Bachelor Officers Quarters

Bachelor Officers Quarters. . The bachelor officers lived a somewhat spartan lifestyle, not altogether unexpected considering the low pay, slow promotion, frequent moves, and the amount of time spent in the field. Although these quarters were designed to have three bedrooms, doubling up was common so that often needed building repairs could be made., The communal kitchen in the rear of the building also served as quarters for the officers' striker. The striker was an enlisted man who helped out with the cooking and household chores. The parlor, officially assigned to the senior officer in the residence, was used by all occupants of the bachelor officers quarters when it was not used as an extra bedroom., Army regulations authorized one room and a kitchen for a lieutenant, two rooms and a kitchen for a captain, and so on up the ranks. These standards were largely ignored by the frontier Army., This building is built with pise adobe, then covered at a later date with cement stucco seen here now. Be sure to walk around to the back of the building to see the exposed adobe wall., Captions , Group of soldiers and civilians in front of Bachelors Quarters. Seated in chair is Lieutenant William H. Smith, 10th Cavalry circa. 1885