Marine Corps·Technology obsolescence·In Memoriam
Horse Marines — Peking Legation Guard
Horse Marines
Served: 1900–1938
Mounted patrols of the US legation in Peking — a 33-year horseback security detail in the heart of China.
The Story
The Marine Corps' only remaining cavalry today is the Mounted Color Guard at MCLB Barstow, mounted on wild Mustangs *literally rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management and adopted into Marine service.* The Corps now does cavalry on government-surplus broncos.
Epitaph
“Patrolled Peking on horseback for 33 years. Now does parades on Mustangs adopted from the BLM.”
Sources
- MCLB Barstow — Mounted Color Guardwww.mclbbarstow.marines.mil