6th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
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| 6th Cavalry Regiment | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Active | August 1861- |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Regular Army |
| Type | Cavalry |
| Nickname | Fighting Sixth |
| Motto | Ducit Amor Patriae {Led By Love of Country} Silent Thunder |
| Colors | Yellow |
| Engagements | US Civil War, Reconstruction, Indian Wars, Johnson County War of 1892, Spanish-American War, Boxer Rebellion, World War II, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Adna Chaffee |
| Insignia | |
| Distinctive Unit Insignia |  |
| U.S. Cavalry Regiments | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| 5th Cavalry Regiment | 7th Cavalry Regiment |
The 6th Cavalry is a historical organization within the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War; vestiges of this historic unit remain in the modern army.
Contents |
[edit] 19th Century
The 6th U.S. Cavalry was organized in August 1861, where it took to the fields of the Eastern Theater as part of the Union Army of the Potomac. The regiment took part in sixteen campaigns, among them the Maryland Campaign, Gettysburg Campaign, Overland Campaign and the Appomattox Campaign.
From 1865 to 1871 during Reconstruction, the regiment was stationed in Texas (see Fifth Military District for reports of soldiers of the 6th Cavalry killed and wounded in various incidents of 1867–68). It also took part in the Indian Wars and the Johnson County War. The "Fighting Sixth" sailed to Cuba during the Spanish-American War and took part in the battle for San Juan Hill alongside of Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders." (In 1900 the 6th was in the Boxer Rebellion).
An 1887 letter from Charles Winters, Troop D of the 6th Cavalry, describes a soldier's experiences during the Apache Wars in New Mexico:
Dear Friend: I will now take and write to you a few lines, to let you know that I am yet alive, and doing well. I joint(sic) the Army in January, 86 and had a good fight with Geronimo and his Indians. I also had two hard fights, where i came very near getting killed, but i got true alright. I was made Corporal when i first enlisted, but have now got high enough to be in Charge of Troop D. 6th U.S. Cavalry and it requires a good man for to get that office, and that is more than i expected. Charley White from Cranbury came out with me and got in the same Troop with me, and I sent him with twenty more men out on a Scout after Indians and Charley was lucky enough to be shot down by Indians the first day, and only three of my men returned. I was very sorry but it could not be helped. The Territory of New Mexico is a very nice place never no Winter and lots of Gold and Silver Mines all around but for all that it is a disagreeable place on account of so many Indians. I like it first rate and I think as soon as my five years are up I will go bak to Old New Jersey but not today. My name isn't Charley Winters no more since i shot that man at Jefferson Barracks when he tried to get away from me. My Captain at time told me to take the name of his son who died and so my name since then is Charles H. Wood. I will now close and hope that you will soon write and let me know how you are getting along. Give my best regards to all and to yourself and oblige.
Charlie Winters My address is:
Charles H. Wood
Troop D. 6th Cavalry
Fort Stanton, New Mexico
[edit] 20th Century
[edit] WWII
The 6th Cavalry, which became part of George S. Patton's Third Army during World War II, had one of the most outstanding combat records to come out that conflict, starting in October 1943 where it embarked on the Queen Elizabeth bound for northern Ireland.
In January 1944, the 6th Cavalry Regiment was disbanded and reorganized into the 6th Cavalry Group and assigned to XV Corps. The unit spent the first part of 1944 in intense basic, small unit, and special combat training. Finally in July 1944, the unit set sail across the English Channel to land at Utah Beach (Sainte-Mère-Église, France). Throughout WWII, the Sixth was part of most of the major campaigns, some of which included "Task Force Polk," the engagement in the Ardennes, and the Battle of the Bulge. It was also responsible for the screening and protection of the corps in the Bastogne area, defending the Our River, breaching the Siegfried Line, and the big job of crossing the Rhine River and the drive to the east.
Toward the end of hostilities, the Sixth was left with the detail of mopping up enemy stragglers to its final battle with the capture of Adrof & Mark Neukirchen. The Sixth Cavalry was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (Army), for its valor during World War II.
[edit] Cold War
On 20 December 1948, the former 6th Cavalry Regiment was reorganized and redesignated as the 6th Armored Cavalry. The Regiment returned to the United States from Germany in 1957 during Operation Gyroscope, and was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Inactivated in 1963, the regiment reactivated four years later at Fort Meade, Maryland, where it served through 1971 when it was again inactivated.
In the summer of 1974, the Army decided to implement one of the recommendations of the Howze Board, and created an air cavalry combat brigade. The 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, commanded by Col. Charles D. Canedy, was redesignated as the 6th Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat). While at Hood, the brigade was a test bed for new concepts involving the employment of attack helicopters on the modern battlefield. In the fall of 1990, two of the brigade's subordinate units were deployed in Iraq during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
In late 1995, the 1st and 4th Squadrons were again deactivated, leaving only the 3rd Squadron at Fort Hood.
[edit] 21st Century
On 4 January 2005 2nd Squadron deployed from Germany to Afghanistan absorbing elements from other units to become Task Force Sabre. CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Black Hawks, AH-64 Apaches and the necessary support elements comprised the aviation task force which deployed to support the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
[edit] Fighting Sixth
In 2005 and 2006 as a part of the Army Transformation, squadrons of the regiment were again reorganized, as the Army eliminated from its rolls those OH-58D Kiowa Warrior units designated as attack battalions in light infantry divisions. Several of these attack battalions were reflagged as squadrons of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, replacing AH-64 squadrons that were then redesignated as Armed Reconnaissance Battalions:
- 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry - 1st Infantry Division - Fort Carson, Colorado
- 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry - 25th Infantry Division (Light) - Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
- 4th Squadron, 6th Cavalry - XVIII Airborne Corps - Fort Lewis, Washington
- 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry - 10th Mountain Division (LI) - Fort Drum, New York
In 2006, 2nd Squadron deployed with its parent unit, the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, from Wheeler Army Airfield to Iraq. The Squadron was recognized with the Order of the Daedalion's 2006 Brig. Gen. Carl I. Hutton Memorial Award for their safety record in preparation for the deployment.[1] The Squadron returned to Hawaii in 2007 having lost only one aircrew to hostile fire.
[edit] References
- ^ Public Affairs Office, Multi-National Division-North. "Hawaii’s 2-6 Cavalry Wins Hutton Memorial Award". [Press release]. 19 July 2007. Multi-National Corps-Iraq. Accessed 7 March 2008.
