Sgt. George Osborne
10th Cavalry, Troops H & I
U.S. Army
George Osborne was born in Fredericktown, Washington County, Kentucky on January 2, 1886 youngest of 13 children, 11 girls and 2 boys.George Osborne's mother died when he was a very small child and his oldest sister became a mother figure in his life.
His father Hilary Osborne owned a good size farm of approximately 200+ acres. Hilary had worked for whiskey distillers prior to the Civil War. After the war his employers allowed him to purchase some of their land for the years of employment and military service during the Civil War.
Life was hard on the farm. In 1902 George traveled with his father to Lexington, Kentucky and saw his first car and railroad. This was the first time he had been more than walking distance from the farm a whole new world opened before his eyes. From then on he wanted to leave the farm and see other parts of the country.
In 1903 or 1904 George saw a Cavalry troop pass by the farm and followed with others to their bivouac area. He was very impressed with how the soldiers looked on their horses. The white Cavalry soldiers told George there was no way a darkey could be in such a fine unit these were the elite of the Army. However while leaving the area George ran into a colored man who worked as a man servant in the camp. As they talked, the man told George that there were colored units in the Army. He needed to go west to Jefferson Barracks, MO to join.
George Osborne served over 30 years retiring as Staff Sergeant. His service took him to many places in the west, Philippine Islands, and in Mexico with the Punitive Expedition. Some of the places he mentioned most were Fort Ethan Allen VT, Fort Huachuca AZ, West Point N and Washington DC.
George Osborne first came to VT with the 10th Cavalry at Fort Ethan Allen, leaving when the unit moved west. While serving in Mexico he was given the chance to work around the new trucks the army was replacing the mule trains with, learning to drive.
After the Mexican expedition in 1916 Corporal George Osborne felt VT had been the best place he had been and wanted to get back to Fort Ethan Allen. It took him several years of transfer requests before he was offered a chance. He had transferred to the motor transport section at the rank of private. Most of the rest of his career he served at Fort Ethan Allen until retirement.
Information on George Osborne that I recall hearing as a kid and things
my Aunt Vesta wrote down.
Mark Spencer, great-nephew
1/07/2008
