5th Cavalry Regiment (United States) - 19th Century

19th Century

The regiment's history began in 1855, organizing on 28 May 1855 as the 2nd United States Cavalry Regiment at Louisville, Kentucky. A few months later, on 27 September 1855, the regiment of 750 officers and men marched west to fight in its first Indian Campaign, against the Comanche, reaching Fort Belknap, Texas, in late December. Under the command of Col. Albert Sidney Johnston, its officers included 12 future generals: field officers Robert E. Lee (who was appointed to succeed to command in 1861), William J. Hardee, and George H. Thomas, and line officers Earl Van Dorn, Edmund Kirby Smith, George Stoneman, Kenner Garrard, William B. Royall, Nathan G. Evans, Fitzhugh Lee, and John B. Hood.

In July 1858 the entire regiment assembled at Fort Belknap in anticipation of joining Johnston in Utah to subjugate rebellious Mormons. Their orders were rescinded and they instead formed a striking force, the "Wichita Expedition," against the Comanche. Led by Van Dorn, four companies trapped and defeated a sizable force of Comanches on October 1st at the Battle of Rush Springs, and followed it up on May 13, 1859, with a similar victory at the Battle of Crooked Creek in Kansas. The 2nd and later 5th Cavalry fought in a total of thirteen Indian Campaigns, symbolized by the arrow head shaped regimental crest.

Early in 1861, the regiment went to Carlisle Barracks, where the officers and men loyal to the South left the regiment to serve in the Confederacy. Lieutenant Colonel Lee was replaced by Lt. Col. George Henry Thomas. In the summer of 1861, all regular mounted regiments were re-designated as "cavalry", and being last in seniority among the existing regiments, the regiment was re-designated as the 5th United States Cavalry. During the Civil War, the troopers of the 5th Cavalry made a gallant charge at Gaines' Mill on 27 June 1862, saving the Union artillery from annihilation. This battle is commemorated on the regimental crest by the Cross moline, in the yellow field on the lower half of the crest.

During the Plains Indian Wars, the 5th Cavalry played an active role in pursuing Sioux and Cheyenne war bands that refused to return to their reservations. On 8 July 1869 at the Republican River in Kansas, Cpl John Kyle made a valiant stand against attacking Indians resulted in him receiving the Medal of Honor. Under the leadership of Col. Wesley Merritt, a distinguished Civil War officer, the 5th was instrumental in defeating the Indians at the Battle of Slim Buttes. It was the first significant victory for the army following the Battle of Little Bighorn.

At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, the 5th Cavalry was ordered to Tampa, Florida, and then embarked for Cuba. The regiment's service in this war and later for the Puerto Rican Expedition is symbolized by the white Maltese cross in the black chief of the upper half of the regimental coat of arms.