AFAIK, before the Civil War, US Army cav units had 'dragoon' or 'light dragoon' as part of their unit title.
Growing up & also later, I've always been struck by how the US Cavalry seemed to operate as dragoons most of the times that I was aware of.

p.s. Custer left his sabers behind when he mounted the operation that culminated at the Little Big Horn. I've also read the he prefered the 'single-shot' breechloading rifle over the repeaters avail at that time as the repeaters were carbines w/ a significantly reduced range. The authors have speculated that all this was because, in his experience, once contact was made, the Indians would typically look to evade/escape so he expected to have to give chase.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Thu, 5/4/17, Bruce Johnson <xxxxxx@Pharmacy.Arizona.EDU> wrote:

 Subject: Re: Patton's sword & belaying pin, was Re: [TML] What if the cutlass is not a cutlass?
 To: "xxxxxx@simplelists.com" <xxxxxx@simplelists.com>
 Date: Thursday, May 4, 2017, 8:56 AM

 On May 4, 2017, at 7:59 AM,
 Jeffrey Schwartz <xxxxxx@gmail.com>
 wrote:
 Found
  it!

 http://www.first-team.us/legacies/subunits/1st_cr/wddoc463.pdf

 Patton's
  instructions for using the 1913 saber...

 Patton's instructions
 for using the 1913
 saber  rapier
 small sword epee  …

 There, FTFY.
 :-)

 "The saber,
 Model 1913, is two-edged. All the front edge, and half the
 back edge, is sharp, so that it may be more easily withdrawn
 from a body, and also, on rare occasions, used to
 cut”

 That’s not actually a how a
 ‘saber’ works. It’s all point work. 

 (well they actually were far
 better served in combat by ditching the horses and picking
 up springfields, in the end.)

 -- 

 Bruce Johnson

 University of Arizona

 College of Pharmacy

 Information Technology Group

 Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs

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