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PATTERN 1885 US ARMY GUIDON
USED BY THE 1ST SQUADRON OF CAVALRY, TROOP
B, OF THE NEW JERSEY NATIONAL GUARD, DURING THE PUNITIVE
EXPEDITION ON THE MEXICAN BORDER – OFFERED HERE WITH
ACCOMPANYING PERIOD PHOTOGRAPHS – A RARE GROUPING IN
EXCELLENT CONDITION: This is a very rare
offering of an original Pattern 1885 U.S. Army Guidon
identified to Troop B, 1ST Cavalry Squadron
of the New Jersey National Guard, dating from the period
of the Punitive Mexican Expedition of 1916. The guidon
is accompanied by a panoramic photograph taken of the
full company mounted on their horses while Troop B was
stationed on the border in Arizona.
The practice of displaying totems,
banners and flags to identify the leader of a unit on
the battlefield and mark his position certainly predates
written history, and it was from those displays of
military heraldry that the guidon emerged in the U.S.
Army.
In its familiar form the guidon first appeared in 1834,
when the newly formed 1ST Regiment of
Dragoons was authorized a silk red-over-white guidon,
with the letters "U.S." in white on the upper half and
the company letter in red on the lower half. The guidon
measured 27” high (“on the lance”) by 41” long (“on the
fly”), and had a 15” (measured on the diagonal) forked
swallow tail on the trailing edge. It is believed the
swallow tail design was incorporated so that the guidon
would better catch the breeze, extending it to its full
length on the fly, making the numerals and letters
easier to read.
The guidon was carried on a 9’ staff by the mounted
color bearer with the lower end of the staff secured in
a leather cup suspended by a leather strap from the
saddle or attached to the offside stirrup.
In the years following the adoption of the
red-over-white swallow tail design, there were some
minor changes, but by 1841 the army had settled on the
original design adopted in 1834.
Early in the Civil War, on January 18, 1862, the U.S.
Army issued General Order No. 4 directing "Guidons and
camp colors will be made like the United States flag
with stars and stripes." The dimensions were the same as
prescribed in 1834, but the new design consisted of gold
stars in two concentric circles with one star in each
corner of the canton.
This pattern of “National Ensign” guidon remained in use
through the early Indian Wars era until the regulations
published in 1885 ordered that the design of the guidon
would revert back to the Pattern 1834, with the
regimental number on the upper half and the letter of
the company, or troop, on the lower half.
This guidon fits the specifications of the Pattern 1885
Guidon, as detailed in the description published by S.
B. Holabird, Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army:
“Specifications for Cavalry
Guidons”
“Silk – To be of the best quality of banner
silk.
“Size – To be three (3) feet five )5 inches fly
from the lance and two (2) feet three (3) inches on the
lance; to be cut swallow-tailed fifteen (15) inches on
the fork.
“Design – Two (2) horizontal stripes, each
one-half (½) the width of the flag, the upper to be red
and the lower white. The upper stripe to have on both
sides, in the center, the number of the regiment in
white silk, and the lower the letter of the troop in red
silk. The letter and number to be block-shaped, four
and three fourths (4 ¾) inches high, and held in place
by a border of needle-work embroidery three-sixteenths
of an inch wide, of same color.
“Lance – To be one and one-fourth (1¼) inches in
diameter and nine (9) feet long, including spear and
ferrule.
“Case or cover – To be of water-proof material,
to protect the guidon when furled.
“Workmanship – To conform to standard sample on
file in the Quartermaster General’s Office.”
In 1895, additional regulations were published –
"Each troop of Cavalry will have a silken guidon...to be
used only in battle, campaign, or on occasions of
ceremony” The same regulation provided that
“Each troop will also have a service guidon made of
bunting or other suitable material” for daily use.
In 1922, the army abolished the requirement for silk
guidons, and they were withdrawn from service while
those made of bunting continued to be issued.
These army regulations
setting the pattern and defining the use of the Pattern
1885 Guidons serves to date this specimen as having been
made and used during the 37 years they were in service.
Further narrowing the period of use of this particular
guidon is the unit history of Troop B of the 1ST
Squadron of Cavalry, New Jersey National Guard.
Lineage of the 1ST
Squadron of Cavalry, New Jersey National Guard
In 1890 the Essex Troop, an elite group of horsemen,
formed in Newark to participate in civil functions and
parades. The Essex Troop mustered on May 17, 1893, and
the 52 officers and men present, dressed in full dress
uniform, swore the oath of allegiance to the state and
were designated as Troop A, Cavalry, National Guard of
New Jersey.
During the early 1900's the official name of the troop
was First Troop, New Jersey Cavalry. This designation
would remain in effect until the First Squadron of
Cavalry was formed into four troops of cavalry. The
original First Troop was split to form Troop A and Troop
C, with Troop B being formed at Red Bank, New Jersey,
reported in some sources as occurring in 1908. At some
point, Troop D was added to the squadron.
As a recognized unit headquartered in Newark, the fully
formed 1ST Cavalry Squadron cites its
organization as May 29, 1913. The growing revolutionary
climate and resulting unrest in Mexico would soon see
this recently formed squadron drawn onto to the
international stage.
On March 9, 1916, Poncho Villa crossed the border into
the United States and engaged elements of the 13TH
US Cavalry garrisoned in the small town of Columbus, New
Mexico. In the wake of Villa’s raid, President Wilson
declared a national emergency, resulting in the “call
up” and federalization of a number of National Guard
units from several states.
Along with other New Jersey
National Guard units, the 1ST Squadron of
Cavalry was mustered into federal service at Camp Wert,
at Sea Girt, New Jersey on June 21, 1916. Troops A, B,
C, and D were transported from New Jersey by rail,
arriving on July 4TH at Camp Harry J. Jones
located in Douglas, Arizona. Camp Jones was
strategically located on the Mexican Border in southeast
Arizona, where the town of Douglas shared a border
crossing with Agua Prieta, Mexico. Although the New
Jersey soldiers never engaged the Mexican revolutionary
forces, the area had seen some significant cross border
violence prior to their arrival and both the federal
government and the local citizens regarded the soldiers’
presence in the area as very necessary.
The history of the mobilization and service of the
National Guard units on the border is somewhat
conflicted, with widely varying reports depending on the
view of the historians and the written accounts they
recorded. For example, the unit history of the 1ST
Squadron of Cavalry reports that the four troops arrived
with all of their personnel and horses, fully equipped
to serve in the field. Supporting this claim are period
photographs taken during their time in Arizona,
capturing the soldiers mounted on their horses such as
the panoramic photograph of Troop B which accompanies
this guidon. One account captured in The History of
the Essex Troop recounts that on June 27TH
as the squadron was entraining in New Jersey for the
transfer to Arizona, and the troopers prepared to load
the horses, it was discovered that the livestock cars
provided by the railroad were double decked sheep cars –
useful in their own right, but hardly interchangeable.
Likely referring to the same situation, a letter from
one of the New Jersey troopers to his mother which was
published in the New York Times in which he related that
instead of horse cars, the railroad had provided chicken
and hog cars which the soldiers had to modify to
accommodate the horses, with considerable effort
expended in the process.
There are other accounts which report that the squadron
arrived in Arizona without their mounts and at least
until the horses caught up with the soldiers, the men
were drilled as infantry. Other sources describe the
soldiers as lacking uniforms, basic equipment such as
blankets and mess kits, and one report indicated that
Troops B and C did not have sufficient horses and
saddles. The accurate story of the mobilization lies
somewhere between these two extremes, but the surviving
photographic evidence is very compelling that the four
companies of 1ST Squadron of Cavalry were in
fact, mounted during their period on the border.
Throughout the almost four months the squadron was
stationed at Camp Jones, they appear to have acquitted
themselves very well, while gaining considerable field
experience and training from their partnership with
regular army units. At the end of their assignment in
Arizona, the 1ST Squadron of Cavalry returned
to New Jersey and was mustered out of federal service on
October 21, 1916.
This service along the border was to be the last major
assignment the 1ST Squadron of Cavalry would
enjoy in the company of their horses. With the entry of
the United States into World War One, the squadron was
again mustered into federal service in July of 1917,
only to be reorganized that September with its elements
being redesignated as follows:
Minus Troops B and D, the squadron was redesignated as
the 104TH Train Headquarters and Military
Police Company, attached to the 29TH Infantry
Division. Troops B and D were consolidated to form
Battery F, 110TH Field Artillery, also
attached to the 29TH.
The lineage of Troop B, 1ST Squadron of
Cavalry, New Jersey National Guard is well documented,
defining the troop’s existence within a relatively brief
period of no longer than eight years, however during
that period Troop B was one of the few National Guard
cavalry companies to have been mustered into federal
service and actually see service in the field along the
southern border. Within a very few months following
their return from the border, Troop B would again be
mustered into federal service, but without their horses
and then only to have their unit designation forever
changed, eliminating the need for this guidon. For the
proud cavalry troopers, those orders must have been a
bitter pill indeed, and it must have been just as
difficult for them to furl this flag for the final time
as it had been to bid goodbye to their horses. As the
world dramatically changed around them, their horses,
their saddles and this flag were left behind to
history.
This guidon has survived in excellent condition, showing
no significant evidence of wear. The silk is very solid
with no holes, tattering or fraying and it is overall
very clean, with only some very minor isolated spots of
soiling. The red field retains a bright vivid color
with no fading and the white field shows only minor
aging to a mellow ivory hue. The letters and numerals
are likewise in excellent condition, all retaining their
hem lines fully intact and all having a bright, clean
color. Measuring 41” on the fly, 28” on the hoist, and
20 ½” on the angle of the swallow tail, this guidon is
well within the variances which would have been allowed
in the manufacture of cloth items. The numeral “1” and
the letter “B” are the regulation 4 ¾” tall, while the
“N.J.” is 3 ½” high. The two “button-hole” leather tabs
for mounting the guidon on the lance are present,
however the slits in both tabs have worn through. There
is no loss of leather and this is not noticeable on
either tab except on close inspection – simply more
evidence that this guidon was carried.
A real added value to this guidon is the presence of the
full form, fully legible Philadelphia Depot, U.S. Army
Quartermaster Corps Inspector’s tag which is sewn inside
the lance pocket along the hoist. The tag is faintly
ink stamped with the numeral 21, indicating the
inspector who approved this guidon. The presence of
this tag is significant confirmation of the originality
of this guidon.
Accompanying the guidon in this offering is a panoramic
photograph of a company of cavalry men titled “Troop B;
New Jersey National Guard; Camped on the Mexican Border;
Douglas, Arizona”. [Note: The “Douglas, Arizona”
portion of the title is below the edge of the frame and
while visible when viewed in person, that line is not
visible in the photographs below.] Based on the title,
no doubt this image captures the very soldiers who
served under this guidon. Note that the sergeant
bearing the guidon is visible on the extreme left of the
line of soldiers. Based on the regulations governing
the use of the guidons, being that this image captures
the troop under arms in the field, it is almost certain
that the guidon displayed in this image is the silk
version. The image measures 48” long and 8” wide, and
of special value, the name of each of the 62 men
captured in the photo is identified below in a
handwritten notation.
Included in this grouping is an original period
photograph I found here in the San Antonio area years
ago, prior to acquiring the guidon and panoramic
photograph. This photograph captures several ambulances
parked in front of what is presumably a field hospital.
The ambulance in the center foreground is painted with
the red Geneva cross and below the cross is painted the
identifying legend, “FIRST SQUADRON CAVALRY NEW
JERSEY”. The reverse of the photograph bears the
photographer’s stamp, “COLE & Co. 204”. I have seen
other photographs capturing scenes of the Punitive
Expedition bearing Cole’s stamp and apparently he was
active along the border during that period. One has to
assume this image was taken during the squadron’s
assignment in Arizona. This photograph measures 4” by 2
½”, and the image is clear with no damage save for at
the corners where it was attached in an album.
Any surviving original U.S. Army silk guidon is a rare
artifact. Those which can be attributed to a specific
unit within the context of a recognized historical event
are almost non-existent on the market. The offering of
this Pattern 1885 Guidon, identified to Troop B of the 1ST
Squadron of Cavalry, New Jersey National Guard, and
accompanied by original period photographs of the unit
while stationed in Douglas, Arizona during the Punitive
Mexican Expedition on the United States – Mexican Border
is a very rare offering and one not likely to be seen
again any time soon. (0112) $3500
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