5th Cavalry Regiment before Vietnam

At the time of its organization in 1855, the 2d U.S. Cavalry Regiment adopted a coat of arms consisting of a bland shield on which there was drawn across the center a partition with two battlements representing the numerical designation of the regiment. The portion of the shield below the line was colored yellow, the distinctive color of the cavalry arm of service. The number of battlements was increased to five when the regiment was re-designated as the 5th U.S. Cavalry in 1861.

The black cross on the yellow portion of the shield is known as the "Cross Moline" and commemorates a famous charge of the regiment against Longstreet's troops at Gaines Mill on 27 June 1862. The word "Moline" is from the French word "moulin" (a mill), and the split ends of the cross represent the iron pieces of a millstone.

The upper portion of the coat of arms consists of a bundle of five arrows tied together with a rattlesnake skin having five rattles. The arrows commemorate campaigns against the Comanches (1856-1860), Cheyenne (1869-71), Apache (1872-1874), Sioux and Northern Cheyenne (1875), and Ute (1879).

The upper portion of the shield consists of a white Maltese Cross on a black field. This is symbolic of the service of the regiment in Puerto Rico, November 1898-1900.

In 1923 the War Department draped the shield with a yellow ribbon bearing the motto "Loyalty and Courage" thereby honoring the coat of arms with its official approval.

Unit History

On 3 March 1855 an act of congress authorized the creation of the 2d U.S. Cavalry Regiment which was organized in Louisville, Kentucky, on 23 May 1855, under the command of Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston. On 27 September 1855 the regiment marched west to Ft. Belknap, Texas. Lt. Colonel Robert E. Lee took command of the regiment in July 1857.

The 2d Cavalry Regiment fought 40 engagements against Indians before it was ordered to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, early in 1861. There its commanding officer, Colonel Robert E. Lee, resigned his commission in the U.S. Army after his home state of Virginia seceded from the Union. The Regiment was rebuilt with new officers and recruits and joined the Army of the Potomac where it fought its first battle of the Civil War and its last as the 2d Cavalry Regiment, at the first Battle of Bull Run (1st Manassas). By an act of congress dated 3 August 1861 and a general order dated 10 August 1861, the 2d U.S. Cavalry Regiment was re-designated as the 5th U.S. Cavalry Regiment.

Highlights of its Civil War service include a charge at Gaines Mill, Virginia, on 27 June 1862 which saved the Union's artillery, battles at St. Mary's Church and White Oak Swamp, covering of McClelland's withdrawal from the St. James Peninsula, Stoneham's Raid, the Battle of Gettysburg, and Lee's surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse.

The 5th Cavalry Regiment's colors carry 17 campaign streamers from the Civil War and 13 from post-Civil War Indian Wars.

In 1898 only A Troop arrived in Puerto Rico in time to see action against the Spanish. The remainder of the Regiment joined in occupation and rehabilitation. The Regiment returned to the U.S. in 1900, and departed for the Philippines in 1903. It patrolled the Mexican border and participated in Pershing's expedition into Mexico against Poncho Villa. For this period, two more streamers were added to the Regiment's colors.

The 5th Cavalry was engaged in the Admiralty Islands, the invasions of Leyete and Luzon, the drive on Manila, and landed in Japan as part of the occupation force. WWII campaigns added four more streamers to the colors.

In June 1950 the 5th Cavalry was about to embark on an amphibious training exercise when the Republic of South Korea was attacked. The amphibious exercise became a real landing at Pohang-Dong, Korea. Eight more streamers were added for action by the 5th Cavalry in Korea.

Twelve more streamers were added for actions in the Republic of Vietnam, bringing the total to 56.

The regiment has received three Presidential Unit Citations, and unit awards from the Prime Minister of Greece (for action in Korea), the President of the Philippines, the President of the Republic of Korea, and the President of the Republic of Vietnam. Recipients of the Medal of Honor include 41 troopers of the 5th Cavalry Regiment; however none were awarded to troopers of 3/5 Cav during the Vietnam War..

(adapted from CAPSULE HISTORY OF THE 3d SQUADRON, 5th CAVALRY by Command Sergeant Major Robert C. Slattery, U.S. Cavalry, c. 1972)

The above photo is of Troop C, 5th Cavalry, which arrested boomers and squatters prior to opening of Oklahoma, circa 1888. (Photo from the office of the Chief Signal Officer.)