7th Cavalry Regiment

History

The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air "Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest battles of the American Indian Wars, including its famous defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where its commander Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was killed; it also committed the Wounded Knee Massacre, where more than 250 men, women and children of the Lakota were killed. The regiment is also well known for its extensive service during the Vietnam War, and were the primary force during the Battle of Ia Drang, the first major battle between the United States Army and People’s Army of Vietnam.

The 7th Cavalry became part of the 1st Cavalry Division in the 1920s; it went on to fight in the Pacific Theater of World War II and took part in the Admiralty Islands, Leyte and Luzon campaigns. It later participated several key battles of the Korean War. During the Korean War the unit committed the No Gun Ri massacre, in which between 250 and 300 South Korean refugees were killed, mostly women and children. The unit later participated in the Vietnam War. It distinguished itself in the Gulf War; the Iraq War (US phase, 2003–2011); and in the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021). Its squadrons and battalions served as Combined Arms Battalions or as reconnaissance squadrons for Brigade Combat Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Text from Wikipedia: 7th Cavalry Regiment, CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Wars and campaigns

From Wikidata (CC0).

Key dates

1. 1866
   Consequently, on 28 July 1866 Congress authorized 4 additional cavalry regiments and enough infantry companies to reorganize the existing 19 regiments (then under two different internal organizations) into 45 regiments with 10 companies each.
2. 1866
   Regiment Constituted 28 July 1866 in the Regular Army as the 7th Cavalry Regiment.
3. 1877
   In 1877, one year after the 7th Cavalry's defeat at the Little Bighorn, the Nez Perce War began.
4. 1917
   In December 1917, eight months after the American entry into World War I, the 7th Cavalry was assigned to the 15th Cavalry Division, an on-paper organization designed for service in France during World War I that was never more than a simple headquarters.
5. 1945
   Despite not receiving adequate rest and replacements from the Battle of Leyte, the 1st Cavalry Division was sent ahead to take part in the Battle of Luzon and landed in Lingayen Gulf on 27 January 1945.
6. 1945
   2nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized Redesignated 16 June 1945 as the 2nd Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop.
7. 1951
   On 22 January 1951, 7th Cavalry began an attack on Chinese lines near Kyong-ni.
8. 1986
   1st Battalion Reorganized and redesignated 16 October 1986 as the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment.
9. 2003
   The 3d Squadron launched an attack under the command of LTC Terry Ferrell on 20 March 2003.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Records that place someone with this unit

A unit history doesn't name everyone who served. These records do:

• Morning reports and unit rosters: access (National Personnel Records Center)
• Search Army morning reports, 1912–1946 (National Archives Catalog)
• Unit and organizational records held in St. Louis

More history

• U.S. Army Center of Military History
• National Park Service
• Wikipedia: 7th Cavalry Regiment