Cavalry charges are supposed to be controlled events where all the horses are on line and the troopers in control of their mounts. That being said, our cavalry charges are seldom under control. No matter how many times we practice, once the bugler sounds the charge, everyone is off the the races. We conducted a pistol charge this morning during a ceremony on Fort Huachuca over about 300 yards of parade ground. Our artillery team was behind us with the cannon, an 1841 mountain howitzer, and had instructions to fire once the charge began. However, I think they pulled the lanyard a little early today as I was not yet up on the skirmish line before the cannon crew damn near blew my hat off. My horse responded to this development by instantly jumping to warp factor 10. I felt my skin heat up and my cheeks filling with air like those guys on the centrifuge. I was squeezing off rounds from my Colt as fast as I could thumb the hammer back but the black powder was blowing back into my face and the flames and gasses were singing my nose hair. I began to feel faint from the excessive G forces and began to notice a high pitched screaming noise which I later found out was me. Maybe three nanoseconds after we started, it was over and my horse reentered the breathable atmosphere. Probably the best charge I ever participated in. If they had a ride like this at Disney World I'd buy the E-ticket.
The attached photo by Ty Holland shows an example of the cannon crew doing there dirty deed.
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