4th Infantry Regiment (United States)

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4th Infantry
Image:4_Infantry_Regiment_COA.PNG
4th Infantry Coat Of Arms
Active September 4, 1792-January 31, 1947; October 1, 1948- Present.
Country USA
Branch Regular Army
Type Regiment
Role Infantry
Size Two battalions
Garrison/HQ 1st Battalion - Hohenfels, Germany
2nd Battalion - Fort Polk, LA
Motto Noli Me Tangere (Don't Tread on Me)
Colors Green and Scarlet
Engagements Indian Wars
*Battle of Fallen Timbers
*Battle of Tippecanoe
*Creek War
*Seminole Wars
*Black Hawk War
*Rogue River Wars
*Yakima War
*Puget Sound War
War of 1812
*Siege of Detroit
*Battle of Plattsburg
U.S.-Mexican War
Pig War
U.S. Civil War
Spanish-American War
Philippine American War
World War I
World War II
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 General William Henry Harrison
U.S. Grant
George Crook
George Wright
Lt. Adam J. Slemmer
2nd Lt. Allan G. Greer
Ensign William Clark
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia

The U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. It has served in the defense of the United States for over two hundred years.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Origins

The regiment traces its lineage to the original Fourth United States Infantry, which was organized as the Infantry of the Fourth Sub-Legion on September 4, 1792, only four years after the adoption of the Federal Constitution (the Constitution became the law of the land on June 21, 1788). The Infantry of the Fourth Sub-Legion fought at Miami Rapids in 1794. In 1796, it was redesignated the Fourth Regiment of the Infantry. The regiment existed for ten years, as a youthful country experimented to obtain a military force to its needs. Due to a reduction in the Army, the regiment was disbanded in 1802.

[edit] The Indian Wars

Threatening war clouds caused it to be reorganized in 1808, to meet the growing threat posed by the Indian nations, which lived on the western boundaries of the United States. Under the leadership of General William H. Harrison, the 4th Infantry was sent into the Northeast territories, which included Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Its mission was to eliminate the threat posed by a union of Indian tribes from the surrounding area. The hostile actions of these tribes were effectively stopping settlement of this vast area. General Harrison, who was later to become a United States President, led the 4th Infantry and a force of militia and volunteers against the Indians at Tippecanoe. During this famous battle, the American forces completely routed the Indians, bringing peace to the area, but at a cost of 188 dead. The regiment then returned to Fort Vincennes, and in 1812, after a trying march through the forests of Ohio, joined forces with General William Hull. The Fourth was then constituted on January 1, 1812 in the Regular Army as Company A of the 14th Infantry Regiment.

[edit] The War of 1812

Within months of the Battle of Tippecanoe, war was declared against Great Britain. On July 12, General Hull crossed with his command into Canada, and made camp at Sandwich (now Windsor), Canada, just on the Canadian border. The regiment remained inactive for the rest of the month and grew restless. Then the Fourth was given a mission of escorting some supplies into Camp Detroit; previous escorts having been surprised and routed. The Fourth Infantry undertook this duty enthusiastically, and although ambushed at Maguage, fourteen miles below Detroit, by a superior force of British, Canadians, and Indians, the American regulars captured the enemy's concealed breastworks, wounded Chief Tecumseh, and completely routed their opponents.

Before they could follow up on their success and complete the victory, the Fourth received orders from General Hull to return to Detroit. There, the Fourth found out that General Hull had surrendered his entire force to include the Fourth to an inferior enemy without a fight. For this General Hull was tried and found guilty of "Cowardness" and "Neglect of Duty". President Monroe, mitigating the court-martial sentence that General Hull be shot, ruled: "The rolls of the Army shall no longer be debased by having upon them the name of Brigadier General Hull". The Fourth Infantry's colors taken by the British (through no fault of the regiment) were kept in the Tower of London until 1889. They are currently in the Welch Regiment Museum.

After remaining several months in Canada as prisoners of war, the officers and men were returned under parole to Boston and given furloughs until exchanged for British prisoners of war. Early in 1813 the exchange was effective and the regiment reassembled and recruited to strength. It fought at La Cole Hill, Canada and at Plattsburgh in 1814, thus cleansing the bloodstain thrust upon it by General Hull.

Upon the reduction of the Army in 1815, many regiments were consolidated to give a smaller number of regimental organizations. The 4th Infantry was combined with five regiments (the 9th, 13th, 21st, 40th, and 46th) and consolidated to form the 5th Infantry in May through October of 1815. Four regiments were consolidated to form the new 4th Infantry, they were the 12th, 14th 18th and 20th. Company A, of each of the 36th and 38th Infantry (both constituted 29 January 1813) formed Company A, of the 4th Infantry. It is this regiment that the present 4th Infantry is descended. The War Department has ruled that by these consolidations the distinguished service of the regiment prior to May 15, 1815 are to be credited to the 5th Infantry, and that the Fourth Infantry, in a similar way, inherited the records of the regiments consolidated into its organization. The names Fort Niagara, Fort George, Beaver Dams, Chrystler's Fields, Chappeway and Cook's Hill are therefore entitled to be borne upon the Battalion Colors; although in none of these battles did the Battalion or any portion of it participate. The new 4th Infantry was designated as Company A, of the 4th Infantry on 21 August 1816.

[edit] The Creek and Seminole Campaigns

For the next twenty years, the regiment fought almost constantly with the Creek Indians in Georgia, and the Seminoles in Florida under the command of General Andrew Jackson, a future president. In constant and long hardships the regiment marched through swamps, building cantonments and raking roads to open what now is the state of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. A letter of Gen. Lorenzo Thomas stated: “Each company built its own double block of logs and a house of one story for the officers quarters. The troops also saved the boards for flooring, and rived the pine shingles for roofs. In truth, the troops did the entire work, the quartermaster department only furnishing the few tools to work with, such as nails and other hardware. Scarcely a nail was used to secure the shingles, they being hung on the rafters with wooden pegs. The spaces between the logs were chinked with moss and clay and afterward the whole was whitewashed. All completed with scarcely any expense to the government."

In December 1835, Chief Osceola's Seminoles cut the line of communication and supply to one of the border stations, Fort King. One hundred artillerymen from Fort Brooke under Major Gardner were ordered to re-establish the contact. At the last moment, Major Gardner's bride of a few weeks fell ill. Captain and Brevet-Major Francis L. Dade of the Fourth Infantry gallantly volunteered to take command for Major Gardner. Gallantly, because post gossip had it that it had been a fair wager as to whether the lady would become Mrs. Gardner or Mrs. Dade. Major Dade's offer was accepted and he joined the expedition with eleven men of B Company, Fourth Infantry. The march was begun on 20 December, on the 28th, after a cheerless Christmas on the trail and still forty miles short of Fort King; Major Dade ran his little column into a trap of the wily Indian, Osceola. The only survivors of the affair were three badly wounded privates who reported the command had fought stubbornly from eight in the morning until five at night when, their ammunition exhausted, they went down, outnumbered, under Seminole hatchets. Those who died or were wounded were: Francis L. Dade, Brevet Maj., Pvt. John Barnes, Pvt. Donald Campbell, Pvt. Marvin Cunningham, Pvt. John Doughty, Pvt. Cornel Donovan, Pvt. William Downes, Pvt. Enoch Yates, Pvt. Samuel Hall, Pvt. Wiley Jones, Pvt. John Massacre, suffering some casualties: Pvt. David Hill was killed at Fort Call on Aug. 21, 1836, Pvt. David Mclaughlin and Pvt. William Walker were killed at Thonotosassa on Aug. 26, 1836, Sgt. Levi Clendening was killed at Chrystal River on Feb. 09, 1837, Pvt. Othiel Lutz, Pvt. John Stewart, and Pvt. Bathol Shumard were killed at Okeechobee on Dec. 25, 1837, and Pvt. William Foster was killed at Big Cypress on Dec. 20, 1841.

By 1842, the Fourth Infantry had caught up with the Indians and Osceola was on his way to a cell at Moutrie in which he would remain until his death. Hostile tribes that lived in these areas fled west of the Mississippi. The death roll of one company for one year includes casualties from the elusive savage's, Cholera, and five diagnosed types of fever. The same death roll has the entry "Intemperance" after two more soldier's names. In Orders No. 15, Western Army, August 28 1832, General Winfield Scott states: "The senior surgeon recommends the use of flannel shirts, flannel drawers and woolen stockings, but the Commanding General, who has seen much of the disease [Cholera] knows that it is intemperance which generates and spreads the calamity and that, when spread, good and temperate men are likely to be infected. He therefore peremptorily commands that every soldier or ranger who shall be found drunk or sensibly intoxicated, after publication of this order, be compelled, as soon as his strength will permit, to dig a grave at a suitable burying place large enough for his own reception, as such a grave cannot fail soon to be wanted for the drunken man himself or for one of his drunken companions. This order is given as well to serve as a punishment for drunkenness as to spare good and temperate men the labor of digging graves for their worthless companions."

[edit] The Mexican-American War

In 1842, the regiment was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, where after half a century of existence the regiment enjoyed for the first time the comforts of a regular post. The regiment trained at Jefferson barracks for two years when in 1844, it was ordered to the western border of Louisiana for the war with Mexico. Hostilities were precipitated by the murder of Colonel Cross and the slaughter of a lieutenant with a small detachment of 4th Infantry soldiers by Mexican Raiders. Although this happened in April, communications were slow and it was not until September that the command sailed to Corpus Christi, Texas, where with the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th Infantry regiments, one Artillery regiment acting as Infantry, seven companies of Dragoons, and four companies of light Artillery formed the Army of Observation under General Zachary Taylor. The pay was seven dollars a month and flogging was the usual means of punishment. General Grant, then a lieutenant in the 4th Infantry stated; " A more efficient army, for its members and armament, I do believe ever fought a battle than that one commanded by General Taylor in his first two fights in Mexico". The Army of Observation soon became the Army of Occupation. Certain it is that on the fields of Palo Alto, Resaca De La Palra, and at the desperate struggle of Monterey, where the regimental band of the Fourth found their role of spectators no longer supportable and, throwing away their instruments, they rushed a Mexican light battery, seized it, and swung it about upon their fleeing enemy. According to the official citation, the breast cord of honor given them and their successors was made red, the Artillery's color, to show that they were expert Artillerymen as Infantrymen. The 4th set a standard of courage seldom equaled and never surpassed; General Taylor was blessed with great leadership like Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant and Captain Robert E. Lee serving as a Company Commander of Engineers. These battles had a great influence in molding the leaders of the American Civil War, which followed.

General Taylor having successfully invaded Northern Mexico moved the base of active operations to Vera Cruz on the east coast. In January 1847, the 4th Infantry was taken by sea to the port of Vera Cruz and after a siege, the city capitulated. General Scott commanding the Army at Vera Cruz ordered the advance on the capital, Mexico City, in April. On April 17 and 18th General Scott's forces moved through the mountain pass at Gerro Gordo, where General Santa Anna lost his wooden leg in a hasty retreat. The Mexican soldiers fought well and the pass was won only after desperate attacks. The passage of the Lava Fields, the battle of Cherubusco, the assault in Molino del Ray and the final storming of Chapultepec, the citadel of the regiment, reflected great credit upon the 4th Infantry.

[edit] Garrison Duty

At the finish of the war the 4th Infantry left from Vera Cruz, and reached Camp Jeff Davis, Pascagoula, Mississippi on July 23, 1848. The regiment was ordered to proceed by sea to New York and to take station at several different points on the lakes, between Mackinac and Platsburg. Ordinary garrison duties were performed until June 1852.

The regiment was consolidated at Fort Columbus, New York to board the SS Ohio and travel to Aspinwall, on the Isthmus of Panama on July 5, 1852. Their mission was to travel across the Isthmus of Panama set up camp on the Pacific coast to protect early settlers of the Pacific Northwest. After a long journey on the overcrowded ship (1,100 officers, men and camp followers) the regiment safely reached Aspinwall on July 16, 1852. The rainy season was at its height on the Isthmus, and worse, Cholera was raging. Transportation was lacking for the trip across the Isthmus of Panama, the jungles, mountains, and rivers were difficult to cross; and Cholera decimated the organization as well as the families who accompanied the men. The total deaths from cholera, fever, and allied diseases from the time the regiment arrived on the Isthmus to a few weeks after the arrival at Benica on the west coast, amounted to one officer and 106 enlisted men. On arrival on the Pacific coast, the regiment was distributed among many small posts. Vancouver Barracks, Fort Townsend, Fort Hopkins, Fort Humboldt, Fort Dalles, Fort Steilacoom, Fort Jones, Fort Boise, Lane, Reading, Fort Yamhill, Orford, Fort Walla Walla, Crook, Fort Ter-Wer, Fort Cascades, Fort Simcoe, Gaston, Chehalis, Fort Yuma, and Mohave were all garrisoned and many of them built by the 4th Infantry at some time between 1852 and 1861. While most of these posts are now forgotten, or remembered only through the cities which have sprung up around their sites, they played an important part in the protection of the Pacific Northwest.

Major Granville O. Haller of the 4th infantry led an expedition from Fort Dalles into central Washington, and Lieutenant William A. Slaughter of the 4th Infantry with forty-eight men from Fort Steilacoom crossed Natchez Pass to aid Major Haller when attempts to move the Indians of Puget Sound onto reservations caused trouble between them and some white settlers. Captain Maloney of the 4th Infantry, and Captain Gilmore Hayon of the Washington Volunteers had started for Yakima via Natchez Pass when they were overtaken on October 29 1855 by the Nisqually tribe under Chief Leschi. Lt. Slaughter and his men plus Captain Hayes force met the hostile Indians at the crossing of the White River, and on November 4, 1855 fought without decisive results. The following day the troops met hostiles in the difficult country between the White and Green Rivers. The troops fell back into the valleys and on November 24, 1855, Lt. Slaughter commanding a platoon of the 4th Infantry and a Company of volunteers was attacked in his camp at Puyallup. The Lieutenant moved to the present site of Auburn and here again the Indians attacked. The gallant young officer and two corporals of the volunteer company were killed, four other men were injured, one later dying of his wounds. For years the town, which sprang up on this site, was known as Slaughter in honor of this officer of the 4th Infantry; it was later changed to Auburn.

During the hostilities great numbers of settlers had taken refuge at Fort Steilacoom, the woman and children being left there, while the men enrolled in the volunteers. Ezar Meeker, one of the settlers, pays the following tribute to First Lieutenant John Nugen of the Fourth Infantry, commanding Fort Steilacoom while Captain Maloney was in the field.

"It would be a pleasure, could I but know he was alive, to even yet thank that kind and considerate gentleman, LT. Nugen, for his forbearance and energetic efforts to contribute to the safety and comfort of the panic-stricken citizens. By improvising temporary quarters for his force most of whom, however, were placed on guard duty, room was provided in the soldier's barracks for the woman and children, while the men were placed on guard with what few soldiers were left."

Hostile tribes attacked Seattle on January 26, 1856, and two settlers were killed. Meanwhile the regular forces were augmented by additional companies of the 4th Infantry from Vancouver Barracks and by three companies of the 9th Infantry. On February 12, 1856, they moved from Fort Steilacoom and were joined by Chief Patkanim with friendly Indians. This force advanced against the hostiles at Mucleshoot, losing one man and nine wounded, in a second battle on the White River overrunning the Indian encampment. Leshi retreated through Natches Pass and surrendered to Col. Wright, the commanding officer of the 4th Infantry, who had been conducting a vigorous campaign against the Yakima Indians and their allies, while the action in the west was occurring. After the close of the Leschi War, the 4th Infantry included in its roster of officers such distinguished names as those of Robert C. Buchanan, Christopher C. Augur, Alden, William Wallace Smith Bliss, Ulysses S. Grant, Philip Sheridan, Henry M. Judah, DeLancey Floyd-Jones, R.N. Scott, Lewis Cass Hunt, Granville O. Haller, Henry C. Hodges, Waller, David Allen Russell, Henry Prince, Benjamin Alvord, August Kautz, Robert Macfeely and George Crook. After the regiment returned in 1861 to garrison at Washington D.C., those officers continued careers which covered their names with glory in the American Civil War.

In 1859, General William S. Harney ordered the occupation of San Juan Island as part of the territory of the United States. Three companies of the Fourth Infantry and one of the Ninth, under the command of Captain George Pickett, did the occupying. The British commander, fortified by five men-of-war, 2,000 sailors and marines, disagreed with General Harney's Geography. One hundred sixty-seven British guns aboard the five ships were trained upon the Fourth infantry camp when, in the lull before the first gunner's match was lit, an officer of the fourth was invited to an official party of courtesy aboard the flagship. During casual professional conversation around the punch bowl, the American made a remark concerning a battle in the war between the Austrians and Napoleon III's Franco­Sardinians, which was then in progress. The British Admiral heard it. " I presume," he asked, "that you refer to the battle of Magenta, Major?" " No sir, I spoke of the second engagement of the campaign, some weeks after Magenta." "Hm-m, and how have such late advices reached you?" "By courier from our Department of State, sir." It was September 1859; Magenta had been fought June 4. To the British, the conclusion was obvious and upsetting. Evidently, news, which reached the Americans from Washington, was considerly fresher than that which England could furnish her Pacific Fleet. With the memory of Pakenham's bloody losses at New Orleans, in a battle fought after the war was ended, the fresh in their minds, the British decided to wait. As it happened, the English commander was really the best informed man on the scene, as the subsequent arrival of General Winfield Scott with orders whiched vetoed General Harney's decision proved. The San Juan troops were quietly withdrawn, but without bloodshed. If the Fourth Infantryman had felt that he needed any further poetic justification, it was given him by news, which finally came from Italy that there had been another battle after Magenta. This incident in Puget Sound was named the Pig War.

[edit] Civil War

In 1861 with the secession of a number of Southern states to form the new Confederate States of America, the 4th U.S. Infantry moved to Washington D.C. to become part of the garrison in defense of the capital. The regiment was organized with other Regular Army units in the Volunteer Army as the First Brigade of George Sykes's "Regular Division" of the V Corps. The regiment's first Civil War engagement was in April and May 1862 during the Siege of Yorktown. By quick action at the Battle of Gaines Mill in June 1862, the Regulars saved Wood's and Tidball's artillery batteries from capture by Confederate infantry.

It participated as a part of the Army of the Potomac in the Second Battle of Bull Run and then the subsequent Maryland Campaign. At the Battle of Antietam, the U.S. Regulars held the Middle Bridge over Antietam Creek, guarding the vital passage. They advanced towards the Confederate-held town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, late in the afternoon of September 17, 1862, before being recalled to their lines.

After seeing limited action at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, the regiment went into winter camp and saw no further combat for months. It formed part of Joseph Hooker's rear guard at Chancellorsville. Throughout the Gettysburg Campaign, the regiment served in the Regular Division under its newly promoted commander, Romeyn B. Ayres. During the Battle of Gettysburg, it was part of the fighting on the Second Day, helping push back Confederate infantry near Devil's Den and the Wheatfield.

Heavily depleted by battle casualties, the much reduced regiment nevertheless continued to participate in the major campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, by 1864 under the command of Ulysses S. Grant during the Overland Campaign. The remaining men participated in the battles of Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and the Siege of Petersburg. By the time the regiment manned the breastworks around Petersburg, a lieutenant, George Randall, was in command as the senior officer still present for duty.

On June 22, 1864, with less than 150 men left, the 4th Infantry reported to City Point, Virginia, to become Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s headquarters guard. The greatly reduced regiment was present at Appomattox Courthouse for Robert E. Lee's surrender. Grant, then commanding the armies of the Union, never forgot the 4th Infantry, with which he had served as a lieutenant in Mexico and on the frontier. As recognition of its valor during the Civil War, he designated it as the guard unit during the formal surrender ceremony.

Survivors of the 4th U.S. Infantry marched in the Grand Review of troops in Washington D.C. immediately following the war.

[edit] Post Civil War

After Appomattox, the Fourth was organized at Fort Hamilton at Brooklyn, New York on 23 December 1865 and returned to the West, now to Fort Laramie. On December 7 1866, the Fourth was redesignated as Company A, 30th Infantry. On March 31 1869 Company A was consolidated as Company A, Fourth Infantry and the regiment retained the designation, Fourth. One casualty is noted as Pvt. Johnathan Schewen who died from an Indian Attack on December 03, 1869 at Horse River, WY. were the 4th fought with General Cook's Big Horn Expedition.

In 1871, Parts of the Fourth went to Louisville to be split into small detachments and chivvy moonshiners about the Kentucky hills for a year. Parts stayed to fight Indians were Sgt. Patrick Sullivan of the 4th, was ambushed and murdered by Outlaws on March 04, 1876 at Fort Fetterman, WY. And Maj. [Thomas T. Thornburgh] was killed in an Indian attack on Sept. 29, 1879 at Milk River, Colorado-during the Meeker Massacre {Thornburgh and 12 others killed and 43 wounded. See [[1]]}.

The detachments in Kentucky went West again in 1882 and enjoyed a well earned rest for ten years. In time to serve under Crook in the Battle of the Rosebud, where Crook ordered the infantry to advance to the bluffs on foot in support of his Indian allies. The men of Co. D, 4th Infantry, led by Capt. Avery B. Cain, were the first to reach the crest of the ridge north of the Rosebud, where they opened fire. Co's C, G and H, 9th Infantry, and Co. F, 4th Infantry, supported the charge. The success of the infantry was critical to the outcome of the battle. Their enhanced firepower kept the Indians at bay, while cavalrymen made their horses ready. In moving forward, the foot soldiers found a Crow warrior leaning against a tree, where he urged on his companions, yelling like a madman. This was Bull Snake, whose thighbone had been shattered when he exposed himself on a bravery run. Also wounded here was Fox-Just-Coming-Over-Hill, renamed Old Coyote, shot through the shoulder.

In 1892-1893, under Colonel Robert Hall, the Fourth escorted Coxey's Army through Washington and Idaho guarding the Northern Pacific Railway from disorder arising from the march of Coxey's Army.

[edit] Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War Years

In 1898, the Fourth went east and embarked from Tampa to Cuba on the steamer "Concho". Landing at Daiquiri, the regiment participated in the battle of El Caney and the occupation of Santiago. Fever decimated the command and the campaign ended.

The Fourth returned to New York in August of 1898. Quickly recruited at Fort Sheridan, the regiment sailed in January 1899 for Manila via the Suez Canal and became the first United States Troops to cross the Atlantic on deployment.

The Fourth Infantry, or units of it, participated in fights of La Loma church, Wariquima, Dismarinias, Imus, Puento Julien, and elsewhere in the Philippines, finally capturing LT. General Trias, second in command to Aquinaldo. On 20 November 1899, Private John C. Wetherby, Co. L, 4th Infantry, was near Imus, Luzon, Philippine Islands when he was wounded carrying important orders on the battlefield, unable to walk, he crawled at a great distance in order to deliver his orders. Private Wetherby, received the Medal of Honor for his actions.

On July 2, 1901, 2Lt Allen J. Greer of the 4th Infantry was near Majada, Laguna Province, Philippine Islands when he charged alone an insurgent outpost with his pistol, killing 1, wounding 2, and capturing 3 insurgents with their rifles and equipment. For his actions, 2Lt. Greer received the Medal of Honor.

On November 23, 1901, 1LT. Louis J. Van Schaick, was pursuing a band of insurgents, near Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippine Islands, and was the first to emerge from a canyon, and seeing a column of insurgents and fearing they might turn and dispatch his men as they emerged one by one from the canyon, galloped forward and closed with the insurgents, thereby throwing them into confusion until the arrival of others of the detachment. 1Lt. Van Schaick received the Medal of Honor for his actions.

In 1902, the regiment returned to San Francisco, having circled the globe.

The regiment returned to the Philippines for another tour from 1903 till 1906.

In October 1906 the Regiment moved to Wyoming in time to stop the Ute uprising, its last campaign against hostile Indians.

In 1908, the regiment was ordered to the Philippines for a third time, remaining until 1910.

Trouble with Mexico caused the regiment to be stationed on the Texas border in 1913; and in 1914 it took part in the occupation of Veracruz. Pvt. Herman C. Moore, 4th Infantry Regiment was killed during this conflict in October 1915. The regiment camped on the same grounds as it had in the U.S.-Mexican War of 1847, sixty-seven years before.

[edit] World War I

In 1917, the United States entered World War I. On 1 October 1917, the Fourth was assigned to 3d Division. Stationed at Fort Brown, Texas, the regiment recruited and trained up to strength and on the first anniversary of our entry into the war, left for France. The Fourth Infantry disembarked at Brest, France in 1918 and participated in the defensive actions of Aisne, Château-Thierry, Second Battle of the Marne, and in the Third Battle of the Aisne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne offensives. The entire regiment was decorated with the French Croix de Guerre, having lost eighty percent of its men, under constant and grueling fire during thirty days on the line; the regiment was relieved by the 60th Infantry. On October 7, 1918 near Cunel, France, PFC John L. Barkley, Co. K, 4th Infantry was stationed in an observation post half a kilometer from the German line, on his own initiative repaired a captured enemy machinegun and mounted it in a disabled French tank near his post. Shortly afterward, when the enemy launched a counterattack against our forces, PFC Barkley got into the tank, waited under the hostile barrage until the enemy line was abreast of him and then opened fire, completely breaking up the counterattack and killing and wounding a large number of the enemy. Five minutes later an enemy 77-millimeter gun opened fire on the tank pointblank. One shell struck the drive wheel of the tank, but this soldier nevertheless remained in the tank and after the barrage ceased broke up a second enemy counterattack, thereby enabling our forces to gain and hold Hill 25. PFC Barkley received the Medal of Honor for his actions.

After a rest which the organization received six hundred replacements, it was marched to a position in the Forest De Passe, and on November 9, 1918, received orders to be on a moments notice. The men knew they were to take part in the final drive to encircle Metz, in the event the Germans did not accept terms of the proposed armistice. Preparations were being made for the departure on the morning of November 11, when the end of the war was heralded by the French villagers; shouts of " Viva la Americus"-"Viva les Allies"-"Fini la Cuerre" were heard following the German surrender. The Fourth Infantry served as part of the Army of Occupation in France, until 1919.

After returning to the United States, the Fourth Infantry was stationed at Camp Pike, Arkansas, and then moved to Camp Lewis, Washington, the site of which was part of the tribal grounds of Chief Leschi, the regiment’s enemy in 1855-56. In June of 1922, the regimental headquarters, headquarters and service companies and second Battalion of the regiment were sent to Fort George Wright, Washington, while the other two Battalions occupied Fort Missoula, Montana and Fort Lawton, Washington. On February 19, 1925 the unit was permitted to wear the red-green-red patch. The 4th Infantry became the only US Army unit to wear a non-metal unit crest.

[edit] Alaska Defense

In 1927, the Third Battalion at Fort Lawton moved to Fort Lincoln, Maryland. After maneuvers in California in 1940, the 3rd Battalion was redesigned as part of the 15th Infantry. Cadre made up a new 3rd Battalion from the remainder of the regiment and the transfer of two companies of the 32nd Infantry at Chilkoot barracks, Alaska. The 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry pioneered military development of the Strategic Alaskan territory. The rest of the regiment arrived shortly after and started clearing ground for what is now Fort Richardson. It was the first organization of such size to arrive in Alaska. The Fourth formed the nucleus for the Alaskan Defense command, to deter a Japanese invasion of Alaska. The Japanese began to build-up forces on the southern-most Alaskan Islands and the Fourth's major battle of the war was the battle of Attu, a Japanese held Island. On May 8, 1943 soldiers of the Fourth climbed over the sides of their transport ships to land on Massacre Bay. Major John D. O'Reilly of Seattle, Commander of the Battalion, who was later to receive a battlefield promotion to Lieutenant Colonel for outstanding leadership, reported to Major General Landrem. Carrying extra rations and ammunition, the troops were marched directly to a battle sector, and they engaged the enemy less than 24 hours after they landed. On Attu Island, the First Battalion fought the Japanese at altitudes of 2000 feet on snow-covered mountains. Moving north along the high west ridge of Chichagof Valley on May 2l, 1943 the battalion came up against strong enemy opposition from machine gun and sniper positions. Later that day, the battalion moved along the ridge to a point where visual contact was established with other American forces that had proceeded inland from the Holtz Bay area, on the opposite side of the Island.

After five straight days of strong enemy opposition, the First Battalion was pulled to the rear for rest and to prep for their next mission. After a day's rest, the First Battalion was given the task of clearing entrenched Japanese defenders from the high peaks of Fish Hook Ridge. Covered only by mortar and machine gun fire, troops of Company A scaled steep cliffs while facing heavy enemy fire. Observers watching the action from a distance were fascinated by the spectacle. Small groups of soldiers were clearly visible as they slowly inched their way up to the enemy held peaks. One observer later said that the scene resembled a Hollywood adventure movie rather than the reality it was. Many were wounded or killed, but the battalion on May 27, 1943 finally took a portion of a high rock on the northeast end of the ridge, giving them a commanding position overlooking the main ridge running east toward the Chichagof Valley.

The fighting continued into the night and by 1900 hours on the next day, the 4th Infantry's battle weary troops had accomplished their mission. The Presidential Unit Cititation was awarded to Company A for its heroism during the attack on the peaks. The next day, the American invasion force engaged and defeated 1,000 Japanese in a suicide counter-attack near Sarana Valley. The fourth was given the task of combing the area of Chichagof Valley by active patrolling, hunting out and capturing or killing Japanese stragglers. This was the last engagement with the Japanese for the regiment. The Japanese had been driven from Alaska's Aleutian Islands, and the Fourth Infantry had added another battle streamer to the 29 already on its colors (no other unit in the Army could boast so many). But it had paid a high price, approximately five officers and sixty enlisted men died.

2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry participated in one of the first big troop movements by air, probably the largest up to that time. Early on the morning of June 19, 1942 the battalion was ordered to move to Nome, Alaska near the edge of the Arctic Circle, where unidentified planes were flying threatening an invasion. Only a small number of army transport planes were available. The situation was critical and orders required that the vanguard of the force, 20 anti-aircraft guns and their crews, be in Nome within 24 hours. All civilian air traffic in Alaska was stopped that day and every suitable airplane in the vicinity was requisitioned for the movement. The fleet of planes included Stinsons, Bellancas, and two old Ford Tri-motors. By midnight of the same day, after 39 individual trips, the anti-­aircraft units had been moved to Nome and the big shuttle movement was under way. Despite weather that kept the planes on the ground part of the time, the entire force, along with all its equipment, with the exception of big field guns and similar heavy equipment, was transported to Nome in a period of 18 days. The movement would have been completed in a week had it not been for the unfavorable weather conditions. Cargo-carrying commercial planes coming in from China were used to supplement the air armada. The midnight sun, providing almost full 24 hours of daylight, made it possible for some of the planes to make two trips in a single day. Ammunition, rations, tents, even 37 millimeter guns and field kitchens, everything necessary to make the force self-sufficient were moved by air without one accident. Heavy weapons were brought up later by boat. The troops stepped out of the planes in Nome, equipped and ready to fight. The total flights came to 218. The troops maneuvered in weather from 20 to 35 degrees below zero. They found that none of the elaborate footgear provided by the army protected their feet as well as the native Mukluk, made by the Eskimos from deer and the hide of sealskins. The 2nd Battalion remained in Nome for a year, later moving to the Aleutians. First to Dutch Harbor then to Adak, where they became acquainted with other types of disagreeable weather.

The 3rd Battalion, which included two companies that were stationed at Chikoot Barracks for many years before the war, helped to establish two big bases, Fort Richardson and Ladd Field. Alaska today is a state because of the sacrifices made by the Fourth Infantry.

[edit] NATO Mission

In the fall of 1943 the 4th returned to the United States and after consolidating the regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington, it moved in early 1944 to Fort Benning, Georgia, where it served as demonstration troops for the Infantry School. On November 1, 1945, the 4th Infantry was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division and saw two years of occupation duty in Japan. It was inactivated on January 31, 1947, at Osaka, Japan, returned to the United States and was relieved from assignment to the 25th Division on February 1, 1947.

The 4th was again activated on October 1, 1948 at Fort Lewis, Washington and assigned to the 4th Regimental Combat Team. It served in this assignment for six years, and then was assigned as an organic element of the 71St Infantry Division on October 10, 1954. On September 15, 1956, the 4th Infantry was assigned to the 4th Regimental Combat Team for the second time in this capacity it served for nearly a year. On July 1, 1957, Company B was relieved from assignment to the 4th Regimental Combat Team, reorganized and redesigned Headquarters Company, 2nd Battle Group, 4th Infantry, and was assigned as an organic element of the 3d Infantry Division with duty station at Fort Benning, Georgia. The remaining companies and a mortar battery to comprise the 2d Battle Group, 4th Infantry were organized for the 1St and 2d Battalions, 15th Infantry Regiment which was already stationed at Fort Benning. This reorganization was in consonance with Department of the Army policy, which adopted the ROCID concept, which adopted the smaller more mobile Battle Group in lieu of the old Tri-concept of the Infantry Regiment.

On July 22, 1957, Colonel Seymore B. Satterwhite assumed command of the 2nd Battle Group, 4th Infantry and by July 20 all personnel of the Battle Group were thoroughly oriented on the ROCID concept. By September 15, 1957 the Battle Group had completed its organization under ROCID TO&E 7-11T, 1956, thus cadre training commenced in preparation for receiving 1,189 new soldiers straight from civilian life that would bring the unit to TO&E combat strength. The 2d Battle Group, 4th Infantry received the first 26 men authorized on November 12, 1957. The remainder of the men arrived shortly after, and all of the men completed their Basic Training in time to go on leave for Christmas. When they returned in January, Training was resumed; and training of all phases was completed by April 3, 1958. On February 15, 1958, it officially was reorganized and redesignated Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battle Group, 4th Infantry and assigned to the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. The 1st Battle Group was assigned to the 2d Infantry Brigade.

Embarkation leaves were held during April, and on May 13, 1958, the 4th Infantry boarded the [[USNS Rose]] for Bremerhaven, Germany. The 2d Battle Group, 4th Infantry arrived in Bremerhaven on May 22, 1958 and reached its post in Bamberg on May 24, 1958. On the day of arrival a change of command ceremony took place whereby the town of Bamberg welcomed the 4th Infantry and said “Aufweidersen" to the departing Battle Group, simultaneously the 4th Infantry accepted the vital mission as part of the NATO shield, to stand ready to defend the free people of Europe against any and all aggression.

On April 2, 1962, the 1st Battle Group was inactivated at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. On April 18, 1963 the 2nd Battle Group was relieved from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division and the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry was redesignated and assigned to the 3d Infantry Division. On June 3, 1963, the 2nd Battle Group was inactivated in Germany and on June 5, 1963 the 1st of the 4th Infantry was activated. The 2nd Battle Group would later be activated (July 21, 1969) as the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 3rd Battle Group would become the 3rd Battalion, 4th Infantry and be inactivated at Fairfield, Illinois on December 31, 1965.

In 1965, The First battalion of the Fourth Infantry joined the Third Brigade of the Third Infantry Division in Aschaffenburg, Germany. Taking part in the many REFORGER training exercises in Germany. The Battalion was named "WARRIOR" Battalion in 1966 to commemorate the long service by the regiment between fighting wars and later protecting Indians in Florida, the Pacific Northwest, and the Great Plains.

The 2nd Bn 4th Inf was reactivated on July 21, 1969. On September 18, 1970, the 56th Field Artillery Brigade, headquartered in Schwabish Gemund, Federal Republic of Germany, assummed command and control of three Pershing missile firing battalions. The newly arrived 2nd Bn 4th Inf provided the infantry defensive support the missile units required.

The 2nd battalion 4th Infantry's primary mission and full-time job was to provide for the security of the Pershing nuclear missile and missile storage sites. It also pursued a rigorous infantry training schedule. Company A (Apaches) was stationed in Kornwestheim (near Stuttgart); HHC (Hurons) and Company B (Blackfeet) were stationed at Nelson Kaserne in Neu Ulm; and, Company C (Cherokees) was stationed in Heilbronn.

The 2nd Battalion 4th Infantry participated in major exercises each winter at training areas such as Baumholder, Hohenfels, Wildflecken, and Graffenwoehr. This helped to prepare the 2/4th infantry soldiers for the possibility of encounters with Warsaw Pact military forces in the event of an assault on the missile sites themselves. This was considered a very real possibility during the years of the Cold War.

On August 18, 1971, The Heavy Mortar Platoon, HHC 2/4 Infantry was being transported by helicopter from Ludwigsburg to Grafenwohr, Germany for a live fire training exercise. At some point en route the rear rotar of the CH47 malfunctioned and the helicopter crashed and exploded in Pegnitz, Germany killing all on board.

The fall of the Berlin Wall, the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and the demise of the Soviet Union signaled the end of the Cold War Era and resulted in the eventual deactivation of the 2nd Battalion 4th Infantry. In May 1991, the 56th Field Artillery Command (formerly the 56th Field Artillery Brigade) and all its subbordinate units were deactivated.

The 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry was inactive until 2004 when it was reactivated at Fort Polk, Louisiana as part of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. The 2nd Battalion 4th Infantry deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2006.

In May 1983, the First Battalion of the Fourth Infantry began to reorganize to the Division 86 concept in the Army of Excellence program by President Ronald Reagan, Guarding the Pershing Missiles sites in Germany. This caused the Battalion to expand to four rifle companies, an anti-armor company and a very large Headquarters and Headquarters company.

In May 1984, the First Battalion of the Fourth Infantry began to transition to the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The transition was completed in August 1984. In the late 1980s the Government again began to reduce the armed forces and the First battalion, Fourth Infantry was listed for inactivation, which took place on December 16, 1987 and relieved from assignment to the 3d Infantry Division.

[edit] OPFOR Role

On November 16, 1990, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry was assigned as the Opposing Force (OPFOR) at the Combat Maneuver Training Center (CMTC), Hohenfels, Germany. The battalion consists of three rifle companies, a tank company, and a headquarters and head quarters company. In order to support the USAERUR commander’s training strategy the battalion portrays a Brigade Tactical Group and/or an insurgency that challenges all the battlefield operating systems (BOS) of rotational units in force on force situations.

OPFOR missions include: conduct an attack, conduct a defense, and conduct insurgent operations. OPFOR capabilities include: organic anti-tank fires, area and zone reconnaissance, employment of combat security outposts, air-mobile operations, deliberate and hasty breaches, insurgent cell replication, complex ambushes, and IED attacks.

The battalion has trained units deploying to Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraqi, and Afghanistan during High Intensity Conflict Rotations, and Mission Readiness Exercises. Additionally, the battalion has deployed forces to other countries to take part in training exercises to include the training of security forces for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

In addition to its OPFOR mission the battalion has the same training requirements as other infantry battalions in the Army. The battalion executes squad external evaluations, tank gunnery, AT gunnery, MOUT training, marksmanship training, and live fire exercises.

In August of 2004 the battalion deployed Company A to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Team Apache served with distinction as the only US force in the International Security Assistance Force from August to December 2004. Team Apache was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) for its outstanding performance of duty.

The MUC citation reads: During the period of 31 August to 12 December 2004, Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry distinguished themselves while in support of the International Security Assistance Force operations led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Afghanistan. They provided superb support to coalition forces supporting a safe and successful Afghanistan National Presidential Election. Throughout the operation the company performed as a lethal, responsive, and relevant combat force directly responsible for supporting security and stabilization forces in theater. Their ability to respond to crisis was superb. Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry’s efforts reflect great credit upon themselves, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the United States Army.

During 2006, the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry formed the core of a task force that deployed to Zabol Province in eastern Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. Along with other elements of the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, 2-4 Infantry and TF Boar conducted combat operations in support of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force.

[edit] Lineage

  • ANNEX
  • Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 3d Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment
  • Organized 23 December 1865 at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York.
  • Redesignated 7 December 1866 as the 30th Infantry Regiment
  • Consolidated in March 1869 with the 4th Infantry and consolidated unit designated as the 4th Infantry Regiment.
  • Activated September 2010 as 3rd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment

[edit] Honors

[edit] Campaign Participation Credit

  • War of 1812:
  1. Bladensburg;
  2. McHenry
  • Mexican-American War:
  1. Palo Alto;
  2. Canada;
  3. Resaca de la Palma;
  4. Monterrey;
  5. Siege of Veracruz;
  6. Cerro Gordo;
  7. Churubusco;
  8. Molino del Rey;
  9. Chapultepec;
  10. Puebla 1847;
  11. Tlaxcala 1847
  • American Civil War:
  1. Peninsula Campaign;
  2. Second Bull Run;
  3. Antietam;
  4. Fredericksburg;
  5. Chancellorsville;
  6. Gettysburg;
  7. The Wilderness;
  8. Spotsylvania Court House;
  9. Cold Harbor;
  10. Siege of Petersburg;
  11. Appomattox Campaign
  • Indian Wars:
  1. Tippecanoe;
  2. Seminole Wars;
  3. Black Hawk War;
  4. Little Bighorn Campaign;
  5. Utes;
  6. Oregon 1855;
  7. Oregon 1856;
  8. Washington 1855;
  9. Washington 1856
  • War with Spain (Cuba):
  1. Santiago
  • Philippine-American War (Philippines):
  1. Manila;
  2. Malolos;
  3. Cavite;
  4. Luzon
  • World War I (France):
  1. Aisne;
  2. Champagne-Marne;
  3. Aisne-Marne;
  4. St. Mihiel;
  5. Meuse-Argonne;
  6. Champagne 1918
  • World War II:
  1. Aleutian Islands

[edit] Decorations

  1. French Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star, World War I for CHAMPAGNE-MARNE AISNE-MARNE.
  2. Army Superior Unit Award for 1983-1986.

[edit] External links

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