Under attack, two horses already riderless, the cavalry attempts to delay which may give them time to reach a larger force or at least a defensible position. Under fire, cavalry horses often became excited and could be as much a problem as the Indians. They sometimes pitched, sometimes "cold-jawed" and ran away. Occasionally in helpless fear, they carried their riders headlong into the enemy and sudden death. Many a nameless frontier trooper lies buried in an unmarked grave, its location long forgotten, as a result of similar skirmishes.
