8th Cavalry Regiment (United States)

8th Cavalry Regiment (United States)

The 8th Cavalry Regiment was constituted 28 July 1866 and organized as a regiment on 21 September 1866 at Camp Reynolds, Angel Island, California. Enlisted personnel were "composed chiefly of men enlisted on the Pacific Coast, and included many of the class styled 'Forty-niners'; men who had worked months or years in the mines and were typical specimens of the roving order of citizens. Many of them were wild characters who enlisted in the same spirit of adventure which led them to the frontier, and typically had difficulty in adapting themselves to the conformity of a military life." Many desertions occurred; the percentage rose to 41 by the end of 1867. The officers assigned to the regiment were all veterans of the Civil War. The first colonel was John Irvin Gregg, and the first lieutenant colonel was Thomas Devin, both of whom had been generals and commanded cavalry divisions during the war. The Eighth Cavalry served on the Frontier during the late 19th century.

On 13 September 1921, with the initiation of the National Defense Act, the 1st Cavalry Division was formally activated at Fort Bliss, Texas. The first unit of the 1st Cavalry Division, the famous 1st Cavalry Regiment, had been preassigned to the 1st Division on 20 August 1921, nearly a month before the formal divisional activation date. Upon formal activation, the 7th, 8th and 10th Cavalry Regiments were assigned to the new division.

The Eighth Cavalry continued to serve under a number of different designations, fighting in Korea and Vietnam as well as taking part in current conflicts. Originally organized as horse cavalry, it served as infantry during World War II and Korea, converting to airmobile infantry during Vietnam. It converted to a mechanized force in the 1970s.