26th Cavalry Regiment (United States)

26th Cavalry Regiment

coat of arms
Active 1922–1951
1963–1988[1]
Country United States
Branch United States Army
Type Cavalry
Size Regiment
Garrison/HQ Fort Stotsenburg
Motto Our strength is in loyalty[2]
Colors Yellow
Engagements World War II
Decorations
Presidential Unit Citation (3)[3][4]
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
Insignia
Left facing Distinctive Unit Insignia
Right facing Distinctive Unit Insignia
U.S. Cavalry Regiments
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18th Cavalry Regiment 27th Cavalry Regiment

The 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts) (26th CAV (PS)) was part of U.S. Army Forces Far East's Philippine Department, during World War II. The 26th engaged in the last cavalry charge in the history of the U.S. cavalry. The American Battle Monuments Commission list 301 dead who were members of this regiment interred at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Contents

Formation of the 26th Cavalry Regiment

The 26th CAV was formed in 1922, at Fort Stotsenburg, from elements of the 25th Field Artillery Regiment and the 43d Infantry Regiment (PS). The regiment was based there, with the exception of Troop F (which was based at Nichols Field). As of 31 July 1941, the regiment had 784 enlisted men and 52 officers.[5]

Combat history

Philippine Islands

Following the 1941 Japanese invasion, the 26th participated in the Allied withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula. In doing so, the unit conducted a classic delaying action that allowed other, less mobile, units to safely withdraw to the peninsula.[6] The 26th Cavalry Regiment, consisting mostly of Philippine Scouts, was the last U.S. cavalry regiment to engage in horse-mounted warfare. This charge occurred at the town of Morong on 16 January 1942.[7][8][9]

Guerrilla activities

See also: Occupation

Following the delaying action down the central Luzon plain, Troop C was cut off from the rest of the Regiment, having been ordered into Northern Luzon in an attempt to defend Baguio by Major General Wainwright in late December 1941. In January 1942, the unit, with assistance from 71st Infantry and elements of the 11th Infantry,[10] raided Tuguegarao Airfield,[11] destroying several planes,[12] and killing multiple Japanese soldiers.[10][13] Eventually the unit was supplemented by other soldiers and guerrillas, and remained an effective fighting force well into 1943.[11][14] The remnants of Troop C would later be integrated into the United States Army Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon,[12] which due to deaths and captures would be led by Volckmann.[15][16] Other guerrilla organizations were led by officers of the regiment, who ignored the surrender orders, or by enlisted men who escaped from Bataan.[17] However, those organizations did not have a direct connection to the regiment, as the Cagayan-Apayao Forces did.

Descendant units

110th Cavalry Regiment

110th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia
Active 1988–1993
Country United States
Branch Army
Type Cavalry
Motto Yankee Eyes
Engagements None
U.S. Cavalry Regiments
Previous Next
108th Cavalry Regiment 112th Cavalry Regiment

The regiment was deactivated in 1946 and completely disbanded in 1951.[18] In February 1963 the regiment was constituted, again, in the Massachusetts Army National Guard, and organized in March 1963 to consist of the 1st Squadron, all being assigned to the 26th Infantry Division within the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS).[1] Reorganized in 1967, allotting Troop C to the Connecticut Army National Guard (CTNG), again in 1971 allotting Troop D to the Rhode Island Army National Guard (RING), and once more in 1986 allotting Troop A to CTNG.[1] In 1988, the regiment was reorganized and redesignated as the 110th Cavalry Regiment; later, in 1989, the regiment was withdrawn from CARS and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System.[1] The regiment, as the 110th Cavalry, was relieved from the 26th Infantry Division in 1993.[1]

173rd Infantry Detachment (LRS) of the Rhode Island Army National Guard states that it was formed from the existing troops of Troop D, 1/26th Cavalry in October 1986.[19]

Decorations of the 26th Cavalry Regiment

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Pope, MAJ Jeffrey Lynn; LTC Leonid E. Kondratiuk (1995). Armor-Cavalry Regiments: Army National Guard Lineage. Washington D.C.: National Guard Bureau. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7881-8206-8. http://books.google.com/?id=SeqLBwskpZIC&lpg=PA28&dq=troop%20C%20%2226th%20cavalry%22&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q=26th&f=false. Retrieved 15 February 2011. 
  2. ^ "26th Cavalry Regiment". http://vfwpost7591.org/26thcav.html. Retrieved 31 January 2008 
  3. ^ Steve Shaw (4 September 2008). "The Last U.S. Cavalry Charge". Parting Shot. Western Shooting Horse Magazine. http://www.westernshootinghorse.com/wshcontent/2008/09/04/the-last-cavalry-charge-in-us-history/#. Retrieved 22 October 2009. 
  4. ^ Headquarters, Department of the Army; Major General J.C. Lambert (1961). Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register. Department of the Army. p. 75. http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p672_1.pdf. Retrieved 14 November 2009. 
  5. ^ GLUECKSTEIN, FRED. "Last Mounted Cavalry Charge: Luzon 1942, The". Army. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3723/is_200507/ai_n14685812. Retrieved 31 January 2008 .
  6. ^ Merriam, Ray (1999). War in the Philippines. Merriam Press. pp. 70–82. ISBN 1-57638-164-1. http://books.google.com/?id=utbD8wwF91kC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=26th+cavalry. Retrieved 31 January 2008 
  7. ^ "The Last Charge". http://www.edwinpriceramsey.com/the_battle.asp. Retrieved 31 January 2008 
  8. ^ "Cavalry Lasts – The Last Cavalry Charge". GlobalSecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/cavalry-lasts.htm. Retrieved 31 January 2008 
  9. ^ John Skow (23 November 1987). "In Kansas: Echoing Hoofbeats". Times Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966029-3,00.html. Retrieved 12 May 2009. 
  10. ^ a b "Guillermo Nakar". National Historical Institute. Republic of the Philippines. http://www.nhi.gov.ph/downloads/mp0110.pdf. Retrieved 15 February 2011. 
  11. ^ a b "The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon". BOOK REVIEW. Defense Journal. 2002. http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/june/guerrillas.htm. Retrieved 21 May 2009. 
  12. ^ a b "http://www.bataandiary.com/Research.htm". Chris Schaefer. http://www.bataandiary.com/Research.htm. Retrieved 15 February 2011. 
  13. ^ Norling, Bernard (2005). The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 43–62. ISBN 978-0-8131-9134-8. http://books.google.com/?id=xL-JoQYiwykC. Retrieved 21 May 2009. 
  14. ^ Norling, Bernard (2005). The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 284. ISBN 978-0-8131-9134-8. http://books.google.com/?id=xL-JoQYiwykC. Retrieved 21 May 2009. 
  15. ^ Guardia, Mike (2010). American Guerrilla: The Forgotten Heroics of Russell W. Volckmann: The Man Who Escaped from Bataan, Raised a Filipino Army Against the Japanese, and Became 'father' of Special Forces. Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers. p. 98. ISBN 1-935149-22-9. http://books.google.com/?id=E-1VPWU2EowC&lpg=PA188&dq=North%20Luzon%20Military%20District&pg=PA98#v=onepage&q=Praeger&f=false. Retrieved 15 February 2011. 
  16. ^ Falk, COL Stanley L. (2010). "Guerrilla Warfare in the Philippines". Army (Association of the United States Army) 60 (9): 85–88. http://www.ausa.org/publications/armymagazine/archive/2010/9/Documents/Reviews_0910.pdf. Retrieved 15 February 2011. 
  17. ^ "Last of cavalrymen a true hero". Old Gold & Black. Wake Forest University. 6 March 2003. http://www.oldgoldandblack.com/o_article/last_of_cavalrymen_a_true_hero/. Retrieved 21 May 2009. 
  18. ^ "Records of the 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts): A Descriptive Inventory of Documents in the U.S. Cavalry Memorial Research Library". U.S. Cavalry Memorial Research Library. http://www.uscavalry.org/cav_library/26th.pdf. Retrieved 9 December 2009. 
  19. ^ "173rd Infantry Detachment – Long Range Surveillance". Rhode Island National Guard. http://states.ng.mil/sites/RI/army/56tc/173lrs/default.aspx. Retrieved 30 March 2009. "The 173rd Infantry Detachment started out it's existence as the Scout Platoon, Troop D, 1/26th Cavalry. When Troop D was reorganized in October, 1986 the scout platoon was no longer required and subsequently reformed into a long range surveillance detachment. The split from Troop D officially made this a new unit which does not share history from Troop D. This units first assignment continued with the 1st Squadron, 26th Cavalry Regiment." 

References

External links