Original Item. Only One Available. This is an outstanding artifact, a framed lithograph of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Augustus May of the Second Regiment of Dragoons. He is best known for successfully leading a cavalry charge against Mexican artillery at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. This lithograph was made by E. B. and E. C. Kellogg of Hartford Connecticut. They were active between 1830 and 1880, so this lithograph definitely dates to the Post-Mexican-American War period leading up to the Civil War. May passed away on December 24th, 1864 at the age of 46. 

May spent most of his career in the Second Regiment of Dragoons, but also had a brief stint in the First Regiment of Dragoons. As a lieutenant, he participated in the Second Seminole War, where he was responsible for the capture of an important tribal chief. During the Mexican War, he commanded a squadron during Zachary Taylor's expedition, and saw action in the Battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterrey, and Buena Vista. He distinguished himself in those actions and was eventually promoted to the rank of brevet colonel, with a permanent rank of major. May later served in various parts of the American frontier, including during the Bleeding Kansas crisis.

May was born in Washington, D.C., on August 9, 1818, the son of a doctor in a prominent Baltimore family. He received a civil education, but applied for a commission directly to President Andrew Jackson, who was impressed by his soldierly appearance, bearing, and skill at horsemanship. In 1836, he entered the United States Army as a second lieutenant in the Second Regiment of Dragoons. During the Second Seminole War, May was responsible for the capture of King Philip (Ee-mat-la), the Seminole nation's principal chieftain. He was promoted from first lieutenant to captain on February 2, 1841.

The framed lithograph measures 11½ x 15½” and is in great shape. The frame is absolutely the original frame of the lithograph, with a wooden back plate. There is some chipping in the applied finish to the frame, and someone has affixed the wooden plate to the back with blue masking tape. It will still look great displayed on the wall, however.

The lithograph is entirely clear and depicts one of the more forgotten heroes in American military history. 

Ready for display!

On March 8, 1846, after a final attempt to pressure Mexico to settle on a boundary for Texas, Secretary of War William L. Marcy ordered Brigadier General Zachary Taylor to move his army, which included May's dragoon squadron, to the Rio Grande. Taylor's destination was the river's north bank, directly opposite the Mexican town of Matamoros, which stood at a natural choke-point and controlled access to well-traveled routes to the south. When Taylor refused to leave the region, Mexican cavalry ambushed a dragoon detachment under Captain Seth B. Thornton on April 25, 1846, which officially commenced hostilities. On May 8, 1846, the two main forces met at the Battle of Palo Alto, where May's squadron was held in reserve and mounted an unsuccessful cavalry charge.

Searching for more favorable terrain, the Mexican commander led his army five miles to the south. On May 9, 1846, the pursuing American element met them at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. General Taylor's force received heavy fire from a battery of eight Mexican artillery pieces, which halted its advance. Taylor ordered Captain May to lead his unit, a squadron consisting of D and E companies of the Second Dragoons, to silence the enemy guns. May told his men to "Remember your Regiment and follow your officers!" Today, the phrase is the unofficial motto of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which traces its lineage to May's unit.

He led his cavalry squadron on the charge and, despite heavy casualties, secured the objective and silenced the guns before being forced to withdraw due to a lack of infantry support. The dragoons also captured one of the Mexican commanders, General Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, on the gun line. With the Mexican artillery out of action, the 8th Infantry Regiment and 5th Infantry Regiment were able to maneuver forward and eventually drove the enemy from their positions. Of approximately eighty men, the dragoons lost one lieutenant, seven privates, and twenty-eight horses, with an additional ten privates wounded. Colonel David E. Twiggs, the regimental commander, commented that "After the unsurpassed, if not unequalled charge of Captain May's squadron, the enemy was unable to fire a gun." In his official after-action report, Taylor wrote that "The charge of cavalry against the enemy's batteries on the 9th, was gallantly led by Captain May, and had complete success." After the battle, May received two brevets to the rank of lieutenant colonel.