scout
Headquarters Grand Army of the Frontier
Near Washington City
Copies to: (Bvt.) Col. Major Matt Lewis Chief of Staff,
(Bvt.) Col. Captain Barrett acting Chief of Staff,
(Bvt.) Col. Drydock Chief of Ordnance,
(Bvt. ) Col. Bull Schmidt Adjutant ,
and The ladies and gentlemen of the GAF at large
Sir:
I have the honor to submit my report following the 2009 Grand Muster of the Grand Army of the Frontier.
I moved into my temporary quarters at Fort Hartsuff Thursday 8 October afternoon only to have my presence required at near Willow Springs on Thursday evening. I returned to Fort Hartsuff Thursday evening at approximately 21:30. The Texas contingent had arrived Wednesday evening. The most of rest of the men arrived late Thursday afternoon and evening.
Friday morning the men breakfasted on a hearty breakfast of biscuits and gravy that Delmonico had prepared. The men departed for the scout by buggy, buckboard or whatever other means available. Upon arrival at the sight of the anticipated action, operations commenced with the long range rifle and long range pistol matches which ran concurrently. The match was found to be quite challenging as the top shooter only managed 11 hits out of 15 shots. The men fared better on the long range pistol course and the top place had to be decided in a sudden death tie breaker as Col. Diamond and Lt. Col. Cherry Lake Jake each cleaned the match. In the end Lt. Col. Cherry Lake Jake took top honors. At noon Captain Delmonico brought a hearty meal of stew to the Army’s field headquarters. Following the mid-day break the men found themselves occupied with the Wild Bunch side match. After setting targets the command returned to the barracks. After restoring ourselves with an outstanding evening meal we busied ourselves with preparations for the coming day’s action and renewing old acquaintances.
During the night one of the Texicans gleefully reported that during a trip to the latrine he had discovered that it was snowing… heavily! After comments questioning the Texas contingent’s intelligence and or sanity the men returned to sleep to rest for what promised to be a strenuous and cold two days. We awoke the next morning to nearly 6” of snow.
I had deemed it necessary to divide the command into three nearly equal columns in the hopes that we might engage the hostiles in a pincers movement. This proved impractical as the resultant columns were below full strength. I therefore divided the third column between the first two and we pitched in. At noon we retired to the barracks to warm ourselves with a cup of hot coffee and a fine meal by Delmonico and his assistant Rick. Following the meal we returned to the field and the men performed admirably. At the end of the day we placed the next day’s targets and returned to the post to prepare for photos and the banquet. Following a grand meal the bounteous door prizes were awarded. Each of the participants received at least 2 door prizes. I should here express my gratitude to the members of the door prize committee consisting of Major River City John, Lt. Col. Capt. Larry Little, Major Bow View Haymaker, Lt. Col. Mustang Gregg. Their tireless effort resulted in an almost unbelievable number of prizes. Following the distribution of the door prizes a few speeches were made including one by my Sgt. Major, Texas Sarge explaining the benefits of the site of the upcoming 2010 Grand Muster in Lockhart Texas.
Sunday morning we once again launched into action in spite of temperatures that were once again in the low 20’s. The snow greatly impeded our progress and we were not able to complete all 10 planned stages. We returned to Fort Hartsuff and dined together again one last time. While the men policed up the barracks and surrounding area Lt. Col. Tagalon and I totaled the scores, which are as follow:
Brigade Champion:
(Bvt.) Col. Drydock (1st place Mil-Spec. repeater, 1st place dress Uniform)
I would like to also congratulate here, Cherry Lake Kate from the Division of Minnesota. While her uniform was superb and her shooting was outstanding (she had 4 clean stages) she was unable to dislodge Col. Drydock from his place atop the Brigade Champion standings due to, at least in part, the fact that her 2 wins were uncontestedand therefore earned only 8 points instead of the full 10. Some time back some concern was raised that a woman would not ever be able to win an Iron Trooper. I believe Kate’s accomplishments should have dispelled that myth.
The Division of Missouri won the Division Plate race. Col. Dydock lead the way for the Division by winning both the Mil-Spec. repeater and dress uniform contests.
Smokeless Milspec Repeating Rifle
1 Lt. Col. Drydock 2 Charles Isaac 3 Col. Diamond
Black Powder Milspec Repeating Rifle
Curly LaGrande
Smokeless Milspec Single Shot
1 Cherry Lake Jake 2 Capt. Mack 3 Pitspitr
Black Powder Milspec Single Shot
1 Texas Sarge 2 Rattlesnake Jack Robson 3 River City John
Smokeless Scout
1 Sparky Black 2 Scruffy Skippy 3 Capt. D. C. Case
Black Powder Scout
1 M.T. Brass
Staff Officer
1 Capt Montgomery Little
Lady Smokeless Milspec Repeating Rifle,
1 Cherry Lake Kate
Infantry
1 Dusty Tagalon
Buffalo Scout
1 Kanza Kurt
Dress Uniform
Col. Drydock
Fatigue Uniform,
Capt. Mack
Civilian Clothes; Lady’s,
Cherry Lake Kate
Camp Award
1 Lt. Col. Kit Peak Kid 2 Major River City John 3 Windy City Joe
In the side matches the competition was quite spirited. The Smokeless long range pistol went into sudden death.
Smokeless Long range pistol:
1 Lt. Col. Cherry Lake Jake 2 Col. Diamond 3 Windy City Joe
Black Powder Long range pistol:
1 Sgt. Major Texas Sarge 2 Col. Rattlesnake Jack Robson 3 Capt. River City John
Smokeless Long Range SS Rifle:
1 Col. Pitspitr 2 Lt. Col. C. L. Jake 3 Windy City Joe
Smokeless Long Range Milspec Repeating Rifle:
1 Curly LaGrande 2 Col. Diamond 3 Col. Drydock
Smokeless Long Range Lever Action Rifle:
1 Lt. Col. Capt. Little 2 Lt. Ned Neiderlander 3 Cactus Rope
Black Powder Long Range SS Rifle:
1 Col. Rattlesnake Jack Robson
Black powder Long Range Lever Action Rifle:
1 Major Dalton Masterson
Wild Bunch
Battle Rifle:
1 Lt. Ned Neiderlander 2 Lt. Col. Dusty Tagalon 3 Col. Drydock
Lever Action:
1 Major Dalton Masterson 2 Col. Diamond 3 Lt. Col. Cherry Lake Jake
Ladies Lever Action:
Cherry Lake Kate
The Battle Rifle Classes continue to grow and gain in popularity. It was very gratifying to see the strides made by the men and women of the Grand Army of the Frontier in terms of equipping themselves with Battle Rifles and historically accurate uniforms. Of the nearly 30 participants, only about 20 percent participated in the scout classes. Just four short years ago everyone except Col. Robson completed the course of fire with Lever guns. Now battle rifles out number the standard cowboy guns by nearly 5 to one.
I personally enjoy unique matches, ones that allow participants to do or see something that they won’t get to experience anywhere else. This year’s match allowed that if for no other reason than the opportunity to shoot in greatcoats and fur caps.
It has been my honor and privilege to serve the Grand Army of the Frontier as the Grand Muster director the last two years, but I look forward to next year’s match at Lockhart Texas.
I remain,
Your Ob'd Servant,
(Bvt.) Col. Jerry M. Davenport
Commander, Department of the Missouri
Grand Army of the Frontier