COL. ALONZO GRAY IN WEST TEXAS. 1916

Col. Alonzo Gray-U.S. Cavalry

A view of the Pecos River from the bridge today.

This is what is left of Shumla now. It's an old motel right on the railroad tracks.

This might not be as exciting for some of you as it is for me because we have lived near these places for the last few years. I wish he'd described his few short weeks at Ft. Marfa (later known as Ft. Russell). We used to go there alot during our years in Pecos...it was about 90 miles from us. That must've been SOME march from Marfa to San Antonio. Luckily it took place in October so the weather wasn't too awfully hot. We now live just 45 miles south of Shumla, Texas.  Picture this trip that Alonzo describes (across the bridge) in your mind's eye...it must have been terrifying and if you've ever been ON the Pecos River Bridge, you would realize what a feat it was...1600 men! We enjoy living in Del Rio. There are many canyons, high cliffs and caves with pictographs nearby. Of course I spent part of my youth at Ft. Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, which was their destination, after 24 days on the march.

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A page taken from my great grandfather's memoirs:
"  In August, 1916, I was promoted to Colonel and left in command of Ft. McIntosh (near Laredo). In October, 1917, I was assigned to the 6th Cavalry and joined it at Marfa, Texas. The regiment was under orders to march to San Antonio and prepare service in France. The regiment-1600 men and 1600 horses-left Marfa on October 18, 1917, and arrived in San Antonio, Texas on November 10th, having marched a distance of 440 miles. The march was very interesting and with many problems to be solved, the greatest of which was the crossing of the Pecos Canyon. We camped at Shumla, four miles west of the canyon, on the Southern Pacific Railway. After looking over the situation, the decision was to run the wagons across the railroad bridge while the animals should go to the Bullis Ford, 6 miles below. On reaching the west end of the bridge, the draft animals were unhitched and each troop dismounted twenty men, who reported to the Regimental Quartermaster. All trains stopped before crossing the bridge. The plan was timed so as to run the wagons by hand across, between trains. The bridge was 1,000 feet long and 340 feet above the river. The ties were 6 inches apart and planking, about 3 feet wide, ran lengthwise, between the rails. A freight train appeared just as the last wagon was leaving the bridge. During the previous night, a severe windstorm arose, blowing down tents and filling the air with dust. Breakfast was mostly "slum", highly seasoned with sand. I had lost my glasses and sent my orderly to look for them. He found them but, instead of catching up with the horse column, he lead his horse across the railroad bridge, behind the last wagon, on this planking, three feet wide. The animal column, after crossing the ford, marched to the east end of the bridge where the mules were hitched to wagons and the dismounted men mounted. The command then proceeded to it's camp, four miles further east.
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