Dragoons

by Paintbrush235

Troop Movement

Aboard the Natchez

For the young 24 year old second lieutenant of the 4th Infantry Regiment, life aboard the paddle wheeler Natchez the past two days had been cramped and uncomfortable. The steamboat was packed with the men and equipment that made up the regiment he belonged to and due to this there was rarely an empty spot to rest oneself. The young Illinois native had experienced much of the discomforts of army life, from his time at West Point to Jefferson Barracks Missouri, but this was new. It was only made worse by the sad thoughts that clouded the young officer's mind. For at that moment, he was thinking of his beloved Julia, who he was engaged to, waiting for him back in Missouri while he traveled to what many observer reports had described as the dirtiest place on earth.

"Lieutenant Grant!"

The young officer turned around from the railing he was leaning on to see who had spoken to him. He found himself looking at another young officer, from the shoulder boards a second lieutenant, with a 4th Infantry Badge on his cap, standing before him. The young man had perfectly trimmed sideburns that matched his perfectly trimmed red hair. The man was also the same age, and the face was instantly recognizable.

"William Aldrich?"

"Ulysses Grant!"

Both men smiled and clasped hands in a handshake.

"It is good to see you." Grant said cheerfully, his mood raised slightly now. "What are you doing here though? I thought you were still stationed at Fort Brooke!"

"I was." Aldrich replied. "But the swamps were not to my liking. And when I heard that General Taylor was taking the 4th Infantry down with him to Texas, I saw a chance for some action, and a chance to see an old classmate and friend."

Both men chuckled. Grant had been a shy cadet at West Point. This was partly due to his reluctance to even attend. His father had secured him his place at West Point without even telling him until the day it was secure. He was never studious, and due to his shyness he made few friends. Though Aldrich was one of the few. Together the Illinoian and the Massachusetts native had become firm friends with their mutual interest in farming and horses. The two had always hoped that they would end up in the same regiment with each other, but as Aldrich placed higher in the graduating class, he was selected for the engineers to help construct coast fortifications in Florida. Grant had thought for a long time that he would never see his friend again.

"Well you won't be seeing too much action if you stick with me." Grant sighed, leaning against the rail. "I am the regimental Quartermaster."

Aldrich smiled. "Well at least you'll be spending your days handling your favorite among God's beasts." He chuckled.

Grant smiled in kind. He did miss his horse. He had always had a fascination with the breed of animal. He was quite unhappy to leave his mare behind. Though he wasn't as unhappy as he was to leave Julia behind. He suddenly realized that he still held in his left hand the letter that he had received from Julia before he had left St. Louis. Just as he was about to try and hide it, Aldrich pointed to it.

"Whats that in your hand there?" He asked.

"Oh...uh...." Grant stammered. "Its...uh...."

"Oh." Aldrich said as realization struck him. "I won't press if it is personal."

"Oh no it is alright." Grant reassured pulling the letter out. "It's just a letter from a girl."

"Oh I see." Aldrich said with a sly smile. "And may I ask just who this girl is?"

Grant chuckled at his friends teasing. "Her name is Julia Dent. And she is my fiancé."

Aldrich's eyes lit up. "Well congratulations!" he exclaimed. "Have you set a date yet?"

"Not yet. Sometime after I get back I suppose. Her father does not particularly care for me though. Nor would my father care for her."

"And why on earth not?" Aldrich questioned.

Grant hesitated for a moment. "Her family lives in Missouri. They own a plantation called White Haven."

Aldrich stayed silent for a moment before a look of recognition came across his face. "Slaveholders?"

Grant nodded with a sigh. "Yes I am afraid so. I do not hold it against her. They are her fathers. But I am sure my father will hold it against her."

"Well from what you have told me I quite agree." Aldrich said. He and Grant both held the similar view upon slavery in America, that there was something about it that just didn't fit with American ideals. Though they both admitted that two young Army lieutenants were not the ones who would ever be able to get the question answered.

"But she is beautiful Aldrich." Grant smiled. "Some men can't see that, and sometimes neither can she. But I can."

Aldrich smiled and placed his hand on his friends shoulder. "I am sure that you will be happy together."

"I hope so." Grant sighed. "My only hope is that wherever we are going I may prove myself a worthy husband in the eyes of her father. That is my only...."

His statement was cut short by the sudden sound of thunder that reached their eardrums. Looking up, the two men found that the beautiful sunny day had turned dark and cloudy, much like the storms that often rolled through Missouri. But this one seemed to roll in much faster than normal. The sight caught the attention of every man on the steamboats who began to crowd the railings for a look. Soon, the wind began to kick up and the river began to churn, reaching the similarity of rapids. The steamboats and their passengers began to rock about in the wind and waves. Grant and Aldrich found themselves holding on for dear life in fear of falling overboard.

"What in God's name is happening?!?!" Aldrich shouted above the wind. Grant was about to shout back before a sudden jolt knocked his grip loose and he tumbled forward, smashing his head against the wall of the ship. After that all was quiet and black.

---

When Grant came to, his head pounded like a drum. He felt like he had been bucked by a mule. He was dimly aware of the presence of someone though he did not know who until at last his hearing returned.

"Sam!" Aldrich was standing above him with his hand on his shoulder. Grant slowly opened his eyes to see that he was still on the steamboat, sat up against the wall where he had hit his head, and it was now bright as a new morning.

"Oh dear lord." He groaned. "What happened last night?"

"You took quite tumble lieutenant." A gruff voice answered. "I hope that you are still fit for duty."

Grant looked up at the source and froze. Standing before him, dressed in a simple dark brown coat and white muslin shirt and worn out brown trousers tucked into dirty riding boots, and with a frayed straw hat atop his head was a man with shaggy grey hair and sideburns with a face marked with years of service and age. Grant immediately stood up, ignoring the pain in his head as he quickly snapped a salute.

"General Taylor sir!" He said.

General Zachary Taylor, commander of the U.S. Army of Observation, returned the salute sharply. "Stand easy Lieutenant. You've had quite the knocking. Hell I'd say that this whole damn army has taken quite the knocking. That there storm was damn near deadly. For a moment thought this entire army was going in the drink."

Grant looked back and saw that the rest of the flotilla that carried the army was still trailing behind their boat, though he could see men walking about trying to repair any damages sustained during the storm.

"From the sound and look of it all last night," Taylor continued, "I'd say that storm was mighty similar to the one that the locals in Kansas reported around Fort Scott last fall."

Grant nodded. He had heard about the storm that had somehow stolen away the military post in the Kansas territory. Two companies from his own 4th Infantry had been stationed at Fort Scott, when they and all the rest of the fort personal and all of the fort just up and vanished. No one had been able to explain it. A search had been sent out all over the territory, but with the increasing tensions with Mexico, the search had to be called of, especially when President Polk had ordered Taylor to take his army down to Texas.

Taylor looked around the river and shook his head. "I don't know what in the holy hell that storm was all about. All I know is that I don't know where in the holy hell we are now. By my reckoning, we should've been at the mouth of the Mississippi by now. Now it looks like we're halfway between there and St. Louis!"

Grant looked around and noticed that the landscape surrounding them and bordering the water indeed looked less swampy than it should've. Something was definitely wrong, but before he could think any further, Taylor's voice cut into his thoughts.

"Lieutenant. Go down to the hold and make sure our supplies aboard this raft are still intact. I'll be damned if we get to Texas or wherever the hell it is we get to next now with no supplies to sustain ourselves."

"Yes sir." Grant saluted. He then made his way down the deck to the door that led to the hold of the steamboat.

---

Grant sighed as he stood in the musty hold as he tallied the bags of cornmeal, the boxes of musket cartridges and the barrels of salt pork that had been packed away aboard the steamboat. So far nothing had been damaged, though on the part of the food, if it had been perfect before was debatable. He was just about to finish tallying the last items on the list, when he heard the stomping of boots coming down the ladder into the hold.

"Sam! Sam!" He heard the voice of Aldrich, who suddenly appeared on the ladder in the most excited state. "Come on up quick!"

"What's going on?" Grant asked confused.

Aldrich paused to catch his breath before answering. "I really can't explain it. You just need to come up and look quick!"

Grant sighed, placing the clipboard on a nearby barrel, before he followed his friend back up the ladder.

When Grant reached the outside, he found soldiers completely lined the railing obviously trying to get a look at something. Grant pushed his way in between two soldiers and looked over the side, pausing as he saw that the men were looking at.

Up ahead on the west side bank of river, Grant saw what appeared to be an earthen fortress, much like the ones described on the coast of Florida. He could see gun port along the tops of the wall and could even see cannons sticking out of them. Flying above the fort was a strange flag that Grant did not recognize as being either American, Texan or Mexican. He could also see what he assumed to be soldiers running about the fort and outside the walls. He could even see some running down to a small dock at the edge of the bank. But as he looked closer, he was astonished by what he was seeing. The soldiers weren't humans but were rather human like equines. They also carried no firearms but rather what appeared to be short swords. They also were donning golden armor plating and helmets. Grant knew that the Mexicans had lancers in their army that were dressed quite lavishly, but nothing like this. And they certainly did not have pony people in their ranks.

He then noticed that the pony soldiers were racing to what appeared to be some sort of winch on the dock. When they reached it, they began to turn the crank, and suddenly, 30 yards in front of the steamboat, Grant saw a long metal chain shoot up and stretch across the river, blocking the boats path. Almost instantly, Grant heard the steamboat's whistle blast and felt the boat lurch as the captain obviously threw the engines into reverse. Just a yard from the chain, the boat came to a stop. The men murmured amongst themselves about the situation as some even clutched their muskets tighter in fear of something drastic occurring. Grant left his place at the rail and pushed his way through the crowd to make his way up to bow rail. He soon pushed his way in not noticing just who he had pushed.

"Good enough view lieutenant?"

Grant paused and paled. He remembered that voice. Turning to his left he saw that the man he had shoved was none other than General Taylor, now dressed in the uniform of a brigadier general. Grant stammered as he tried to find the right words to apologize but General Taylor only chuckled and held up his hand.

"Calm down Lieutenant." He said with a smile. "I can see your just young and curious. I'm curious myself as to just what in the hell is going on here. What is obvious is that these fellers, whoever they are, don't want us to go on."

Just then, the men could see a rowboat was being launched from the dock with four plain clothed pony people as rowers and two soldiers as passengers. The rowboat began to make it's way over to the Natchez. Grant could hear the sounds of musket hammers being cocked followed by the hushed hold your fire commands from the officers. Soon the boat came alongside of the Natchez and a light grey pony with a black mane and tale stood up in the boat.

"Who among you is your leader?" He called out.

Grant looked to General Taylor who stepped forward slightly. "I guess that would be me." He said gruffly. "I am Brigadier General Zachary Taylor, United States Army."

The pony stallion nodded. "I am Colonel Strongback, Equestrian Royal Army. Garrison Commander of Fort Redoubtable. I am sorry to say that I cannot let you pass any further. Their is dredging going on further downriver and traffic has been halted. Though I am willing to allow you to come ashore while I contact my superior."

General Taylor was silent for a moment before he at last nodded. "Alright. But I insist that my men be unloaded from these ships. They have had a long trip and damn well could use some time on land."

"Very well." Colonel Strongback agreed. "If you would like to come with us General."

"Very well." General Taylor agreed. He then turned to the officer next to him. "Colonel Graham. Please let the other ships know of our intentions and see to the offloading of the men. We may be here for a while I'll bet so in an hour let's have some drill going."

"Yes sir."

---

Grant was glad for the chance to stretch his legs. Even if that was just overseeing the supplies for the regiment offloaded from the Natchez. By now, almost all 3,000 men of the Army of Observation along with their supplies had been offloaded onto the shore and was being stationed in front of Fort Redoubtable. Grant had had the most curious of mornings so far. He had met with a young junior officer from the fort named Pike Shot who had helped with the offloading and had also provided him with some answers to some questions. They were in a nation called Equestria, the main race were ponies, there were three species of ponies; earth, pegasi and unicorn, and they had magic. The last one Grant had laughed at until he saw the stallion's horn light up and one of the crates of hardtack also light up and begin floating. That had caused quite a laugh from some of the soldiers when Grant had fallen flat on his behind from shock. This revelation actually made the task of offloading much easier.

By now Grant was sat on a small stool as he went over his checklist of all the items that were aboard. Around him, men were beginning to set up campfires to cook rations while some officers were drilling their men in the manual of arms while the artillery crews were running through the loading of their 6 pound howitzers. They had had the most shock waking up after the storm because apparently, whatever had caused the storm had now given the horses that pulled the guns and caissons the ability to speak. Many had been afraid that this would be awkward when they hitched them up to pull the carriages, but in the end the horses had been fine with it and had even begun to suggest future races between gun crews to see who could deploy fastest. It had been quite amusing to say the least.

Just then, as Grant went over the checklist again, he began to hear the distant rumbling of horses. Others around him began to take notice of it and he stood up to look for the source. Looking ahead into the distance, he began to see a cloud of dust rising and getting bigger and bigger with each passing second as the noise got louder and louder. Soon he could see the distinct shapes of horses and riders coming down the road at a gallop and as they got closer he began to see their forms with more detail. He couldn't believe his eyes when he realized that they were United States Dragoons. He could tell by their yellow trimmed uniforms. At the head of the column rode a tall and handsome looking officer with shoulder scales marking him as a captain. His chin was covered with a grand beard and long flowing black hair came down from under his cap. He rode up to Grant as it appeared that Grant was the only officer around. Grant saluted, which was returned.

"I am Captain Charles May. 2nd United States Dragoon Regiment." The officer spoke. "Where is General Taylor? I must speak to him at once."

"Right here Captain." Both men turned to see General Taylor come walking up with his staff and Colonel Strongback following behind him. For a moment, when Captain May caught sight of Colonel Strongback, he paused in disbelief. He then realized who was standing before him and saluted General Taylor who saluted right back.

"Sir. We are glad we have found you." Captain May said. "Last night we were a days ride from the Texas border when our camp was overtaken by a most fearsome storm. When we awoke the next morning we found ourselves in a field that we didn't recognize. We traveled along a nearby rode for some ways until we found a sign that led us to this place." He paused to glance at Colonel Strongback again. "General Sir. Do you know what's going on?"

General Taylor was about to answer when Colonel Strongback suddenly pointed back down the road. Grant looked back and saw another rider coming in, only this one was an Equestrian soldier and his mount was a gigantic six point buck.

"Captain." General Taylor said. "Something tells me that were about to find out."

Author's Note:

Hello again everyone! I am just cranking them out!
Hope you all enjoy the new chapter. Here is a picture of the real Captain Charles May for visual

And General Zachary Taylor

Again hope you all enjoy!

Comments

[Silent Echo]

Ulysses Grant!!! Wow thats awesom and two chapters in one day you are the best.

[Cheese Legs]

Good chapters!

[Paintbrush235]

7807486 Thank you! Anything in particular that you enjoyed?

[Paintbrush235]

7806644 Thank you! I am really glad that you like the story. If you have anything that you like in particular about the story please let me know!

[Cheese Legs]

Just overall good, and Ulysses grant is cool to.

[Paintbrush235]

7808387 yeah. It's gonna be interesting writing his character as I am trying to stay true to who he was as a young man. He wasn't always the man that we know as a great general or president. Should be fun though. Glad you enjoy it.

[Silent Echo]

7807927 your descriptions of the world around them and the life for the ordinarie soldier.

[Silentwoodfire]

Nice surprise find. I like where your going with this so far and I hope to see more in the future.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Umm, this could become quite sticky, with 2 would-be Presidents missing from their correct time. This could get quite.. exciting, to say the least...
Also, are any of the Dragoons veterans of the Second Seminole War? That one really tested the mettle of the new service, iirc, and brought revolving carbines to the battlefield for the first time.

[Paintbrush235]

7964580 Sergeant McMann is a character whose past will be explored later.

And yes, it is interesting to say the least to have two would-be presidents suddenly pop up in Equestria.

We'll just have to see what happens.

[Hunter 2-3]

Wasn't Zachary Taylor one of our Presidents?