If Fort Apache, She Wore a yellow Ribbon, and Rio Grande are a trilogy, the same cavalry regiment might appear in all three. So close observation of the insignia on Captain Brittles's kepi and perhaps others in she Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and the kepis wore by the boys in the rescue scene, and perhaps other scenes, in Rio Grande, might identify the number of the regiment or regiments involved.
shareCan't speak for Fort Apache or Rio Grande, but in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Captain Brittles commands "C" Troop, Second Cavalry.
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Thank you. I have also seen a 2 in the cap insignia someone wore in a still from She wore a Yellow Ribbon.
Of couse in rel history 4 companies of the Second Cavalry were stationed in Western Montana and took part in the Great Sioux War in 1876 and the other eight companies were stationed along the Union Pacific Railroad and were all involved in one or another of the expeditons in the Great Sioux War in 1876.
There weren't any extra battalions or companies of the Second Cavalry that could have been stationed at Fort Starke in the southern Plains far from the Sioux War.
While "Fort Apache," "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," and "Rio Grande" are referred to as John Ford's cavalry trilogy, I believe the link is only that they are films about the cavalry during the Indian Wars. I do not think they are meant to represent the same cavalry unit.
shareThis is correct. They also drew from the same source material. Subtle changes are made. Victor Mclaglen played Mulcahy in Fort Apache, but was named Quincannon in the other 2. There was a Sgt. Quincannon in Fort Apache, played by someone else. Wayne's last name is York in Fort Apache and Yorke in Rio Grande. The Qunicannon in She Wore A Yellow Ribbon had served under Brittles in the Civil War, while Rio Grande's served under Yorke.
The point, as stated at the end of Fort Apache and She Wore A Yellow Ribbon is that while the names and faces may change, the regular Army remains the same. Individual soldiers might be interchangeable, but the Troop/Regiment is constant.
The Regiment(or Troop, if that is the correct term) flag at the end had a "B" on it. Could not make out the "Calvary"(if that is the correct term) number on a flag.
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I Have seen Rio Grande (1950) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and online stills from them since making my original post. Thus I haves seen various officers and soldiers in both movies wearing caps with crossed saber insignia and the number 2. Thus the Second US Cavalry appears in both movies. By the way Captain Brittles's troop C in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon would thus be the same company that lost about 27 men in the Fetterman Massacre 21 December 1866 in real history.
The guidons in Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon use a non historical design with crossed sabers on the red part above and the company letter on the white part below. Rio Grande uses an anachronistic but historical design with the letters "U.S." in the red and the company letter on the white below, the pattern actually used from 1864 to 1862. Thus the guidonsi those movies don't show which regiment is involved, unlike the designe used from 1885 to the present.
If Lieutenant Colonel Kirby Yorke of the Second Cavalry in Rio Grande in 1879-1880 is the same person as Captain and later Lieutenant Colonel Kirby York in Fort Apache presumably Fort Apache and the epilogue would be a few years earlier than Rio Grande. And Kirby York(e) would either be in the same regiment in Fort Apache and Rio Grande or else have transferred from his original regiment to the Second Cavalry between the epilogue of Fort Apache and Rio Grande.
Thus it is unknown which regiment fought in Thursday's Disaster in Fort Apache but the one that seems most probable is the Second Cavalry.
And together, Fort Apache (fictional date 1860s to early 1870s?), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1876) and Rio Grande (1879-1880) would put the Second Cavalry a lot farther south than it was actually stationed in those years.
Bruce7 wrote:
"The Regiment(or Troop, if that is the correct term) flag at the end had a "B" on it. Could not make out the "Calvary"(if that is the correct term) number on a flag."
United States army battalions and regiments have regimental flags called colors.
Cavalry regimental colors used to be called standards and up to about 1895 they were made of blue silk fringed with yellow, 2 feet 3 inches high on the lance and 2 feet 5 inches long on the fly, with the United States coat of arms.
By about 1895 each cavalry regiment had two standards made of silk fringed with yellow, three feet high on the lance and four feet long on the fly, one a national standard with the stars and stripes design and one a regimental standard with a yellow field and the United States coat of arms.
A pair of standards are seen in all three movies, Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Rio Grande.
Each company or troop in a cavalry regiment had and has a guidon, a fork tailed flag.
The guidons in Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Rio Grande don't show the regimental number. The ones in Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon have crossed sabers in the upper red part and the company letter in the lower white part and are totally fictional. The guidons in Rio Grande use the 1834 to 1862 pattern with the letters "U.S." above and the company letter below.