3rd Cavalry Regiment (United States)


The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.
The regiment has a history in the United States Army that dates back to 19 May 1846, when it was constituted in the Regular Army as the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. This unit was reorganized at the start of the American Civil War as the 3d U.S. Cavalry Regiment on 3 August 1861. In January 1943, the regiment was re-designated as the 3d Cavalry Group. Today, they are equipped with Stryker vehicles. The 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment was the last heavy armored Cavalry Regiment in the U.S. Army until it officially became a Stryker regiment on 16 November 2011. It retains its lineage as the 3d Cavalry Regiment.
Under various names it has seen action during eleven major conflicts: the Indian Wars, the Mexican–American War, the American Civil War, the Spanish–American War, the Philippine–American War, World War I, World War II, the Persian Gulf War, SFOR in Bosnia, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Freedoms Sentinel, and most recently Operation Inherent Resolve.
Twenty-three of the regiment's troopers received the Medal of Honor, all awarded for gallantry in action between 1871 and 1898. The list includes William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, whose award was rescinded in 1916 for not being a member of the military. Cody's medal was reinstated in 1989.
Most of the regiment was deployed to Afghanistan from 2016 - February 2017.
3d Cavalry Regiment is subordinate to the III Armored Corps as of October 2022 and was previously directly assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division from March 2017 to October 2022.

Structure

In 2011, the 3d Cavalry Regiment changed its structure to fit that of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team with its "Change of Mission." At this time, the Regiment consisted of seven squadrons. The four cavalry squadrons were divided into cavalry troops with the field artillery squadron having batteries and the rest of the units having troops. There is a Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, four Cavalry Squadrons, a Field Artillery Squadron, and a Support Squadron. In the beginning of 2025, the Army once again restructured the 3d Cavalry Regiment and Longknife and Pioneer Squadrons would be disbanded. All of Longknife's Troops were retired, but several of Pioneer Squadron's specialty Troops were reorganized under Steel Squadron.
  • Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Troop
  • 1st Squadron 1/3d CR
  • * Headquarters and Headquarters Troop
  • * A Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * B Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * C Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * D Troop – Forward Support Troop
  • 2nd Squadron - 2/3d CR
  • * Headquarters and Headquarters Troop
  • * F Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * E Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * G Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * H Troop – Forward Support Troop
  • 3rd Squadron - 3/3d CR
  • * Headquarters and Headquarters Troop
  • * I Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * K Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * L Troop – Infantry Troop
  • * M Troop – Forward Support Troop
  • Field Artillery Squadron - RFAS
  • * Headquarters and Headquarters Battery
  • * A Battery – M777
  • * B Battery – M777
  • * C Battery – M777
  • * Signal Troop
  • * Military Intelligence Troop
  • * Service Battery – Forward Support Troop
  • Regimental Support Squadron - RSS
  • * Headquarters and Headquarters Troop
  • * Supply and Transportation Troop
  • * Engineer Troop
  • * Maintenance Troop
  • * Medical Troop

    Origins

The Regiment of Mounted Riflemen was authorized by an Act of Congress on 1 December 1845 and was formed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. The president signed the bill in law on 19 May 1846 and COL Persifor F. Smith was placed in command. Thus came into existence a new organization in the United States Army: a regiment of riflemen, mounted to provide greater mobility than the infantry and equipped with Model 1841 percussion rifles to provide greater range and more accurate firepower than the infantry's muskets or the dragoon's carbines. The Mounted Riflemen were considered a separate branch of service at the time and wore green piping with a trumpet for the branch insignia.
When the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen was organized pursuant to the act of Congress in 1846, the first companies filled were A, B, C, and D. They would not be designated as troops until 1883 and would later make up the core of 1st Squadron, 3d Cavalry Regiment. Companies C and F were recruited from the mountains of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, I Company was formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the rest of the regiment was recruited from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
"Bandit Troop" is the regiment's senior troop. It was organized 1 August 1846, and consisted of 1-Captain, 1-1st Lieutenant, 1-2nd Lieutenant, 1-Brevet 2Lt, and 75 enlisted men. "Crazyhorse Troop" was organized next on 1 September 1846, with Captain Samuel H. Walker as its commander. He is listed as being "on detached service at Washington, obtaining equipment and recruits for Company" until 21 May 1847. No doubt the "equipment" he was obtaining was the shipment of 1,000 Colt-Walker revolvers he had co-designed with Samuel Colt. "Apache Troop" completed its organization 1 October 1846. Captain William Wing Loring was the first Commander of A Company, and would later become the regiment's 2nd colonel, before resigning his commission to serve the Confederacy. "Dragon Troop" was organized 4 October 1846 with 3 officers and 61 enlisted. Captain Henry Pope was the first commander of D Company.

Mexican–American War

Originally formed to provide security for travelers on the Oregon Trail, the regiment was immediately rerouted southwards when the Mexican–American War began. The Mounted Riflemen lost most of their horses in a storm during the voyage across the Gulf of Mexico, forcing them to fight dismounted. Once the regiment landed at Veracruz on 9 March 1847, they would go on to serve in six campaigns of the Mexican War. On 17–18 April, the regiment was engaged in fierce hand-to-hand fighting during the Battle of Cerro Gordo and were soon engaged again in the Battle of Contreras on 19 August. On 20 August 1847, General Winfield Scott, Commander of American Forces in Mexico, made a speech from which the first sixteen words have become important to the regiment. The regiment was bloodied and exhausted from the fierce fighting at Contreras, but even so, each man stood at attention as Scott approached. The General removed his hat, bowed low, and said: "Brave Rifles! Veterans! You have been baptized in fire and blood and have come out steel!" This accolade is emblazoned on the regimental coat of arms, and is the source of the regimental motto, "Blood and Steel" and nickname, "Brave Rifles."
The Mounted Riflemen were soon after sent to engage in desperate fighting in the Battle of Churubusco later that day.
Today, all enlisted personnel are required to loudly challenge all officers in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment with the portion of the regimental accolade given to the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen during the Mexican–American War. When an enlisted trooper is preparing to render military courtesy upon contact with an officer he will yell out "Brave Rifles!" whereupon the officer will reply "Veterans!"
On 8 September 1847, as US forces continued the drive to Mexico City, intelligence was received that a cannon foundry and a large supply of gunpowder was believed to be at Molino del Rey, 1,000 yards east of Chapultepec Castle. MAJ Edwin V. Sumner took 270 Riflemen to screen the American flank as the attack on Molino del Rey began. 4,000 Mexican cavalrymen were poised to attack the US flank, but Sumner's men navigated a deep ravine, charged, and defeated the vastly superior force.
The climax to the regiment's participation in the Mexican War came on 13 September 1847 when the brigade the regiment belonged to was ordered to support the assault on the fortress of Chapultepec, the site of the Mexican National Military Academy. A pair of hand-picked, 250-man storming parties were formed, including a large number of Mounted Riflemen under CPT Benjamin S. Roberts. During the charge, a party of US Marines began to falter after their officers were lost, so LT Robert M. Morris of the regiment quickly took charge and led them to the top. While the fortress was being stormed, other elements of the regiment captured a Mexican artillery battery at the bottom of the castle. Leading the American forces, the regiment stormed into Mexico City at 1:20 pm. At 7:00 am on 14 September 1847, Sergeant James Manly of F Company and Captain Benjamin Roberts of C Company raised the National Colors over the National Palace while Captain Porter, commander of F Company, unfurled the regimental standard from the balcony.
For the remainder of the regiment's tenure in Mexico, they would conduct police duty and chase stubborn guerrillas. However, they also took part in the battles of Matamoros on 23 November 1847, Galaxara on 24 November, and Santa Fe on 4 January 1848. The Regiment of Mounted Riflemen earned a reputation among Army leaders as a brave and tough unit; General Winfield Scott said "Where bloody work was to be done, 'the Rifles' was the cry, and there they were. All speak of them in terms of praise and admiration."
During the Mexican War, 11 troopers were commissioned from the ranks and 19 officers received brevet promotions for gallantry in action. Regimental losses in Mexico were approximately 4 officers and 40 men killed, 13 officers and 180 wounded, and 1 officer and 180 men who died of other causes. The Rifles finally departed Mexico on 7 July 1848 and arrived in New Orleans on the 17th. Their ship, the Aleck Scott, sailed them up the Mississippi River back to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.