It was on this date, March 2, 1833, that the Regiment of US Dragoons was established by act of Congress. The Regiment was renamed the First Regiment of Dragoons when the Second Regiment was established in 1836. It was renamed the First US Cavalry Regiment in 1861, the name it carries to this day. The Regiment is 176 years old today, and is the oldest Mounted Regiment in continuous US service. (Several Regiments and separate Battalions had been in US service ever since 1775, but were always disbanded after the war/uprising they had been raised to combat)
The 1st Dragoon/Cavalry Regiment has taken part in every conflict fought by the US (with the exception of WWI and Korea, where they were either deployed to non-combat areas or kept stateside to train other units) since 1833. Not counting all their actual battles, their campaign honors through the end of the Vietnam War include-
Mexican War * Buena Vista
* Vera Cruz (Company F only)
* Cerro Gordo (Company F only)
* Contreras (Company F only)
* Molino Del Rey (Company F only)
* Chapultepec (Company F only)
* Coahuilla 1846
* New Mexico 1846 (except Company E)
* New Mexico 1847 (Except Company E)
* California 1847 (Company C only)
* Chihuahua 1848 (Except Company E)
Indian Wars(grouped by campaign location/objective)
* Modocs
* Apaches
* Nez Perces
* Bannocks
* Pine Ridge
* California 1846
* California 1852
* California 1860
* California 1868
* Kansas 1847 (Company B only)
* Nebraska 1849 (Company B only)
* New Mexico 1849
* New Mexico 1850
* New Mexico 1851
* New Mexico 1854
* New Mexico 1855
* New Mexico 1856
* Oregon 1851
* Oregon 1853
* Oregon 1855
* Oregon 1856
* Oregon 1860
* Oregon 1866
* Oregon 1867
* Oregon 1868
* Colorado 1855
* Arizona 1857
* Arizona 1859
* Arizona 1866
* Arizona 1867 (Company E only)
* Arizona 1868
* Arizona 1869
* Arizona 1870
* Arizona 1871
* Arizona 1872 (Except Company B)
* Arizona 1881 (Except Company B)
* Washington 1858
* Idaho 1879 (Except Company E)
* Montana 1887
Civil War * Peninsula
* Antietam (Except Company E)
* Fredericksburg
* Chancellorsville
* Gettysburg
* Wilderness
* Spotsylvania
* Cold Harbor
* Petersburg
* Shenandoah
* Appomattox
* New Mexico 1862 (Except Company E)
* Virginia 1862
* Virginia 1863
* Virginia 1864
* Virginia 1865
* Maryland 1863
Spanish-American War * Santiago
Philippine Insurrection * Luzon 1901 (Except Company E)
* Luzon 1902 (Except Company E)
WWIIETO/MTO
* Algeria-French Morocco (with arrowhead)
* Tunisia
* Naples-Foggia
* Anzio
* Rome-Arno
* North Apennines (Except Company E)
* Po Valley (Except Company E)
PTO
* New Guinea (Company H only)
* Bismarck Archipelago (With Arrowhead) (Company H only)
* Leyte (With Arrowhead (Company H only)
* Luzon (Company H only)
Vietnam * Counteroffensive, Phase III (Except Companies C, D, F, G and H)
* Tet Counteroffensive (Except Companies C. D, F and H)
Happy Birthday 1st Cav!
March 2, 1833
