“Deeming it my duty, I camped directly in their line of march [the Apache Chief Victorio and his band], and at the only water for a long distance north. I had with me only First Lieutenant William H. Beck, Tenth Cavalry, one non-commissioned officer, five privates – two of whom were teamsters – and my son Robert K. Grierson, who, just through high school, was out in search of adventure and suddenly found it.”
Thus, Colonel Benjamin Henry Grierson, Tenth Cavalry, describes the stand he made at Rattlesnake Springs in July 1880 during that summer’s campaign. Accompanying his father was son Robert, a bright, articulate young man who, in search of adventure, documented that summer with his father chasing Victorio through West Texas.
During the Victorio Campaign in 1880, Colonel Grierson was tasked with pursuing the Apache Victorio and his Apache warriors across West Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico. This book covers the history of the campaign from several viewpoints including Fort Davis historians Barry Scobee and Larry Francell, Colonel Grierson’s own report to the Secretary of War, the field journal of his son, Robert Grierson, as he accompanied his father and the troops, as well as a description of the campaign by First Sergeant John F. Casey.
The first-hand account of Robert Grierson, written from July 1880 to September 1, 1880, includes the day-to-day travels and interactions along the trails and canyons through Fort Davis and the Chihuahuan Desert region, the Sierra Diablo Mountains, and the Guadalupe Mountains. He documented everything: the desert sights, hunting expeditions, sleeping arrangements, travel companions, weather conditions, trail meals, the newspapers and books he was reading, and letters he wrote to his friends and family back home in Jacksonville, Illinois. This account of a young man on his search for adventure is truly a fascinating look at some of the real people during a period of United States history that is sometimes swept up like the desert sands in a summer storm.
“My Summer Vacation: The Victorio Campaign Journal of Robert Grierson 1880” includes introductions to the history of Col. Benjamin Grierson in the summer of 1880 across West Texas, as well as his son Robert’s journal of their daily activities. The book includes several color photographs and is now available at local retailers such as:
The Paint Box/Cactus Fountain Studio on State Street
(along with paintings by local artists Beth Francell, Patricia Moreland, and Lanna Duncan).
Online ordering is available at: