Cavalry is a concept with several uses, usually linked to the horse. The most frequent meaning is linked to the strength of an army made up of combatants mounted on this animal.
It is possible to establish a division between heavy cavalry and light cavalry. The heavy cavalry had the function of establishing direct combat with the enemy. Soldiers were usually protected with armor and had spears, maces, or swords to attack.
The light cavalry, on the other hand, was only used in assaults or reconnaissance work. The soldiers were less protected and had less powerful weapons; as a counterpoint, they could move faster than the heavy cavalry.
In the context of warfare, horses were initially used to pull the armed chariots. From the breeding and selection of the strongest breeds, these animals began to be used with horsemen with weapons. Thus the cavalries emerged to explore the terrain and as support for the infantry.
With the development of weapons of greater range, the cavalry began to lose preponderance. At present the use of caballerias is very limited and is limited to those places where motor vehicles have restricted access due to terrain conditions.
Beyond the military environment, the status and conduct of the knight is called chivalry; to the dexterity to control a horse; and to different types of agrarian measures, the characteristics of which differ from country to country.
7th Cavalry Regiment
Usually written with the ordinal number instead of the word (that is, 7th), the Seventh Cavalry Regiment has been part of the Army of North America since September 21, 1866, and continues to be active until the day of today. It is an armored cavalry- type regiment and is officially known by the nickname Garryowen, chosen for being the name of an Irish song to which it aims to honor.
Within two years of its creation, on November 27, 1868, Colonel George Armstrong Custer sent the 7th Cavalry to confront the Sioux and Cheyenne in the context of the Battle of Washita. It was under the command of Winfield Scott Hancock, and had seven hundred soldiers, who did not hesitate to attack a town where the majority of the residents were elderly, children and women, leaving very few survivors and stoking the hatred that both parties felt against the opposite..
Six years later, the 7th Cavalry had to put down the rebellion that was taking place in Dakota by the Arapaho, Cheyenne and Sioux Indians. Colonel Custer forced his men to advance too hastily, and this resulted in their exhaustion before the confrontation began; As if this were not enough, they were not wise enough to carry light artillery, which meant that the weight they had to carry was excessive.
In addition to the haste and the weight of the artillery to which Colonel Custer subjected the 7th Cavalry, he made the mistake of dividing them into two groups. All this led to a real disaster from a strategic point of view, which resulted in the loss of most of its soldiers at the Battle of Little Big Horn, which took place on June 25, 1876.
While the 7th Cavalry started out as just another North American regiment, having endured such an unprecedented defeat made them go down in history. One of the examples of the glorification enjoyed by this regiment can be seen in the painting entitled The Last Stand, created by the North American artist Frederic Remington, in which Custer is seen with his men awaiting the charge of the Native Americans.
