Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutIndian Wars Memorial Dedication Program, 2016INDIAN WARS MEMORIALDEDICATION Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016 • 6 p.m. Lynn Stuart Pathway • Veterans Park & Athletic Complex 3101 Harvey Road • College Station, Texas 2016 Board of Directors and Officers Memorial for all Veterans of the Brazos Valley, Inc. John Anderson .........................................Audit CommitteeSteve Beachy ............................. Special Assistant to the President Glenn Burnside................................................ChaplainIrma Cauley .................................Brazos County Representative Chip Dawson ...................................History Committee (Chair)Chris Dyer ..................................ACBV Ex-Officio Representative Jerry Fox ..................................................... TreasurerDennis Goehring ..................................Fundraising Committee Mike Guidry ............................................Event CommitteeJohn Happ....................Vice President, Development Committee (Chair) Brian Hilton ......................................... Secretary (outgoing)Randy House ................................................. President Sam Lewis.................................................... SecretaryFain McDougal ..................................Development Committee Mike Neu ....................... Chief Information Officer Committee (Chair)Louis Newman ..................................Development Committee David Sahm .................................Design Committee (Vice Chair)David Schmitz .........................City of College Station Representative Jim Singleton ....................................Design Committee (Chair)Travis Small............................... Special Assistant to the President Kean Register................................. City of Bryan RepresentativePerry Stephney .........................................Event Committee John Velasquez .........................................Flag CoordinatorBill Youngkin .................................... Event Committee (Chair) Veteran Affiliations Air Force AssociationAmerican LegionBrazos Valley Marine Corps LeagueDisabled American VeteransMilitary Officers Assoc. of America Order of DaedaliansVeterans of Foreign WarsVietnam Helicopter Pilots AssociationVietnam Veterans of America CALL TO ORDER SGM Perry Stephney, USA (Ret.) BVVM Board of Directors INVOCATION MAJ Glenn Burnside, USMC (Ret.) Chaplain, BVVM Board of Directors WELCOME SGM Perry Stephney, USA (Ret.) Irma Cauley BVVM Board of Directors MUSIC Linda Asberry Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church & friends RECOGNITION LTG Randolph House, USA (Ret.) President, BVVM Board of Directors KEYNOTE INTRODUCTION Irma Cauley BVVM Board of Directors KEYNOTE ADDRESS COL Eddie E. Harrison, USA (Ret.) SPECIAL PRESENTATION Bill Youngkin, Esq. BVVM Board of Directors TAPS David Jones American Legion Post 159 Indian Wars Memorial Dedication Sept. 21, 2016 BACK COVER PHOTO: Non-commissioned officers from the 9th Cavalry at Fort Robinson, Nebraska (1889). Courtesy of the U.S. Military Academy Library. FRONT COVER PHOTO: Buffalo soldiers of the 25th Infantry, some wearing buffalo robes, Ft. Keogh, Montana (1890). Courtesy of the Library of Congress. COL Eddie E. Harrison, USA (Ret.) E ddie Harrison was born and raised in Tyler, Texas. He holds a master’s degree in rural sociology from Texas A&M University, a certificate in extension education from Colorado State University, as well as training at the Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Harrison retired at the rank of colonel after 34 years of service in the U.S. Army, served as a small farm specialist for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, and worked briefly with the U.S. Department of State in Africa. Harrison recently completed 16 years of service as a municipal court judge in Brenham, Texas, where he also served as board chairman of the Washington County Community Development Credit Union and conducted educational programs on Buffalo Soldiers at numerous public venues in the Brazos Valley area. He is also an active member of the Mt. Rose Missionary Baptist Church, serving on the organization’s board of deacons, board of trustees, and the book commitee. Harrison has received numerous civic awards for public service, including Washington County Chamber of Commerce’s Man of the Year award. Harrison is married to Margaret D. Young Harrison. His daughter Patricia lives in Dallas, Texas, and his son Michael lives in Los Angeles, California. The 9th Cavalry was one of the original six regiments of the regular U.S. Army set aside for black enlisted men. These units were authorized by Congress in July 28, 1866, during a post-Civil War military reorganization, mainly focused on native tribes settled in the West, with initial recruiting efforts centered near New Orleans, Louisiana. By February 1867, twelve companies were organized and on their way to Texas. The U.S. Army’s 9th Cavalry participated in numerous frontier campaigns against several Native American tribes, most notably Comanche, Ute and Apache between 1877 and 1881. PHOTO: Buffalo Soldier of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, U.S. Army (1890). Courtesy of the Denver Public Library. KEYNOTE ADDRESS Buffalo Soldiers – 9th Cavalry PHOTO: Henry O. Flipper, West Point graduate who fought in the Indian Wars (est. 1877) C onflicts between Europeans and Indians plagued colonial North America long before Britain recognized the independence of the United States in 1783. There were 14 Indian campaigns that covered the period 1790 to 1891. Exacerbated by racism and a mutual unwillingness to understand the ways of the other, these conflicts were often conducted with a savagery that claimed the lives of countless numbers of non-combatants. More often than not, U.S. officials also enlisted their own Indian allies, whose assistance was often crucial in defeating those peoples it deemed enemies of the United States. “BUFFALO SOLDIERS” DEDICATION PLAQUE From the 1870s to the 1890s, the U.S. Army fought against Native Americans who resisted the tide of settlers moving into the West. The army included two regiments of cavalry and two of infantry comprised of African Americans led mostly by white officers. Making up about 20 percent of the army’s forces in the West, those black units fought in some 177 engagements against several tribes. African American troops were called “Buffalo Soldiers.” While the origin of the term is disputed, tradition holds that Indians symbolized their respect for black soldiers’ bravery and determination by relating their appearance to the buffalo (American bison), an animal vital to the Plains’ Indians way of life. The United States Congress authorized Medals of Honor for 13 enlisted black troopers and 7 white officers of the Buffalo Soldier units during the Western campaigns. During the Civil War, 23 black soldiers had previously received America’s highest military award. Subsequently, 5 additional Buffalo Soldiers won the Medal of Honor during the Spanish-American War in 1898. “TONKAWA SCOUTS” DEDICATION PLAQUE During the U.S. Army’s Western campaigns against Native Americans, military officers often relied on the expertise, advice, and assistance of Indian scouts. Across three decades through the 1880s, serving on many patrols and expeditions, the Tonkawa were one of the notable Texas tribes that provided reliable auxiliaries to the army. The Tonkawa assisted the army by sharing their detailed information about the Texas terrain and knowledge of other tribes. Enlisting as auxiliaries themselves, Pawnee tribesmen called Indian scouts “wolves for the blue soldiers.” The United States Congress authorized Medals of Honor to sixteen Indian scouts from several tribes in the West. INDIAN WARS MEMORIAL MUSIC The Tonkawa The Tonkawa were a nomadic buffalo hunting people roaming from somewhere around what is now Hillsboro, Texas to the vicinity of present day San Antonio, Texas. By the early nineteenth century, the Tonkawa had allied themselves with the Apaches and the new Anglo settlers against the Comanches. Stephen F. Austin entered into a treaty with the Tonkawa in 1824. They assisted the Texas Rangers against the Comanche, Caddo and Wichita. In the early days of the Buffalo War of 1874-75, Tonkawa scouts killed Comanche warriors in the Staked Plains region of Texas. In September, 1875, Tonkawa scouts were awarded 100 Comanche horses for their assistance in the battle at Palo Duro Canyon. Tonkawan scouting for the army ceased when the end of the Indian Wars caused Fort Griffin to be abandoned in 1881. In 1884, the Tonkawa were relocated to the former Nez Perce reservation in the Indian Territory. This reservation, present day home of the Tonkawa Nation, is in northern Oklahoma, near the town of Tonkawa on Interstate Highway 35. Tribal members from the reservation attend the annual public school sponsored Powwow each November in Austin. Text adapted from “The Tonkawa Story” by Jerry Withers. Web:http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/adp/history/mission_period/valero/indian/tonkawa.html. Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church Allen Chapel is named for its founder, Richard Allen, who was born a slave on Feb. 14, 1760 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Services for the Bryan chapel were held outdoors until June 1878, when the church obtained its first building near the corner of North Houston and East 22nd streets. Since its beginning, Allen Chapel has instilled Christian principles and church doctrines and decorum in its members. The Allen Chapel motto is “Do Your Duty and Don’t Grumble.” Text from Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church website: http://www.allenchapelbryan.org/ Born in nearby Brenham and raised in Navasota, J. Payne Lara showed an early interest in drawing, and he displayed an exceptional talent for molding and shaping clay figures. Growing up in a family of cowboys, Lara’s Texas heritage serves as an important source of inspiration for his art. His true passion is the Native American Plains Indian, and he spends much of his time learning about the traditional customs and culture of the Sioux. Lara has sculpted eight other bronze statues currently on display at the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. His art has been featured in a variety of publications and television programs, and it continues to earn him recognition today. ABOUT THE SCULPTOR J. Payne Lara Sincerest thanks to these partners for their generous support CITY OF COLLEGE STATION CITY OF BRYAN BRAZOS COUNTY *** BUFFALO SOLDIERS NATIONAL MUSEUM (HOUSTON, TX) 1ST BATTALION, 9TH U.S. CAVALRY REGT. (FT. HOOD, TX) ALLEN CHAPEL A.M.E. CHURCH BRAZOS VALLEY AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM ALL AMERICAN STONE AND TURF JaCODY, INC. WILL SULLIVAN, EAGLE SCOUT CANDIDATE TROOP 802 ***Many thanks to all of our contributors! P.O. Box 11055 • College Station, Texas 77842 info@bvvm.org • 979.696.6247 bvvm.org Programs by