| 1st Cavalry Regiment (1st Regiment of Dragoons) | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Active | 1833–present |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Cavalry |
| Nickname | "1st Regiment of Dragoons"[1] |
| Mottos | Animo Et Fide ("Courageous and Faithful") |
| Engagements | |
| U.S. Cavalry Regiments | ||||
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The1st Cavalry Regiment is aUnited States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of theUnited States Regiment ofDragoons. To this day, the unit'sspecial designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons".[1] While they were the First Regiment of Dragoons, another unit designated the 1st Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1855 and in 1861 was re-designated the4th Cavalry Regiment (units were renumbered based on seniority, and it was the fourth oldest mounted regiment in active service). The First Dragoons became the 1st Cavalry Regiment, since they were the oldest mounted regiment.
During theAmerican Revolutionary War (1775–1783), Continental forces patterned cavalry units after those of the opposing British forces, especially the well-supplied mounteddragoons of theBritish Army. The first cavalry unit formed by theCongress of the United States of America was a squadron of four troops (the Squadron of Light Dragoons) commanded by MajorMichael Rudolph on 5 March 1792 (the troops would then be incorporated into theLegion of the United States (1792 to 1796)). In 1796 the dragoons were reduced to two companies, were dismounted units by 1800 and disbanded in 1802. In 1808 theRegiment of Light Dragoons was formed and in 1812 another regiment (2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons) was raised. Units of both regiments of dragoons served during theWar of 1812 in engagements at theBattle of the Mississinewa; theBattle of Lundy's Lane;Fort Erie and theSiege of Fort Meigs. The 1st Regiment and 2nd Regiment were consolidated on 30 March 1814 into the single Regiment of Light Dragoons of eight troops, but this unit was dissolved in 1815 (the rationale was that cavalry forces were too expensive to maintain as part of a standing army, so Congress insisted on economy and a minimum standing Army).[2]
The "United States Regiment of Dragoons" was organized by anAct of Congress approved on 2 March 1833 after the disbandment of the "Battalion of Mounted Rangers" (formed in 1832 due to a lack of mounted units to patrol the frontier and also in response to theBlack Hawk War). The first order announcing appointments in the regiment was dated 5 March 1833, and gave the names of the colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, four captains and four lieutenants, stating that the organization of the regiment would be perfected by the selection of officers from the "Battalion of Mounted Rangers."In June 1834, the regiment filled its complement of officers, many of whom later became notedCivil War generals:
The regiment was initially organized as:
The unit became the "First Regiment of Dragoons" when the Second Dragoons was raised in 1836.
In October 1833, the five companies first organized were sent under Colonel Dodge to winter in the vicinity ofFort Gibson,Arkansas Territory, where they remained until June 1834. Then, the regiment was sent on theFirst Dragoon Expedition, or the Pawnee Expedition, during which, although it ended in September, a full one-fourth of the officers and men died of fever.[4] For the winter, Headquarters with Companies A, C, D and G, were sent toFort Leavenworth; Companies B, H and I, Lieutenant Colonel Kearny, commanding, into the Indian country on the right bank of theMississippi River, near the mouth of theDes Moines River; and Companies E, F and K, Major Mason commanding, toFort Gibson. Throughout the summer of 1835, all the companies of the regiment were kept in the field.
The regiment became the "First Regiment of Dragoons" when the Second Regiment of Dragoons was raised in 1836, however, the general disposition of the regiment remained unchanged. The various companies were employed in scouting among the Native Americans, especially along the Missouri frontier, with a portion of the regiment going toNacogdoches, Texas, to keep white trespassers from the Native American lands, and preserving peace between whites and Indians and among the Indians themselves; also in building wagon roads and bridges. During the winter, the companies returned to their respective stations – Forts Leavenworth, Gibson and Des Moines.
Colonel Dodge resigned on 4 July 1836, and was appointedGovernor of Wisconsin. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Kearny. The regiment was not heavily engaged in theFlorida war, although it did take some minor casualties, including a lieutenant. In March 1837, a regimental order designated the color of the horses of each company as follows: A and K, black; B, F and H, sorrel; C, D, E and I, bay; and G, iron gray.
In October 1837, and again in March 1838, Colonel Kearny led elements of the regiment to quellOsage Indians. In April 1839, the army createdFort Wayne inIndian Territory, and Companies E, F, G and K, were stationed there for several years, with occasional forays into the field to chase hostile Indians. Kearny was promoted to brigadier general on 30 June 1846, and was succeeded by Colonel Mason.
General Kearny was placed in command of the "Army of the West (1846)", which consisted of Companies B, C, G, I and K, 1st Dragoons, an artillery battalion, some separate infantry companies, two regiments of Missouri volunteer cavalry, the volunteerMormon Battalion, and the1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, which sailed from New York City to California by ship. All in all, the Army of the West consisted of about 3,700 men, which ventured west to New Mexico, some of whom did not reach California. This command was concentrated atBent's Fort on theArkansas River, from which point it marched forSanta Fé on 1 August 1846. The force occupied Santa Fé without much opposition, and, after leaving part of his force there, Kearny marched into California, arriving in December.
On the morning of 6 December 1846, Kearny's 150-man command met and defeated an equal number of California lancers atSan Pasqual, about 40 miles from San Diego, under Major Andrés Pico. The action was severe, with the 1st Dragoons losing 3 officers and 14 men killed, principally with lance thrusts. General Kearny himself received two wounds. His force finally reached San Diego on 12 December 1846.
Kearny, with a force consisting of Company C, 1st Dragoons, (60 dismounted men) under Captain Turner, sailors and marines with a battery of artillery and California volunteers, left San Diego for Los Angeles on 29 December. Kearny's troops routed Mexicans under Governor Flores at thecrossing of the Rio San Gabriel on 8 January 1847, and on theplains of La Mesa on 9 January. With the capture of Los Angeles on the following day, all Mexican resistance to the American occupation of Southern California ceased.
Kearny had left Companies G and I at Albuquerque under Capt. J. H. K. Burgwin. When Col.Sterling Price (then in command at Santa Fé) learned of the seizure and murder of theNew Mexico GovernorCharles Bent and five others by the Mexicans (20 January), he moved out against them with a force of about 350 dismounted men and easily defeated them, on 24 January, at Canada. Captain Burgwin defeated another Mexican force shortly thereafter and rejoined Price's column for a series of further battles.
During 1847, regimental headquarters were still at Leavenworth and Companies A and E were withZachary Taylor in Mexico. Early in the year, Company B was reorganized at Jefferson Barracks before being sent to Santa Fe in June. On 26 June, while en route, the company was engaged by 300-400Comanches at Grand Prairie,Arkansas, losing five men killed and six wounded. They were the first unit of the Regiment to seriously tangle with the frontier Indians.[5] Upon reaching Santa Fe, on 6 August with the $350,000 they had been escorting, Company B was retrained as a field artillery battery to support the regiment.[5]
Companies D, F and K saw service on Scott's line in Mexico. Company F escorted General Scott fromVeracruz to Mexico City and was present at the battles near that city. From 1 November to 20 December, it was engaged on escort duty between the city and Vera Cruz. In 1848, the three companies returned to the United States and were stationed at various points on the northwestern frontier. Companies B, G, and I served with General Sterling Price in February – March 1848 in his campaign down into the State of Chihuahua and participated in the attack on Santa Cruz de Rosales. Company D was sent to the Minnesota Territory commanded by Lieut. J. W. T. Gardiner. In the summer of 1849 they escorted Maj. Woods of the 6th Infantry at Fort Snelling, to mark a northern boundary line and select a site for a future fortification near Pembina.[6]
In September 1848, the First Regiment of Dragoons rode out of Fort Kearny and returned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and trained their new recruits. On 11 May 1849, the regiment rode further west, and along with two companies of the6th Infantry Regiment, guarded the treacherousOregon Trail in the heart ofPawnee territory. In October, an engagement on theLittle Blue River nearLinden, Nebraska and another engagement on thePlatte River resulted in numerous Pawnee fatalities, and 5 Dragoon casualties.[5] On 15 May 1850,J. W. Davidson and CaptainNathaniel Lyon led a regiment of the 1st U.S. Dragoons in a massacre of at least 200-400PomoNative Americans atClear Lake,California, the 1850 "Bloody Island Massacre";[7][8]
Brevet Brigadier General Mason, Colonel of the 1st Dragoons, died at Jefferson Barracks, on 25 July 1850, and was succeeded by Col.Thomas T. Fauntleroy, promoted from the Second Dragoons. In 1853, the newly acquiredSouthwest erupted in violence between the US and local Indian tribes. After a reorganization period, elements of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons set out forNew Mexico on 1 July 1854. The year of 1854 was rough for the Dragoons; heavy casualties and a tenacious enemy took their toll.[5]
Earlier in the year, on 30 March 1854, Companies F and I were stationed atCantonment Burgwin in New Mexico, and LieutenantJ. W. Davidson, with Company I and 16 men of Company F, disobeyed his orders and boldly attacked aJicarilla Apache camp about 16 miles south ofTaos atCieneguilla. The Indian camp was surprised and captured; while securing the camp, the troops were surprised by more Indians, who attacked the Dragoon horse-holders and took Davidson at such disadvantage that the command narrowly escaped annihilation. Fourteen men of Company I and eight of Company F were killed; Lieutenant Davidson and 14 men were wounded. Regimental headquarters was transferred toFort Union,New Mexico Territory, in July 1854, when the rest of the regiment arrived. Throughout the following year, the companies in New Mexico were almost constantly on the move. Colonel Fauntleroy made three expeditions against theUtes andApaches, and Companies I and K fought the Apaches. On 17 January 1855, Companies B, G, and part of K were attacked at night by a band of Apaches while camped near thePenasco River.[5] Despite being repulsed, the Indians adopted guerrilla tactics and skirmished the next day. On the 19th, 12 troopers from B Company became separated and were ambushed by the Apache, suffering 3 killed including the Company Commander.[5]
Meantime, out West, Companies C and E took part in theRogue River War inOregon Territory, in which, at theBattle of Hungry Hill, the troops were compelled to retire with a loss of 26 killed and wounded, after fighting for a day and a half.
In the spring of 1855, two new regiments of cavalry, the First and Second Cavalry, were authorized in addition to the current two regiments of dragoons and theRegiment of Mounted Riflemen (formed in 1845). One of these new units named "The First Cavalry Regiment", under the command of Lt. Col.Edwin Vose Sumner, the first regular American military unit to bear that name (in 1861 it was re-designated the4th Cavalry Regiment). Sumner was previously with the First Dragoons.[9]
Headquarters for the First Dragoons were moved toFort Tejon, California, in December 1856, with the various companies scattered throughout the West. For the next five years, the regiment engaged in a variety of Indian fights, seeing action at various times against the Navajos and Apaches in the Southwest and several tribes in the Northwest. On 8 January 1859, B and K Companies fought an engagement with theMojave in theMohave Valley and another engagement against thePaiutes on 18–19 April 1860 near present-dayYermo, California.[5]
Colonel Fauntleroy resigned on 13 May 1861, and was succeeded by Col.Benjamin Lloyd Beall. With the outbreak of the Civil War and the War Department's wanting to re-designate all mounted regiments as cavalry and to renumber them in order of seniority., the First Dragoons became the "First Regiment of Cavalry" by an Act of Congress on 3 August 1861 (the existing First Cavalry Regiment (formed in 1855) was the fourth oldest mounted regiment in terms of active service, so it was re-designated the4th Cavalry Regiment). During November and December, the regiment, except Companies D and G, which were still stationed in New Mexico Territory, was transferred by steamship from thePacific Coast throughPanama and then to Washington, D.C., arriving by the end of January 1862. Colonel Beall retired 1 February, and was succeeded by Col.George A.H. Blake. The regiment was attached to the 2d Brigade, Cavalry Reserve,Army of the Potomac.
In the meantime, the two companies left in Confederate Arizona had abandoned and destroyed Forts Breckinridge and Buchanan and retreated toFort Craig. Company D was engaged in a skirmish withConfederates near Fort Craig, on 19 February, and the two companies took part in theBattle of Valverde on 21 February. Company D took part in the engagements atPigeon's Ranch, 30 March;Albuquerque, 25 April; andPeralta, 27 April.
The bulk of the 1st U.S. Cavalry, meanwhile, fought in thePeninsula Campaign inVirginia. AtWilliamsburg, on 4 May, a squadron under Capt. Benjamin F. "Grimes" Davis charged and repulsed Confederate cavalry, capturing a flag but losing 13 men. AtGaines' Mill, on 27 June, the regiment lost 26 more men. The regiment participated in fighting atMalvern Hill,Kelly's Ford, and during Stoneman's Raid in April and May.
At thebattle of Beverly Ford in June 1863, Davis was killed while in command of the 8th New York Cavalry. AtUpperville, the 1st U.S. Cavalry met the Jeff Davis Legion and the 1st and 2d North Carolina regiments in a mounted charge. The regiment lost 53 men (most to saber cuts). AtGettysburg, its loss was 16 men. Several more men were lost in a series of skirmishes during the Confederate retreat to Virginia.
In June 1863, the two companies left in New Mexico were broken up. The officers and noncommissioned officers were transferred toCarlisle Barracks, where the companies were reorganized, joining the regiment at Camp Buford, Maryland, in October 1863. After a period of rest and re-equipping near Washington, D.C., the 1st Cavalry rejoined the Army of the Potomac and was engaged at Manassas Junction and at Catlett's Station, on 5 November; Culpeper, on 8 November; Stephensburg, on 26 November, and Mine River. The regiment was employed during the winter doing picket duty along theRapidan River.
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In February, the 1st U.S. Cavalry engaged in a series of fights along the Rapidan line, and then accompanied Brig. Gen.George Armstrong Custer in a raid onCharlottesville, Virginia. OnGeneral Sheridan's taking command of theCavalry Corps, the 1st Cavalry, now commanded by Capt. N. B. Sweitzer, was attached toMerritt's Reserve or Regular Brigade, Torbert's Division, and in the preparation for theOverland Campaign, the regiment was employed in picketing the Rapidan, taking part in the battles of Todd's Tavern, on 7 May, andSpotsylvania Court House, on 8 May.
The regiment subsequently accompanied Sheridan on his daring raid aroundRichmond, fighting at Beaver Dam Station, on 10 May;Yellow Tavern, on 11 May:Meadow Bridge and Mechanicsville, on 12 May; Tunstall's Station, on 14 May; Hawe's Shop, on 28 May; and Old Church, on 30 May.
At theBattle of Cold Harbor, on 1 June, the regiment saw severe fighting, losing several men and officers. The 1st Cavalry then accompanied General Sheridan on his Trevilian raid, and lost 35 men in theBattle of Trevilian Station, on 11 and 12 June. The regiment was engaged in daily skirmishing during the return march to White House Landing, and was engaged there on 17 June, at theChickahominy River on 18 June, and at the battle of Darby's Farm, on 28 June. The 1st Cavalry captured an enemy flag at the battle of Deep Bottom, on 28 July, where the Regular Brigade, fighting on foot, routed a brigade of Confederate cavalry.
On 31 July, the 1st Division marched to City Point, embarked on ships the next day, and was transported to Washington, D.C. to assist in repelling the threatened attack ofGeneral Early. On 5 August, it moved towardsHarpers Ferry, having been ordered to theShenandoah Valley to rejoin Sheridan. On 10 August, the Reserve Brigade routed Confederates near Winchester. The regiment was then engaged in almost daily skirmishing, and took part in all the important valley battles exceptFisher's Hill. From 16 August through 20 August, the 1st Cavalry was employed, together with the whole of the 1st Division, in the destruction of all wheat and forage, and the seizure of all horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs accessible in the valley.
The 1st Cavalry took part in the charge of the Reserve Brigade at theBattle of Opequon, on 19 September, and, in conjunction with the 2nd Cavalry, captured two stands of colors and some 200 prisoners. Its casualties were 37 killed, wounded and missing. On 28 September, in an action at Waynesboro, it suffered 18 additional casualties.
The 1st Cavalry played an important part in theBattle of Cedar Creek, 19 October. After the surprise and defeat ofHoratio G. Wright in the morning, the divisions of Merritt and Custer came up as reinforcements. Two squadrons of the 1st Cavalry formed perpendicular across the Valley Pike and dismounted behind stone walls, the third squadron being held in reserve. This position was held with great difficulty, the advanced squadron being subjected to an enfilading fire.
The regiment then returned to Middletown and, during the fall and winter, engaged in numerous skirmishes and took part in Merritt's raid through theLoudoun Valley and Torbert's raid on Gordonsville. In December, the regiment was assigned to duty at the Cavalry Corps headquarters in Winchester.
On 27 February, Sheridan commenced his last expedition through the Shenandoah Valley, wanting to destroy theVirginia Central Railroad and theJames River Canal, and captureLynchburg. The 1st Cavalry took part in theBattle of Waynesboro, on 2 March, where the remnant of Early's army was captured. It was then engaged in many skirmishes during a march from Charlottesville to White House Landing, while destroying locks and the embankment of the James River Canal, railroads and Confederate supplies. It arrived at White House Landing on 17 March, taking part in a sharp engagement that day.
The 1st Cavalry was then present in all the major battles of the Cavalry Corps until the close of the war. On 30 March, it was in the engagement on White Oak Road; on 31 March, at Dinwiddie Court House; on 1 April, atFive Forks. There, the regiment charged an entrenched enemy position, carried it and seized 200 prisoners. It also fought on 2 April in the engagement near the Southside Railroad; on 6 April, at theBattle of Sayler's Creek; and on 9 April, atAppomattox Courthouse, the surrender of theArmy of Northern Virginia.
The regiment then returned toPetersburg, where it remained in camp until 24 April, when it marched with the Cavalry Corps towardsNorth Carolina for the proposed junction withSherman. On the surrender ofJoseph E. Johnston's army, the Cavalry Corps returned to Petersburg and the regiment, escorting General Sheridan, left for Washington on 8 May, arriving on 16 May and taking part in theGrand Review of the Armies.
Later that month, the regiment was ordered toLouisiana, arriving at New Orleans on 31 May and remaining there until 29 December, when it embarked for California via theIsthmus of Panama. It was stationed at thePresidio of San Francisco on 22 January, with Companies A, G and K going on 5 February toDrum Barracks, where Companies C, D and E, followed them on 17 February, Company L going to Sacramento. In June, regimental headquarters went toFort Vancouver and the several companies were distributed through Oregon, Washington Territory, Idaho, California, Nevada and Arizona, no two being at the same station.
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From 1866 to 1871, various companies from the 1st Cavalry Regiment were involved in numerous skirmishes involving Indians during theAmerican Indian Wars throughout the west. From 1866 to 1868, they operated inOregon,Idaho Territory,Nevada, andCalifornia fighting theSnake War. Although not defined by one large battle, this series of guerrilla skirmishes and frontier clashes across the high-desertsagebrush plains would be the deadliest Indian War in the West, with 1,762 fatalities.[10][circular reference] These skirmishes included an expedition fromFort Bidwell, California, during 22–29 October 1866, when Company A killed 14 Indians, three women, four children, and captured an entire camp. Later that year, LTCGeorge Crook led an expedition of one company of the 1st Cavalry to pursue the Indians in their winter quarters. On 26 December 1866, at theBattle of Owyhee River inMalheur County, Oregon Crook's men caught thePaiutes asleep in their camp.[11] However, after the first shots were fired,Chief Howluck determined to stay and fight. The native warriors taunted the soldiers, who returned a deadly accurate fire on the warriors. Quickly into the fighting almost every mounted warrior was shot down. The rest sought refuge behind rocks, remaining there until mid-day when they retreated.[12] Continuing his pursuit Crook again encountered theChief Paulina's Paiute village atSteen's Mountain (named after an early officer of the 1st Dragoons). As Crook ordered the charge his horse bolted and carried him through the native village.[13] Nevertheless, his men followed. Despite several close calls for Crook personally, his troopers' fire was accurate and inflicted heavy casualties. A month later Crook's men engaged in one final skirmish before Crook ended the expedition due to bad weather.
On the nights of 7–8 February 1867, 25 men of Company B on a patrol were attacked by hostile Indians nearVicksburg Mines in Nevada. On 5 April 1868, Company F killed 32 Indians and captured two nearMalheur River, Oregon. Following the Indians south into California, Crook's 1st Cavalry troopers, along with infantrymen from the23rd Infantry Regiment and 15 Warm Springs andShoshone scouts encountered a large band of them in an entrenched position. The Native American warriors had made a fortress out oflava rocks in theInfernal Caverns of northern California near the town ofLikely.[11] From there they were able to pour a steady fire upon the soldiers commanded by Lt. Col.George Crook. Crook's men attacked on the second day. Despite heavy casualties they managed to scale the cliffs and take the fortifications. Colonel Crook reportedly shot down Chief Sieto himself.[14] Fighting continued into the night as the Native warriors withdrew deeper into the caverns. Crook commented "I never wanted dynamite so bad as I did when we first took the fort and heard the diabolical and defiant yells from down in the rocks". On the third day the Natives had fled the caverns.
They also fought in theApache Wars inArizona Territory from 1866 to 1872. On 29 January 1867, Company M encountered a band of 90 warriors at Stein's Mountain inNew Mexico Territory; 60 Indians were killed and 27 captured. From 26 to 31 May 1868, eight men of Company M killed 34 Indians. AtFort McDowell in Arizona on 9–11 December 1869, 20 men from Company E killed an entire band of 11Mojave Apaches.
On 15 December 1870, Colonel Blake was retired from active service on his own application, and ColonelAlvan C. Gillem of the 11th Infantry was transferred to the First Cavalry in his stead.
TheModoc Indians were a small tribe whose territory straddled the present-day south-central Oregon/northeast California border and encompassedTule Lake andLost River. Through the intercession of interested civilians, orders were issued for the Modocs' removal to the Klamath Reservation. They went on the reservation, but, on account of ill treatment, a small group of approximately 150-200 left. The War Department was then directed to enforce the orders. The US Army stationed at nearby Fort Klamath at once commenced hostilities and one of the most protracted, expensive, and obstinate Indian wars of later years followed.
Under command of Capt. Jackson, Troop B leftFort Klamath, on 28 November 1872, for the purpose of returning the group of Modocs to the reservation. At daylight on 29 November, the troops surprised the Modoc men, women, and children in their camps on Lost River. Witnessing the troops form a skirmish line, the Modocs denied Jackson's demand to see Keintpoos and an engagement followed in which three Modocs were killed and three wounded. The company lost three men killed and seven wounded, two of them mortally. The company then went into camp at Crawley's Ranch on Lost River opposite the Modocs' camps while the Modocs fled to the lava beds on the southern shore of then Tule Lake.
Troop G from Fort Bidwell took station on 13 December at Land's Ranch on the eastern shore of Tule Lake. The Modocs attacked this camp on 21 December and were repulsed, but not until two men and five horses had been killed. Troop B now joined Troop G and the two companies moved their camp to the top of the bluff overlooking the southwestern shore of Tule Lake on 16 January 1873 in conjunction with General Wheaton's column, with which Troop F and a detachment of Troop H were also serving at this time. The first general engagement took place on 17 January, and lasted from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm, when the troops retired, going finally into camp at Applegate's Ranch nearClear Lake. The regiment lost nine men killed; eight men and two officers (Captain Perry and 2nd Lieutenant Kyle) were wounded.
The Modocs attacked a wagon train on 22 January, driving away the escort. However, CaptainReuben F. Bernard, 1st Cavalry, came up with reinforcements and the Modocs were repulsed, losing one killed and many wounded. Troop K from Fort Halleck, Nev., joined the battalion on 18 February. The battalion now consisted of Troops B, F, G, and K under Major Biddle (who was promoted to 6th Cavalry during this campaign). Colonel Gillem, 1st Cavalry, was commanding the expedition, and the Troop H detachment joined the column on 10 February.
During the night of 14 April, the troops of the 1st Cavalry moved with the rest of the command to invest the Modoc stronghold, and in theSecond Battle of the Stronghold, 15–17 April, succeeded in cutting off the Modoc defenders' access to Tule Lake, their only source of water. During the night of the 16th, the Modoc abandoned their position and disappeared into the vast lava beds to the south. The 1st Cavalry lost two men killed and two wounded. On April 21, Col. Gillem was relieved of duty and replaced by Col. Jefferson Davis, 23rd Infantry, on May 2.
On 10 May, Troops B and G were attacked at Sorass Lake (present-day Dry Lake) but repulsed the Modocs with the loss of one Modoc killed and two wounded. The command lost one killed and six wounded, two of them mortally. On 12 May, Troops B and G, as part of a larger force under command of Capt. Hasbrouck, came upon the Modocs, who fled towards the west. The troops followed the trail and on 22 May, 70 Modocs surrendered. "Boston Charlie" was captured on 29 May and on 31 May, "Schonchin John", "Scarfaced Charlie", and 27 other Modocs surrendered.
Troops F and H were sent from Applegate's Ranch on 31 May to follow up on those Modocs who still remained at large, finding them on 1 June, when the whole party surrendered. With the capture of "Captain Jack", the Modoc war ended, and by the end of June the companies that had been engaged in it had returned to their proper stations.
The troops left in Arizona were moved north and by the end of October 1873, headquarters with Troops A and D were at Benicia Barracks; B at Fort Klamath; C at Camp McDermitt, Nev.; E at Fort Lapwai, Idaho Territory; F, L, and M at Fort Walla Walla, Wyoming Territory; G at Camp Bidwell, California.; H and K atCamp Harney, Oregon.; and I at Camp Halleck, Nevada.
Colonel Gillem died at his residence inNashville, Tenn., 2 December 1875, and was succeeded by ColonelCuvier Grover, promoted from the 3rd Cavalry.
On 15 June 1877, Companies F and H, under Captain Perry, were ordered to proceed to Camas Prairie to the assistance of the settlers of Mount Idaho, I. T., who were threatened by the Nez Percé Indians under Chief Joseph. Learning that the Indians were crossing Salmon River and could be taken at a disadvantage, the march was given that direction and Chief Joseph's camp was found and taken by surprise, but the Indians quickly rallied and repulsed the troops with severe loss, Lieutenant E. W. Theller, 21st Infantry (attached), and 33 men being killed and two wounded.
All the companies of the regiment, except M atFort Colville and A at Camp Harney watching the Piutes, were now ordered into the field against the Nez Percés. Companies E and L joined General Howard's command on 21 June; and on 1 July they surprised and attacked the camp of "Looking Glass" on the Clearwater, I. T. The village was entirely destroyed, several Indians killed and about 1,000 ponies captured. On 2 July, the same command attempted to form a junction with Company F, which was on its way from Lapwai. On 3 July, the Indians ambushed the advanced guard, consisting of Lieutenant S. M. Rains, ten men of the battalion and two civilian scouts, killing them all, and were then found to be in such force and so strongly posted that it was considered imprudent to attack them. The junction with Company F was effected, however, on 4 July, and the same afternoon the Indians attacked, the fight lasting until sunset. The battalion (E, F and L) joined General Howard at Grangerville, on 8 July. Company H had joined on 2 July, and the battalion was commanded by Captain David Perry.
On 11 July, General Howard crossed the Clearwater with his whole command and moved down that stream with Company H in advance. The Indian camp was discovered and at once attacked, the fight lasting two days and ending with the retreat of the Indians. Company B joined in time to take part in the fight on 12 July. The regiment lost three men killed and four wounded. The battalion made a reconnaissance on 18 July of the Lo-Lo trail, and the Indian scouts accompanying it were ambushed and met with considerable loss. One Nez Percé was killed.
Major Sanford's battalion, consisting of Companies C, D, I and K, joined General Howard on the Clearwater, on 28 July, and the expedition across the Lo-Lo trail began on 30 July. Companies B, C, I and K, under Major Sanford, accompanied it, and Companies D, E, G and L, with other troops under Major Green, constituted the "Reserve Column", which remained at Camas Prairie until 5 August, when it moved near to Mount Idaho, and established a permanent camp called Camp Howard. Companies F and H were stationed atFort Lapwai.
In the Indian attack at Camas Creek on 20 August, Companies B and L were engaged, losing one man killed and one wounded. At Judith Basin, the battalion was detached from General Howard's command and directed to return, and all the companies had reached their stations by the end of November. Company K and a detachment of C, attached to General Sturgis' command, took part in the engagement with the Nez Percés at Canyon Creek, Montana, on 13 September 1877.
At the outbreak of theBannock War in May 1878, Company G was the first body of troops to reach the scene of hostilities, and Captain Bernard reported that the Indians numbered from 300 to 500. They were moving towardsSteens Mountain (named afterEnoch Steen, a former member of the regiment). The whole of the First Cavalry was at once ordered into the field and Colonel Grover sent to Fort Boise to take charge of operations there. Companies D, I and K, were with him. Companies F and L joined Company G on the Owyhee, 17 June, and the three companies reached Camp Harney on 21 June, where they were joined by Company A. These four companies were designated the "Left Column" by General Howard.
On the morning of 23 June, the Left Column struck the main camp of the hostiles on Silver Creek, and drove the Indians out of it and on to a cutbank, made by the creek, which had been prepared for defense. The action lasted into the night and in the morning it was found that the Indians had gone. Many Indians were killed and the camp was destroyed. The battalion lost two killed and three wounded. Company K joined the battalion on 27 June, and on 28 June the cavalry cut loose from the foot troops and pushed forward on the trail of the Indians. The fertile John Day Valley was saved in great part by this vigorous pursuit, and on 5 July General Howard overtook the command, arriving with it at Pilot Rock on 7 July. Here, it was joined by Companies E and H. The Indian camp was located and at sunrise on 8 July Captain Bernard moved his battalion to the attack.
About 300 Indians occupied the crest of the high and steep hills near Birch Creek, and were at once attacked. Captain Bernard fought his cavalry on foot without separating the men from the horses. All the companies, except A with the pack train, were deployed and used in the engagement, and the Indians were driven from three successive positions and finally four or five miles further into the mountains. Four men were wounded, one mortally, and probably 20 horses were killed. The enemy's loss is unknown; their women, children and best horses were sent off, seemingly towards the Grande Ronde, before the action began.
Lieutenant C. E. S. Wood, A. D. C., wrote: "The entire fight was closely watched by the general commanding, who desires to express his opinion that no troops ever behaved better or in a more soldierly manner than did the officers and men engaged in this encounter." The command camped for the night among the rough cañons adjacent to the battle-field.
Captain Bernard was then ordered to take his command, except Company K, to Fort Walla Walla to refit. Company K was sent to join the infantry column and with it moved to the Umatilla Agency, near which the hostiles were reported to be. Here the Indians attacked on 13 July. In the ensuing fight, Company K held the right of the line and took part in the final charge by which the Indians were driven off the field and for three miles into the hills. At the request of the Indian Agent, the command moved back to the agency that night, but two days later seven dead Indians were counted upon the battle-field.
Companies A, E, F, G, H and I, now under Lieutenant-Colonel J. W. Forsyth, 1st Cavalry, left Fort Walla Walla on 13 July – the day of the fight at Umatilla Agency – in search of the Indians, who were found to be travelling in the direction of John Day River. On 20 July, Forsyth's scouts were ambushed, which caused a halt and deployment of the command, but when the line moved forward the Indians had gone. On 22 July, the battalion reached 11 Burnt Meadows, where it was joined by Companies D and I, under Major Sanford, and on 27 July it went into camp at Malheur Agency to await supplies. The hostiles had now split up into many small parties, which were followed up and nearly all ultimately captured.
During the months of September and October, the companies were sent to their permanent stations, and the return for 30 November shows Companies A and E at Camp Harney, Oregon; B, D, F, K and M, at Fort Walla Walla, W. T.; C at Camp Bidwell, California; G at Fort Boise, L T.; H at Fort Colville, W. T.; I at Camp Halleck, Nevada, and L at Fort Klamath, Oregon.
In 1881, Companies C, G, I and M were sent to Arizona, and on 2 October, Company G, with other troops, was in action near Cedar Springs against Apaches. The hostiles fought with great boldness and desperation and the fight lasted until 9 P. M., when the Indians escaped. Company G had two men wounded and 12 horses killed. On 4 October, Companies G and I had a running fight near South Pass of the Dragoon Mountains, in which the hostiles were followed into Sonora, Mexico.
In October 1881, the "companies" began to be designated "troops" on the Regimental Return. Troop G returned to Fort McDermott on 9 November; Troop I to Camp Halleck on 27 December; Troop M to the Presidio of San Francisco on 20 January 1882; and Troop C to Fort Bidwell on 16 April.
In June 1884, the regiment was transferred to the Department of Dakota, after a tour of nearly 30 years on the Pacific coast, during the greater part of which time its stations were remote from civilization and its duties of a most arduous and thankless character. On 5 June 1885, Colonel Grover died at Atlantic City, New Jersey and was succeeded by Colonel N. A. M. Dudley, promoted from the 9th Cavalry.
During this time, the headquarters and troops D, G, I, K and M, went to Fort Custer; A, C and F went to Fort Maginnis; E to Fort Ellis; H and L to Fort Assinniboine; and B to Fort Keogh.
From 1886 to 1918, Company M, 1st Cavalry was stationed atFort Yellowstone.
Conflict with the "Crows" came in the fall of 1887, and on the morning of 4 November, Colonel Dudley left Fort Custer with Troops A, B, D, E, G and K, and Company B, 3d Infantry, with a section of Hotchkiss guns, to arrest "Sword Bearer" and the Indians who had fired into the agency buildings on the night of 30 September.
On 5 November, a demand was made upon the Indians for the surrender of these men, and they were given an hour and a half to comply with the demand. At the end of that time, the battalion of the 1st Cavalry, with Moylan's troop of the 7th Cavalry on the right, moved out in front of camp. At the same time, a 'great commotion was observed in the Indian camp, and "Sword Bearer" and another chief dashed out leading from 120 to 150 warriors equipped for battle. The Indians charged, but were repulsed and fell back into the timber alongside the river, where they had dug many rifle pits from which they now kept up a constant fire. This fire was returned, and "Sword Bearer" was seen to fall, whereupon all fighting quickly ceased. All the Indians whose surrender had been demanded and who had not been killed were at once brought in and delivered to the Department Commander, who sent them to Fort Snelling. The cavalry battalion returned to Fort Custer on 13 November.
Colonel Dudley was retired from active service on 20 August 1889, and was succeeded by ColonelJ. S. Brisbin, promoted from the 9th Cavalry. On 31 December, Headquarters and Troops B, D, E, G and M, were at Fort Custer; A and L atFort Maginnis; C, F and H atFort Assinniboine; I atFort Leavenworth; and K at Camp Sheridan,Wyoming.
In April 1890, theCheyennes assumed a threatening attitude and their agent called on the commanding officer of Fort Custer for protection, who sent Major Carrol with Troops B, D and M to theTongue River Agency, where they establishedCamp Crook. In September, a white boy was murdered by "Head Chief" and "Young Mule", and every attempt to arrest the murderers failed. On 11 April, the Indians sent word that they would attack the agency and on 12 April made their appearance on a hill commanding the agency buildings, where they opened fire upon them. They were soon dislodged and killed. The regiment took part in the operations against the hostile Sioux in the winter of 1890–1891, but was not brought into actual contact with them.
In December 1890, word having been received that a troop of cavalry was surrounded by hostile Indians at or near Cave Hills, Montana, Troop A made one of the most remarkable marches on record in going to its relief. It marched 186 miles, 95 of which were made in 25 hours, and 170 in 531⁄2 hours. The report that caused such tremendous exertion proved to be without foundation.
On 22 April 1891, Colonel Brisbin was transferred to the8th Cavalry with ColonelAbraham K. Arnold who had been the lieutenant colonel and now became the colonel of the First. In 1892, the regiment was transferred to the Department ofArizona, relieving the 10th Cavalry. Headquarters and Troops C, E, F, H and K, going toFort Grant, Arizona.; B and I toFort Bayard,New Mexico; D toFort Apache, Arizona; and G toSan Carlos. Troop A was atFort Myer,Virginia, and was not moved.
Owing to the vast extent of country guarded by the regiment, its service for many years following was very arduous. Scouting for Indians and escort duty of various kinds were incessant. During this period, 30 soldiers and officers serving with the regiment earned theMedal of Honor. Eighteen of these awards were for a single engagement against Apaches in theChiricahua Mountains of Arizona, and another six were for actions inGeorge Crook's "winter campaign" of 1872–73. The recipients were:[15]
In 1898, the US turned its interests to an island in the Caribbean;Cuba, which was owned by theSpanish Empire. After theUSS Maine exploded inHavana Harbor, the fires of war brewed and the 1st Cavalry was moved to Chickamauga Park,Tennessee on 24 April 1898.[5] The 1st Cavalry and the10th Cavalry were formed into a cavalrybrigade and shipped out to Cuba fromTampa, Florida. However, due to the limited space aboard theSS Leona, the troopers were forced to leave their horses behind. They fought in theBattle of Las Guasimas on 24 June, and at theBattle of San Juan Hill from 1–3 July. During theSiege of Santiago, the 1st Cavalry Regiment earned its 61st battle honor.[5] The 1st Cavalry remained inSantiago until 8 August, and returned to the US where they were garrisoned at Fort Riley, Kansas, then later atFort Robinson, Nebraska.[5]
On 19 June 1899, the 1st Cavalry left Ft Robinson forFort D.A. Russell,Wyoming and began thorough training for new recruits after a brief reorganization period. When theBoxer Rebellion began in China in August 1899, the US Army garrison in thePhilippines was moved toPeking to relieve the surrounded legations there, and the 1st Cavalry was sent to the Philippines on 7 August, their horses following four days later. Arriving atBatangas,Luzon on 20 September, they moved toSanto Tomas just south ofManila. They busied themselves with scouting missions, escorting supplies, and patrolling the countryside and villages for guerrilla fighters.[5]
In October 1901, a group of insurgents stole some native supplies, so 20 troopers pursued them, reclaimed the goods, and burned the village they were found in, and on 22 October, Troop B captured 5 guerrillas onMount Makiling. From 18 November-1 December, 35 troopers from the 1st Cavalry took part in theMount San Cristobal Expedition, which destroyed an enemy supply cache. On 15 March 1902, Troop B killed 5 insurgents on Mount Makiling, and killed 4 more on 19 March. On 16 April, the leader of these guerrillas, General Malvar, surrendered, and hostilities ceased. The 1st Cavalry Regiment was sent back home, and arrived at their new post,Fort Clark, Texas, on 1 October 1903, where they remained for three years. After the1906 San Francisco earthquake, 1st Cavalry troopers moved there to assist, and Troop B remained in San Francisco until 9 June 1907 before returning toTexas.[5]
The 1st Cavalry Regiment returned to the Philippines in 1908 and garrisonedFort Stotsenburg for two years. This deployment was much quieter than their last one, and the regiment returned home on 12 February 1910.[5] A, B, D, and K Troops were stationed at thePresidio of San Francisco and later joined the rest of their regiment at thePresidio of Monterey until 1 August 1914. Moving toSouthern California, the 1st Cavalry garrisonedSan Ysidro in response to growing tensions south of the border inMexico. On 24 August 1915, the regiment moved toCalexico, California to strengthen the border and defend against raids by thebandito,Pancho Villa. They remained guarding the border whileGeneral Pershing launched thePunitive Expedition and were still there when the US entered World War I. The 1st Cavalry did not participate in the First World War, but it remained guarding the border until 19 January 1923, when they went toFort D. A. Russell, Texas. This was their last posting as horse cavalry, and during a parade on 14 December 1932, the troopers dismounted and passed in review, saluting their horses as they left them to become a mechanized unit.[5] Moving toFort Knox,Kentucky, the 1st Cavalry Regiment became the first mechanized unit in the United States Army, and was brigaded with the13th Cavalry Regiment to form the7th Cavalry Brigade (Mecz). In the summer of 1939, 7th Cavalry Brigade (Mecz) took part in thePlattsburgh Maneuvers and helped develop the Army's first tactics for mechanized warfare. In the summer of 1940, theLouisiana Maneuvers convinced the Army of the need to form an armored force and the1st Armored Division was founded on 15 July 1940. The 1st Cavalry Regiment was redesignated the1st Armored Regiment that same day, and was assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade.[5] It would not be long until America's fledgling armored force would be tested in battle.
The 1st Armored Division was one of the first American units to sail across theAtlantic to do battle with theAxis. Leaving fromFort Dix, New Jersey on 11 April 1942, the division set foot on European soil inNorthern Ireland on 16 May 1942. Here, they trained to go into battle for the first time. At the start ofWorld War II, 1st Armor was broken up into three Battalions. 1st Battalion consisted ofM3 Stuart light tanks, and 2nd and 3rd Battalions consisted ofM3 Lee medium tanks.
On 8 November 1942, almost a full year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Allied American,Free French, and British armies launchedOperation Torch, the seaborne invasion ofFrench North Africa. The landing craft available at the time were unable to take the larger M3 Lee tanks, so all the Allied armored support for the initial landings would have to come from the lighter M3 Stuart tanks of 1st Battalion-1st Armored Regiment under the command of LTCJohn K. Waters (General Patton's son-in-law). 1-1 Armor was assigned to Task Force (TF) Red under the command of GeneralLunsford E. Oliver, with the objective of landing east ofOran at Z Beach in the Gulf ofArzew and forming aflying column to push south and seize theTafaraoui airdrome.[16][page needed]
Early on the morning of 8 November, the tanks of 1-1 Armor landed and had rapidly driven south, reaching Tafaraoui airdrome at 1100 where they received their first enemy fire in WWII.Vichy French anti-tank guns fired on the column but were quickly outflanked and neutralized by B and A companies.[17] The column secured the area and set up roadblocks as the 1st Armored Regiment's Reconnaissance Platoon mopped-up machine-gun nests and snipers in the area, capturing approximately 300 prisoners in doing so. By the end of D-Day, Tafaraoui airdrome was being used by American aircraft. Task Force Green, to the west of Oran, was running into difficulty seizing La Senia airfield, so A Company, 1-1 Armor was sent to assist them.[16][page needed]
In the afternoon of 9 November, the regiment's first tank-on-tank action was fought when French tanks attacked to retake Tafaraoui airdrome. The reconnaissance platoon spotted the French tanks at St. Lucien, east of the airdrome, and B Company and aTank Destroyer company quickly deployed against them. 1st and 2nd Platoons advanced across the open desert in two Vs abreast while 3rd Platoon provided fire support. Despite their light armor and weaponry, they knocked out 14 FrenchR35 tanks for the loss of 1 NCO killed, and 1 tank temporarily damaged.[16][page needed]
The next day, American forces were prepared to push into Oran. A Co, 1-1 Armor (now attached to TF Green) moved toward the city from the southwest while TF Red moved in from the southeast. They soon came under fire from French anti-tank guns in Valmy (south of Oran), and C Co, 1-1 Armor was sent to destroy them. The tanks of TF Red did not have time to refuel after the long drive from Tafaraoui, so several ran out of fuel in the middle of the city of Oran, but infantrymen from the1st Infantry Division were close behind, and they managed to secure the city by 1215.[16][page needed]
At this point, many of the Vichy French soldiers joined the Free French and the Allied cause, and the Vichy government was dissolved by theGermans.[16][page needed]
After Vichy French forces ceased resistance to the Allied landings of Operation Torch, the 1st Armored Division pushed east intoTunisia. TheGerman-Italian Panzer Army was battle-hardened from fighting the British and Free French armies in theNorth Africa campaign for several years. Despite this, the tanks of 1-1 Armor advanced rapidly eastward towardsTunis on 25 November 1942 with the objective of creating a "tank-infested area"[18] southeast ofMateur near Chouigui Pass, and conducting reconnaissance of the pass towardTebourba. C company went through the pass, B Co held the center of the pass, and A Co with Headquarters Co stayed at the western end. Before nightfall, two ItalianSemovente da 47/32 self-propelled guns were destroyed by the Battalion's command tank section after they were spotting moving to the pass from Mateur. Soon after, the reconnaissance platoon spotted an enemy strongpoint at a farmhouse two miles down the road to Mateur. A Co attacked this position, and received a large concentration of small arms and anti-tank fire from theloopholed walls of the farmhouse. One M3 tank was lost, and their 37 mm guns had little effect on the enemy position, so the attackers retreated. Fifteen enemy aircraft soon appeared, strafing and divebombing A Co as they withdrew, killing one man and wounding a few others. When the air raid ended, it was revealed that one wounded man had been left behind; he was rescued in the night.[16][page needed]
Meanwhile, to the east of the pass, C company ambushed and destroyed three enemy troop-carriers and captured a detachment of Germanmotorcycle troops near the village ofChouigui. The enemy airfield atDjedeida could be seen in the distance, so C company bypassed Tebourba to the south through anolive grove and caught the enemy security force by surprise at Bathan Bridge. After wiping it out in a short firefight, they turned northeast and headed for the airfield. C company made an immediate attack; advancing line abreast and firing on the grounded aircraft, the M3 tanks destroyed twenty enemy planes, and only two managed to escape. Two Americans were killed and one tank and crew went missing before the company withdrew back to Chouigui.[16][page needed]
On the night of 26 November,Thanksgiving Day, a detachment of the190th Panzer Battalion advanced on the American positions at Chouigui Pass. 1st Battalion-1st Armored Regiment would be the first US armored unit to clash with a German armored unit. The American tanks were inhull-down positions and camouflaged with A Co and HQ Co west of the pass, B Co on the reverse slope of a ridge paralleling the road to the north, and C company in the pass itself. A Co spotted the advancing enemy tanks first, three or morePanzer IIIs and sixPanzer IVs, the assault-gun platoon moved to intercept and delay them. After exchanging ineffective fire, they fired smoke shells and withdrew. A Co attacked from the west with twelve M3 Stuart tanks but lost six tanks to German 50 mm and 75 mm guns and withdrew but had distracted the Germans long enough for B Co to attack the enemy from the rear. B Co destroyed all six Mark IVs and one Mark III, forcing the remainder to retreat. To the north, enemy infantry was seen dismounting from a column of trucks, so the remaining tanks of A Co and B Co advanced on them and decimated this force, breaking down the farmhouse gates and eliminating its garrison. The enemy was defeated, but in the last stage of the battle A company's commander, Major Siglin, was killed by a shell passing through his turret.[16][page needed] Overall, the light tanks and men of 1-1 Armor acquitted themselves well against the experienced Afrika Korps in their first engagement, but suffered heavy losses.
On 1 December 1942, German and Italian forces under GeneralWolfgang Fischer launched a major counterattack to retake Tebourba. Elements of the10th Panzer Division attacked Chouigui village, where 1-1 Armor was still located, and forced the battalion to withdraw to the southeast into the olive groves near Tebourba. By nightfall, the force was split into two groups, but B and C companies had managed to evade detection and rejoin the rest of the battalion. By 4 December, the Axis forces had retaken Tebourba, and 1-1 Armor pulled back to join the Allied defensive line along theMedjerda River.[16] On 10 December 1942, a German force attacked the section of the line occupied by 1-1 Armor just east ofFurna. C company was forced to retreat after a heavy artillery barrage. At 1130, 29-35 enemy tanks attacked C Co's positions while Captain Barlow and LTC Waters were consulting with each other outside of their tanks. Three Panzers broke into the battalion rear area, turned, and destroyed five M3 Stuarts and fiveM3 halftracks, forcing 1-1 Armor to withdraw, and opening a hole in the Allied line. Combat Command B withdrew on the night of 10–11 December. During the withdrawal, 1-1 Armor became bogged down in thick mud and were forced to abandon many of their vehicles, and by the end of the day, the battalion's strength was only 17 tanks.[16]
During the fighting in North Africa thus far, most of the 1st Armored Regiment (except 1st Battalion) was still inEngland, awaiting transport to the theater. While in England, the 2nd and 3rd Battalion received theM4 Sherman tank, an improvement over the outdated M3 Lee. These remaining battalions and the command group arrived in Algeria on 21 December, and onChristmas Eve, 1st Armored Regiment was complete again, with all three battalions reuniting southeast of Oran. On 8 January 1943, 1st Armored Regiment advanced east, but left 1-1 Armor in Oran to refit. LTC Waters was promoted to become the Regimental Executive Officer. In the Battle ofFaid Pass on 30 Jan, 3rd battalion (less G Company) was attached to TF Stark and the 1st Armor Regimental Reconnaissance Company was attached to TF Kern. In the attack on the pass on 31 Jan, H/3-1 AR ran into a wall of dug-in German positions and lost nine tanks, throwing back TF Stark. TF Kern was repulsed as well, and the attack was temporarily called off.
In November 1943, the 1st Armored Regiment, as a part of the 1st Armored Division, moved to Italy and fought in theNaples-Foggia Campaign, the Allied drive toMonte Cassino. The winter months in Italy were mired in mud and stalemate. The rains and stiff German resistance on river and mountain-top defensive lines halted Allied progress.
In late January 1944, the 1st Armored Regiment landed inAnzio as part of the Allied operation to outflank the GermanWinter Line.[5] The armored forces broke through the German encirclement on 24 May 1944 after heavy fighting.
After participating in the liberation of Rome on 5 June 1944, the 1st Armored Division was pulled off the frontline and reorganized under a new table of organization. The 1st Armored Regiment was redesignated as the 1st Tank Battalion.
The division was placed back onto the line and the 1st Tank Battalion steadilyadvanced north and crossed theArno on 1 September. This river crossing was followed by bloody stalemate in theNorth Apennines, where the rough and cold terrain hindered tank operations.
Their final action in the Second World War was thePo Valley Campaign, where they fought from 21 to 26 April 1945. The 1st Tank Battalion was deactivated afterVE Day.[5]
When theKorean War began, the Army began re-mobilizing. 1st Battalion, 1st Armored Regiment was reactivated as the 1st Tank Battalion atFort Hood, Texas and 2nd Battalion, 1st Armored Regiment was activated as the 100th Tank Battalion and trained until they were combined on 15 February 1957 atFort Polk,Louisiana to reform the 1st Cavalry Regiment.[5] Company A, 100th Tank Battalion, was inactivated at Polk on 15 February 1957, and then redesignated as HHC 4th Medium Tank Battalion, 1st Cavalry on 15 May 1958, concurrently assigned to theUnited States Military Academy and activated at West Point, New York. By 29 December 1966 it was redesignated 4th Squadron, 1st Cavalry.[19]
On 8 March 1965,US Marines landed atDa Nang, marking the beginning of the conventional American ground war in the country ofSouth Vietnam. Aiming to eliminate the communistViet Cong insurgents and theirNorth Vietnamese Army backers, US military presence in the country steadily escalated. By 1967, roughly 485,600 American troops were in country, and the disparate Squadrons of the 1st Cavalry Regiment were soon to enter the fray.
In August 1967, the1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (1-1 Cavalry) was detached from the 1st Armored Division and sent toVietnam attached toUS Army Pacific. On deployment to Vietnam in 1967, the squadron consisted of three armored cavalry troops and one air cavalry troop, D Troop, which was not deployed until July 1968. 'D' Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment was shipped to Vietnam with its aircraft to join its parent unit, which was already in Vietnam attached to theAmerical Division at Chu Lai. En route, D Troop's orders were changed, temporarily attaching it to the101st Airborne Division. The troop disembarked at Da Nang on 21 July 1968 and flew directly toCamp Eagle. The Troop then remained on combat duty in I Corps for the next four years and used the call sign Sabre. 1-1 Cavalry served inChu Lai,Đà Nẵng,Tam Kỳ, and Thach Khe. On 15 April 1966 Troop E, 1st Cavalry was activated as the brigade reconnaissance troop of the 11th Infantry Brigade at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Troop E arrived in Vietnam on 19 December 1967 and participated in extensive ground combat in Quảng Ngãi and Quang Tin provinces through eleven campaigns, receiving the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry for service in 1969–1970 with the 11th Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal). Troop E was inactivated in Vietnam on 13 November 1971. They departed Vietnam on 10 May 1972.[5]
On 1 July 1963, the 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry was relieved of their duties to the3rd Armored Division, United States Army, Europe and reassigned to the2nd Armored Division atFort Hood, Texas. On 8 August 1967, the unit left Fort Hood for Vietnam where they were attached to the4th Infantry Division, headquartered inPleiku. During their service in theCentral Highlands, troopers saw action in Pleiku,Đắk Tô,Suoi Doi,Kon Tum,An Khê and many other nameless stretches of road and jungle. In May 1969, the squadron was transferred to Task Force South inPhan Thiết and was attached to the 1st Field Force, Vietnam. Now operating in the rice paddies and rubber plantations of Vietnam, the Blackhawks further distinguished themselves in actions around Phan Thiết,Song Mao,Phan Rang and their environs. 2-1 Cavalry departed Vietnam in October 1970, leavingCam Ranh Bay for reassignment to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
7th Squadron (Air), 1st Cavalry was a self-contained Vietnam-era air cavalry squadron, made up of five troops. Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (callsign Kingbird/Blackhawk), Alpha Troop (callsign Apache), Bravo Troop (callsign Dutch Master), Charlie Troop (callsign Sand Piper/Comanche) and Delta Troop (Powder Valley/Dragoon). D Troop (the squadron's armored cavalry troop) participated in successful night ambushes, escorted convoys, search and clear missions and other ground operations until the U.S. 9th Div was withdrawn from Vietnam. After that the offensive mission of D Troop was taken away and they were used to train the South VietnameseRegional Force infantry units of the 44th Special Zone (STZ) in air assault missions, which were quite successful. The 44th STZ protected a region along the Cambodian border to the north. Troops A, B and C wereAir Cavalry units. When the U.S. 9th Division was returned to the US, their Air Cavalry Troop, D/3 3-5th Cav, was added to the 7-1st Cav, bringing the number of Air Cavalry Troops to 4. This was the largest Air Cav Squadron in Vietnam. Equipped to perform scout, insertion, interdiction and attack missions, the troops supported theArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)21st,9th,7th Divisions and the 44 STZ. The Squadron was initially attached to the 12th Aviation Group, then from 3 June 1968, to the164th Aviation Group. In 1970, when President Nixon approved a US/ARVNassault into Cambodia, the squadron, with 4 Air Cav troops abreast formed the advanced guard for the 3 ARVN Divisions. After several weeks in Cambodia, all the units returned to the Delta where enemy activities dropped to an all-time low. In April 1972, 7-1 Cavalry was assigned to the 194th Armored Brigade,Fort Knox, Kentucky. In 1976, the unit was inactivated and used to form air cavalry troops in the reactivated 5th, 7th and 24th Infantry Divisions.[5]
All US combat troops were withdrawn by 30 November 1972.
On 31 December 1972 Troop E was reactivated as a separate air cavalry reconnaissance troop and assigned to the 172nd Infantry Brigade at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. It was inactivated on 15 March 1986. It was reactivated on 16 April 1998 as a ground reconnaissance troop at Fort Wainwright with the 172nd Infantry Brigade and inactivated on 15 November 2003. On 16 December 2006, Troop E, 1st Cavalry Regiment was reorganized, redesignated and activated as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (organic squadron elements concurrently constituted and activated) and assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.[20]
1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment returned to Europe and the 1st Armored Division, VII Corps taking up another frontier mission in December 1978 in the surveillance of the international "Iron Curtain" border between the Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia. As the "Eyes & Ears" of the 1st Armored Division based out of its Garrison at O'Brien Barracks in Schwabach, FRG, the Line Troops (A – "Alpha", B "Bravo", C "Charlie") rotated on a 30 to 45-day cycle through 1-1 Cavlary's Border Camp Pitman in Weiden, FRG between Field Training Exercises (FTX), Unit Gunnery Exercises and augmentations of other Border Cavalry Camps along the Inner German Cold War Iron Curtain Border with East Germany and Czechoslovakia. During this border surveillance mission period the line Troops were often typically deployed from their O'Brien Barracks Garrison for around 9 to 10 Months each year participating in various FTX's, REFORGER's (Return of Forces to Germany), Unit Gunnery Exercises, Border Tours and Augmentations.
In 1988 the Squadron moved Garrison to Katterbach, FRG and the unit eventually gained additional aviation elements to help support its mission. As part of the move and conversion from H Series Cavalry configuration to J Series Cavalry configuration, C Troop was dropped as a ground Troop and became one of the new Aviation Troops (C & D) added.
WhenSadaam Hussein'sIraq invadedKuwait precipitating theGulf War, the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment moved toSaudi Arabia from their bases in Germany and into the line by 8 January 1991. The 1st Armored Division was in a wedge for the advance forward, and 1-1 Cavalry was at the "sharp end" of the wedge. On 24 February, the 1st Cavalry led the way across the border and covered 244 kilometers in the enemy's rear during 89 hours of sustained combat operations. 1-1 Cavalry helped destroy 4 Iraqi divisions along the way, 3 of which were members of the vauntedRepublican Guard. The squadron sustained no fatalities and a limited number of wounded, and only lost twoM3A2 Bradley fighting vehicles.[5]
1-1 Cavalry was involved inOperation Joint Endeavor beginning 20 December 1995 in theBalkans. A Troop 1-1 Cavalry was First Unit across the Sava River during the UN peacekeeping mission inBosnia. The 1st Squadron returned toBüdingen, Germany on 17 November 1996.[5]
Meanwhile, inNew York State, by 1996 the 4th Squadron was listed among the Regular Army regiments, located at West Point, but as "inactive."[21]
In April 2003, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry and other regimentally affiliated units of the 1st Armored Division moved to Kuwait to begin staging for theOperation Iraqi Freedom. In March 2003, The Squadron conducted a Relief in Place of 3-7 Cavalry (3ID) in Baghdad and assumed operations. The Air Cavalry Troops of the Squadron (D, E, & F) were attached to 1st Battalion (Attack), 501st Aviation[22] in order to provide Reconnaissance and Security to the entirety of forces in an around the greater Baghdad area. Troop H, Brigade Reconnaissance Troop (a separate but regimentally affiliated unit) and the Squadron, along with infantry and reconnaissance elements fromCo. A, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry conducted reconnaissance and security operations in and around Baghdad for the next 16 months (due to an involuntary extension imposed on them two weeks prior to their scheduled flight home at the 12-month mark).[23] The Air Cavalry Troops earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Valorous Unit Award for their contributions.
From March 2007-May 2008 3-1 Cavalry deployed with 3-3ID East of Bagdad at FOB Hammer in support of President Bush's "Surge".
From September 2008 – September 2009, 5-1 Cavalry was deployed to the easternDiyala Governorate in Iraq.[24]
From April 2011–April 2012, 5-1 Cavalry deployed toKandahar Province inAfghanistan in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom.[24]
In April 2012, 8-1 Cavalry deployed to Afghanistan with 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Operations primarily took place throughout western and northern Kandahar Province. The squadron redeployed toJoint Base Lewis McChord in January 2013.
Spanish–American War
Philippine–American War
World War II
Vietnam
7th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment
Gulf War
1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment
1st Squadron is thearmored reconnaissance squadron of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team,1st Armored Division stationed atFort Bliss, Texas.
2nd Squadron is thereconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition squadron of the 1st Brigade Combat Team,4th Infantry Division stationed atFort Carson,Colorado. **Inactivated August 2024**
3rd Squadron was the reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition squadron of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team,3rd Infantry Division (United States) and was deactivated 14 Dec 2015 atFort Benning Georgia
5th Squadron is the reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition squadron of the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team,11th Airborne Division, stationed atFort Wainwright,Alaska.6th Squadron is the armored reconnaissance squadron of the 1st Brigade Combat Team,1st Armored Division, stationed atFort Bliss, Texas._SSI.png)
8th Squadron is the reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition squadron of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.