1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)

The 1st Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of the United States Regiment of Dragoons. To this day, the unit's special designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons".

In October 1833, the five companies first organized were sent under Colonel Dodge to winter in the vicinity of Fort Gibson, Arkansas Territory, where they remained until June 1834. Then, the regiment was sent on the First Dragoon Expedition, or the Pawnee Expedition, during which, although it ended in September, a full one fourth of the officers and men died of fever. For the winter, Headquarters with Companies A, C, D and G, were sent to Fort Leavenworth; Companies B, H and I, Lieutenant Colonel Kearny, commanding, into the Indian country on the right bank of the Mississippi River, near the mouth of the Des Moines River; and Companies E, F and K, Major Mason commanding, to Fort Gibson. Throughout the summer of 1835, all the companies of the regiment were kept in the field. The regiment became the "First Regiment of Dragoons" when the Second Regiment of Dragoons was raised in 1836, however, the general disposition of the regiment remained unchanged. The various companies were employed in scouting among the Native Americans, especially along the Missouri frontier, with a portion of the regiment going to Nacogdoches, Texas, to keep white trespassers from the Native American lands, and preserving peace between whites and Indians and among the Indians themselves; also in building wagon roads and bridges. During the winter, the companies returned to their respective stations – Forts Leavenworth, Gibson and Des Moines. Colonel Dodge resigned on 4 July 1836, and was appointed Governor of Wisconsin. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Kearny. The regiment was not heavily engaged in the Florida war, although it did take some minor casualties, including a lieutenant. In March 1837, a regimental order designated the color of the horses of each company as follows: A and K, black; B, F and H, sorrel; C, D, E and I, bay; and G, iron gray. In October 1837, and again in March 1838, Colonel Kearny led elements of the regiment to quell Osage Indians. In April 1839, the army created Fort Wayne in Indian Territory, and Companies E, F, G and K, were stationed there for several years, with occasional forays into the field to chase hostile Indians. Kearny was promoted to brigadier general on 30 June 1846, and was succeeded by Colonel Mason.

General Kearny was placed in command of the "Army of the West (1846)", which consisted of Companies B, C, G, I and K, 1st Dragoons, an artillery battalion, some separate infantry companies, two regiments of Missouri volunteer cavalry, the volunteer Mormon Battalion, and the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, which sailed from New York City to California by ship. All in all, the Army of the West consisted of about 3,700 men, which ventured west to New Mexico, some of whom did not reach California. This command was concentrated at Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River, from which point it marched for Santa Fé on 1 August 1846. The force occupied Santa Fé without much opposition, and, after leaving part of his force there, Kearny marched into California, arriving in December. On the morning of 6 December 1846, Kearny's 150 man command met and defeated an equal number of California lancers at San Pasqual, about 40 miles from San Diego, under Major Andrés Pico. The action was severe, with the 1st Dragoons losing 3 officers and 14 men killed, principally with lance thrusts. General Kearny himself received two wounds. His force finally reached San Diego on 12 December 1846. Kearny, with a force consisting of Company C, 1st Dragoons, (60 dismounted men) under Captain Turner, sailors and marines with a battery of artillery and California volunteers, left San Diego for Los Angeles on 29 December. Kearny's troops routed Mexicans under Governor Flores at the crossing of the Rio San Gabriel on 8 January 1847, and on the plains of La Mesa on 9 January. With the capture of Los Angeles on the following day, all Mexican resistance to the American occupation of Southern California ceased. Kearny had left Companies G and I at Albuquerque under Capt. J. H. K. Burgwin. When Col. Sterling Price (then in command at Santa Fé) learned of the seizure and murder of the New Mexico Governor Charles Bent and five others by the Mexicans (20 January), he moved out against them with a force of about 350 dismounted men and easily defeated them, on 24 January, at Canada. Captain Burgwin defeated another Mexican force shortly thereafter and rejoined Price's column for a series of further battles. During 1847, regimental headquarters were still at Leavenworth and Companies A and E were with Zachary Taylor in Mexico. Early in the year, Company B was reorganized at Jefferson Barracks before being sent to Santa Fe in June. On 26 June, while en route, the company was engaged by 300 400 Comanches at Grand Prairie, Arkansas, losing five men killed and six wounded. They were the first unit of the Regiment to seriously tangle with the frontier Indians. Upon reaching Santa Fe, on 6 August with the $350,000 they had been escorting, Company B was retrained as a field artillery battery to support the regiment.

In September 1848, the First Regiment of Dragoons rode out of Fort Kearny and returned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and trained their new recruits. On 11 May 1849, the regiment rode further west, and along with two companies of the 6th Infantry Regiment, guarded the treacherous Oregon Trail in the heart of Pawnee territory. In October, an engagement on the Little Blue River near Linden, Nebraska and another engagement on the Platte River resulted in numerous Pawnee fatalities, and 5 Dragoon casualties. Brevet Brigadier General Mason, Colonel of the 1st Dragoons, died at Jefferson Barracks, on 25 July 1850, and was succeeded by Col. Thomas T. Fauntleroy, promoted from the Second Dragoons. In 1853, the newly acquired Southwest erupted in violence between the US and local Indian tribes. After a reorganization period, elements of the 1st Regiment of Dragoons set out for New Mexico on 1 July 1854. The year of 1854 was rough for the Dragoons; heavy casualties and a tenacious enemy took their toll. Headquarters for the First Dragoons were moved to Fort Tejon, California, in December 1856, with the various companies scattered throughout the West. For the next five years, the regiment engaged in a variety of Indian fights, seeing action at various times against the Navajos and Apaches in the Southwest and several tribes in the Northwest. On 8 January 1859, B and K Companies fought an engagement with the Mojave in the Mohave Valley and another engagement against the Paiutes on 18–19 April 1860 near present day Yermo, California. These skirmishes included an expedition from Fort Bidwell, California, during 22–29 October 1866, when Company A killed 14 Indians, three women, four children, and captured an entire camp. Later that year, LTC George Crook led an expedition of one company of the 1st Cavalry to pursue the Indians in their winter quarters. On 26 December 1866, at the Battle of Owyhee River in Malheur County, Oregon Crook's men caught the Paiutes asleep in their camp. However, after the first shots were fired, Chief Howluck determined to stay and fight. The native warriors taunted the soldiers, who returned a deadly accurate fire on the warriors. Quickly into the fighting almost every mounted warrior was shot down. The rest sought refuge behind rocks, remaining there until mid day when they retreated. Continuing his pursuit Crook again encountered the Chief Paulina's Paiute village at Steen's Mountain (named after an early officer of the 1st Dragoons). As Crook ordered the charge his horse bolted and carried him through the native village. Nevertheless, his men followed. Despite several close calls for Crook personally, his troopers' fire was accurate and inflicted heavy casualties. A month later Crook's men engaged in one final skirmish before Crook ended the expedition due to bad weather. On the nights of 7–8 February 1867, 25 men of Company B on a patrol were attacked by hostile Indians near Vicksburg Mines in Nevada. On 5 April 1868, Company F killed 32 Indians and captured two near Malheur River, Oregon. Following the Indians south into California, Crook's 1st Cavalry troopers, along with infantrymen from the 23rd Infantry Regiment and 15 Warm Springs and Shoshone scouts encountered a large band of them in an entrenched position. The Native American warriors had made a fortress out of lava rocks in the Infernal Caverns of northern California near the town of Likely. Fighting continued into the night as the Native warriors withdrew deeper into the caverns. Crook commented "I never wanted dynamite so bad as I did when we first took the fort and heard the diabolical and defiant yells from down in the rocks". On the third day the Natives had fled the caverns.

They also fought in the Apache Wars in Arizona Territory from 1866 to 1872. On 29 January 1867, Company M encountered a band of 90 warriors at Stein's Mountain in New Mexico Territory; 60 Indians were killed and 27 captured. From 26 to 31 May 1868, eight men of Company M killed 34 Indians. At Fort McDowell in Arizona on 9–11 December 1869, 20 men from Company E killed an entire band of 11 Mojave Apaches. On 15 December 1870, Colonel Blake was retired from active service on his own application, and Colonel Alvan C. Gillem of the 11th Infantry was transferred to the First Cavalry in his stead.

The Modoc Indians were a small tribe whose territory straddled the present day south central Oregon/northeast California border and encompassed Tule Lake and Lost River. Through the intercession of interested civilians, orders were issued for the Modocs' removal to the Klamath Reservation. They went on the reservation, but, on account of ill treatment, a small group of approximately 150 200 left. The War Department was then directed to enforce the orders. The US Army stationed at nearby Fort Klamath at once commenced hostilities and one of the most protracted, expensive, and obstinate Indian wars of later years followed. Under command of Capt. Jackson, Troop B left Fort Klamath, on 28 November 1872, for the purpose of returning the group of Modocs to the reservation. At daylight on 29 November, the troops surprised the Modoc men, women, and children in their camps on Lost River. Witnessing the troops form a skirmish line, the Modocs denied Jackson's demand to see Keintpoos and an engagement followed in which three Modocs were killed and three wounded. The company lost three men killed and seven wounded, two of them mortally. The company then went into camp at Crawley's Ranch on Lost River opposite the Modocs' camps while the Modocs fled to the lava beds on the southern shore of then Tule Lake. Troop G from Fort Bidwell took station on 13 December at Land's Ranch on the eastern shore of Tule Lake. The Modocs attacked this camp on 21 December and were repulsed, but not until two men and five horses had been killed. Troop B now joined Troop G and the two companies moved their camp to the top of the bluff overlooking the southwestern shore of Tule Lake on 16 January 1873 in conjunction with General Wheaton's column, with which Troop F and a detachment of Troop H were also serving at this time. The first general engagement took place on 17 January, and lasted from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm, when the troops retired, going finally into camp at Applegate's Ranch near Clear Lake. The regiment lost nine men killed; eight men and two officers (Captain Perry and 2nd Lieutenant Kyle) were wounded. The Modocs attacked a wagon train on 22 January, driving away the escort. However, Captain Reuben F. Bernard, 1st Cavalry, came up with reinforcements and the Modocs were repulsed, losing one killed and many wounded. Troop K from Fort Halleck, Nev., joined the battalion on 18 February. The battalion now consisted of Troops B, F, G, and K under Major Biddle (who was promoted to 6th Cavalry during this campaign). Colonel Gillem, 1st Cavalry, was commanding the expedition, and the Troop H detachment joined the column on 10 February. During the night of 14 April, the troops of the 1st Cavalry moved with the rest of the command to invest the Modoc stronghold, and in the Second Battle of the Stronghold, 15–17 April, succeeded in cutting off the Modoc defenders' access to Tule Lake, their only source of water. During the night of the 16th, the Modoc abandoned their position and disappeared into the vast lava beds to the south. The 1st Cavalry lost two men killed and two wounded. On April 21, Col. Gillem was relieved of duty and replaced by Col. Jefferson Davis, 23rd Infantry, on May 2. On 10 May, Troops B and G were attacked at Sorass Lake (present day Dry Lake) but repulsed the Modocs with the loss of one Modoc killed and two wounded. The command lost one killed and six wounded, two of them mortally. On 12 May, Troops B and G, as part of a larger force under command of Capt. Hasbrouck, came upon the Modocs, who fled towards the west. The troops followed the trail and on 22 May, 70 Modocs surrendered. "Boston Charlie" was captured on 29 May and on 31 May, "Schonchin John", "Scarfaced Charlie", and 27 other Modocs surrendered. Troops F and H were sent from Applegate's Ranch on 31 May to follow up on those Modocs who still remained at large, finding them on 1 June, when the whole party surrendered. With the capture of "Captain Jack", the Modoc war ended, and by the end of June the companies that had been engaged in it had returned to their proper stations. The troops left in Arizona were moved north and by the end of October 1873, headquarters with Troops A and D were at Benicia Barracks; B at Fort Klamath; C at Camp McDermitt, Nev.; E at Fort Lapwai, Idaho Territory; F, L, and M at Fort Walla Walla, Wyoming Territory; G at Camp Bidwell, California. ; H and K at Camp Harney, Oregon. ; and I at Camp Halleck, Nevada. Colonel Gillem died at his residence in Nashville, Tenn., 2 December 1875, and was succeeded by Colonel Cuvier Grover, promoted from the 3rd Cavalry.

On 15 June 1877, Companies F and H, under Captain Perry, were ordered to proceed to Camas Prairie to the assistance of the settlers of Mount Idaho, I. T., who were threatened by the Nez Percé Indians under Chief Joseph. Learning that the Indians were crossing Salmon River and could be taken at a disadvantage, the march was given that direction and Chief Joseph's camp was found and taken by surprise, but the Indians quickly rallied and repulsed the troops with severe loss, Lieutenant E. W. Theller, 21st Infantry (attached), and 33 men being killed and two wounded. All the companies of the regiment, except M at Fort Colville and A at Camp Harney watching the Piutes, were now ordered into the field against the Nez Percés. Companies E and L joined General Howard's command on 21 June; and on 1 July they surprised and attacked the camp of "Looking Glass" on the Clearwater, I. T. The village was entirely destroyed, several Indians killed and about 1,000 ponies captured. On 2 July, the same command attempted to form a junction with Company F, which was on its way from Lapwai. On 3 July, the Indians ambushed the advanced guard, consisting of Lieutenant S. M. Rains, ten men of the battalion and two civilian scouts, killing them all, and were then found to be in such force and so strongly posted that it was considered imprudent to attack them. The junction with Company F was effected, however, on 4 July, and the same afternoon the Indians attacked, the fight lasting until sunset. The battalion (E, F and L) joined General Howard at Grangerville, on 8 July. Company H had joined on 2 July, and the battalion was commanded by Captain David Perry. On 11 July, General Howard crossed the Clearwater with his whole command and moved down that stream with Company H in advance. The Indian camp was discovered and at once attacked, the fight lasting two days and ending with the retreat of the Indians. Company B joined in time to take part in the fight on 12 July. The regiment lost three men killed and four wounded. The battalion made a reconnaissance on 18 July of the Lo Lo trail, and the Indian scouts accompanying it were ambushed and met with considerable loss. One Nez Percé was killed. Major Sanford's battalion, consisting of Companies C, D, I and K, joined General Howard on the Clearwater, on 28 July, and the expedition across the Lo Lo trail began on 30 July. Companies B, C, I and K, under Major Sanford, accompanied it, and Companies D, E, G and L, with other troops under Major Green, constituted the "Reserve Column", which remained at Camas Prairie until 5 August, when it moved near to Mount Idaho, and established a permanent camp called Camp Howard. Companies F and H were stationed at Fort Lapwai. In the Indian attack at Camas Creek on 20 August, Companies B and L were engaged, losing one man killed and one wounded. At Judith Basin, the battalion was detached from General Howard's command and directed to return, and all the companies had reached their stations by the end of November. Company K and a detachment of C, attached to General Sturgis' command, took part in the engagement with the Nez Percés at Canyon Creek, Montana, on 13 September 1877.

At the outbreak of the Bannock War in May 1878, Company G was the first body of troops to reach the scene of hostilities, and Captain Bernard reported that the Indians numbered from 300 to 500. They were moving towards Steens Mountain (named after Enoch Steen, a former member of the regiment). The whole of the First Cavalry was at once ordered into the field and Colonel Grover sent to Fort Boise to take charge of operations there. Companies D, I and K, were with him. Companies F and L joined Company G on the Owyhee, 17 June, and the three companies reached Camp Harney on 21 June, where they were joined by Company A. These four companies were designated the "Left Column" by General Howard. On the morning of 23 June, the Left Column struck the main camp of the hostiles on Silver Creek, and drove the Indians out of it and on to a cutbank, made by the creek, which had been prepared for defense. The action lasted into the night and in the morning it was found that the Indians had gone. Many Indians were killed and the camp was destroyed. The battalion lost two killed and three wounded. Company K joined the battalion on 27 June, and on 28 June the cavalry cut loose from the foot troops and pushed forward on the trail of the Indians. The fertile John Day Valley was saved in great part by this vigorous pursuit, and on 5 July General Howard overtook the command, arriving with it at Pilot Rock on 7 July. Here, it was joined by Companies E and H. The Indian camp was located and at sunrise on 8 July Captain Bernard moved his battalion to the attack. About 300 Indians occupied the crest of the high and steep hills near Birch Creek, and were at once attacked. Captain Bernard fought his cavalry on foot without separating the men from the horses. All the companies, except A with the pack train, were deployed and used in the engagement, and the Indians were driven from three successive positions and finally four or five miles further into the mountains. Four men were wounded, one mortally, and probably 20 horses were killed. The enemy's loss is unknown; their women, children and best horses were sent off, seemingly towards the Grande Ronde, before the action began. Lieutenant C. E. S. Wood, A. D. C., wrote: "The entire fight was closely watched by the general commanding, who desires to express his opinion that no troops ever behaved better or in a more soldierly manner than did the officers and men engaged in this encounter." The command camped for the night among the rough cañons adjacent to the battle field. Captain Bernard was then ordered to take his command, except Company K, to Fort Walla Walla to refit. Company K was sent to join the infantry column and with it moved to the Umatilla Agency, near which the hostiles were reported to be. Here the Indians attacked on 13 July. In the ensuing fight, Company K held the right of the line and took part in the final charge by which the Indians were driven off the field and for three miles into the hills. At the request of the Indian Agent, the command moved back to the agency that night, but two days later seven dead Indians were counted upon the battle field. Companies A, E, F, G, H and I, now under Lieutenant Colonel J. W. Forsyth, 1st Cavalry, left Fort Walla Walla on 13 July – the day of the fight at Umatilla Agency – in search of the Indians, who were found to be travelling in the direction of John Day River. On 20 July, Forsyth's scouts were ambushed, which caused a halt and deployment of the command, but when the line moved forward the Indians had gone. On 22 July, the battalion reached 11 Burnt Meadows, where it was joined by Companies D and I, under Major Sanford, and on 27 July it went into camp at Malheur Agency to await supplies. The hostiles had now split up into many small parties, which were followed up and nearly all ultimately captured. During the months of September and October, the companies were sent to their permanent stations, and the return for 30 November shows Companies A and E at Camp Harney, Oregon; B, D, F, K and M, at Fort Walla Walla, W. T.; C at Camp Bidwell, California; G at Fort Boise, L T.; H at Fort Colville, W. T.; I at Camp Halleck, Nevada, and L at Fort Klamath, Oregon.

In 1881, Companies C, G, I and M were sent to Arizona, and on 2 October, Company G, with other troops, was in action near Cedar Springs against Apaches. The hostiles fought with great boldness and desperation and the fight lasted until 9 P. M., when the Indians escaped. Company G had two men wounded and 12 horses killed. On 4 October, Companies G and I had a running fight near South Pass of the Dragoon Mountains, in which the hostiles were followed into Sonora, Mexico. In October 1881, the "companies" began to be designated "troops" on the Regimental Return. Troop G returned to Fort McDermott on 9 November; Troop I to Camp Halleck on 27 December; Troop M to the Presidio of San Francisco on 20 January 1882; and Troop C to Fort Bidwell on 16 April.

In June 1884, the regiment was transferred to the Department of Dakota, after a tour of nearly 30 years on the Pacific coast, during the greater part of which time its stations were remote from civilization and its duties of a most arduous and thankless character. On 5 June 1885, Colonel Grover died at Atlantic City, New Jersey and was succeeded by Colonel N. A. M. Dudley, promoted from the 9th Cavalry. During this time, the headquarters and troops D, G, I, K and M, went to Fort Custer; A, C and F went to Fort Maginnis; E to Fort Ellis; H and L to Fort Assinniboine; and B to Fort Keogh. From 1886 to 1918, Company M, 1st Cavalry was stationed at Fort Yellowstone. Conflict with the "Crows" came in the fall of 1887, and on the morning of 4 November, Colonel Dudley left Fort Custer with Troops A, B, D, E, G and K, and Company B, 3d Infantry, with a section of Hotchkiss guns, to arrest "Sword Bearer" and the Indians who had fired into the agency buildings on the night of 30 September. On 5 November, a demand was made upon the Indians for the surrender of these men, and they were given an hour and a half to comply with the demand. At the end of that time, the battalion of the 1st Cavalry, with Moylan's troop of the 7th Cavalry on the right, moved out in front of camp. At the same time, a 'great commotion was observed in the Indian camp, and "Sword Bearer" and another chief dashed out leading from 120 to 150 warriors equipped for battle. The Indians charged, but were repulsed and fell back into the timber alongside the river, where they had dug many rifle pits from which they now kept up a constant fire. This fire was returned, and "Sword Bearer" was seen to fall, whereupon all fighting quickly ceased. All the Indians whose surrender had been demanded and who had not been killed were at once brought in and delivered to the Department Commander, who sent them to Fort Snelling. The cavalry battalion returned to Fort Custer on 13 November.

Colonel Dudley was retired from active service on 20 August 1889, and was succeeded by Colonel J. S. Brisbin, promoted from the 9th Cavalry. On 31 December, Headquarters and Troops B, D, E, G and M, were at Fort Custer; A and L at Fort Maginnis; C, F and H at Fort Assinniboine; I at Fort Leavenworth; and K at Camp Sheridan, Wyoming. In April 1890, the Cheyennes assumed a threatening attitude and their agent called on the commanding officer of Fort Custer for protection, who sent Major Carrol with Troops B, D and M to the Tongue River Agency, where they established Camp Crook. In September, a white boy was murdered by "Head Chief" and "Young Mule", and every attempt to arrest the murderers failed. On 11 April, the Indians sent word that they would attack the agency and on 12 April made their appearance on a hill commanding the agency buildings, where they opened fire upon them. They were soon dislodged and killed. The regiment took part in the operations against the hostile Sioux in the winter of 1890–1891, but was not brought into actual contact with them. In December 1890, word having been received that a troop of cavalry was surrounded by hostile Indians at or near Cave Hills, Montana, Troop A made one of the most remarkable marches on record in going to its relief. It marched 186 miles, 95 of which were made in 25 hours, and 170 in 531/2 hours. The report that caused such tremendous exertion proved to be without foundation. On 22 April 1891, Colonel Brisbin was transferred to the 8th Cavalry with Colonel Abraham K. Arnold who had been the lieutenant colonel and now became the colonel of the First. In 1892, the regiment was transferred to the Department of Arizona, relieving the 10th Cavalry. Headquarters and Troops C, E, F, H and K, going to Fort Grant, Arizona. ; B and I to Fort Bayard, New Mexico; D to Fort Apache, Arizona; and G to San Carlos. Troop A was at Fort Myer, Virginia, and was not moved.

Owing to the vast extent of country guarded by the regiment, its service for many years following was very arduous. Scouting for Indians and escort duty of various kinds were incessant. During this period, 30 soldiers and officers serving with the regiment earned the Medal of Honor. Eighteen of these awards were for a single engagement against Apaches in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona, and another six were for actions in George Crook's "winter campaign" of 1872–73. The recipients were:

Early on the morning of 8 November, the tanks of 1 1 Armor landed and had rapidly driven south, reaching Tafaraoui airdrome at 1100 where they received their first enemy fire in WWII. Vichy French anti tank guns fired on the column but were quickly outflanked and neutralized by B and A companies. The column secured the area and set up roadblocks as the 1st Armored Regiment's Reconnaissance Platoon mopped up machine gun nests and snipers in the area, capturing approximately 300 prisoners in doing so. By the end of D Day, Tafaraoui airdrome was being used by American aircraft. Task Force Green, to the west of Oran, was running into difficulty seizing La Senia airfield, so A Company, 1 1 Armor was sent to assist them. southeast of Mateur near Chouigui Pass, and conducting reconnaissance of the pass toward Tebourba. C company went through the pass, B Co held the center of the pass, and A Co with Headquarters Co stayed at the western end. Before nightfall, two Italian Semovente da 47/32 self propelled guns were destroyed by the Battalion's command tank section after they were spotting moving to the pass from Mateur. Soon after, the reconnaissance platoon spotted an enemy strongpoint at a farmhouse two miles down the road to Mateur. A Co attacked this position, and received a large concentration of small arms and anti tank fire from the loopholed walls of the farmhouse. One M3 tank was lost, and their 37 mm guns had little effect on the enemy position, so the attackers retreated. Fifteen enemy aircraft soon appeared, strafing and divebombing A Co as they withdrew, killing one man and wounding a few others. When the air raid ended, it was revealed that one wounded man had been left behind; he was rescued in the night.

On 8 March 1965, US Marines landed at Da Nang, marking the beginning of the conventional American ground war in the country of South Vietnam. Aiming to eliminate the communist Viet Cong insurgents and their North Vietnamese Army backers, US military presence in the country steadily escalated. By 1967, roughly 485,600 American troops were in country, and the disparate Squadrons of the 1st Cavalry Regiment were soon to enter the fray.

In August 1967, the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (1 1 Cavalry) was detached from the 1st Armored Division and sent to Vietnam attached to US Army Pacific. On deployment to Vietnam in 1967, the squadron consisted of three armored cavalry troops and one air cavalry troop, D Troop, which was not deployed until July 1968. 'D' Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment was shipped to Vietnam with its aircraft to join its parent unit, which was already in Vietnam attached to the Americal Division at Chu Lai. En route, D Troop's orders were changed, temporarily attaching it to the 101st Airborne Division. The troop disembarked at Da Nang on 21 July 1968 and flew directly to Camp Eagle. The Troop then remained on combat duty in I Corps for the next four years and used the call sign Sabre. 1 1 Cavalry served in Chu Lai, Đà Nẵng, Tam Kỳ, and Thach Khe. On 15 April 1966 Troop E, 1st Cavalry was activated as the brigade reconnaissance troop of the 11th Infantry Brigade at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Troop E arrived in Vietnam on 19 December 1967 and participated in extensive ground combat in Quảng Ngãi and Quang Tin provinces through eleven campaigns, receiving the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry for service in 1969–1970 with the 11th Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal). Troop E was inactivated in Vietnam on 13 November 1971. They departed Vietnam on 10 May 1972.

1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment returned to Europe and the 1st Armored Division, VII Corps taking up another frontier mission in December 1978 in the surveillance of the international "Iron Curtain" border between the Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia. As the "Eyes & Ears" of the 1st Armored Division based out of its Garrison at O'Brien Barracks in Schwabach, FRG, the Line Troops (A – "Alpha", B "Bravo", C "Charlie") rotated on a 30 to 45 day cycle through 1 1 Cavlary's Border Camp Pitman in Weiden, FRG between Field Training Exercises (FTX), Unit Gunnery Exercises and augmentations of other Border Cavalry Camps along the Inner German Cold War Iron Curtain Border with East Germany and Czechoslovakia. During this border surveillance mission period the line Troops were often typically deployed from their O'Brien Barracks Garrison for around 9 to 10 Months each year participating in various FTX's, REFORGER's (Return of Forces to Germany), Unit Gunnery Exercises, Border Tours and Augmentations. In 1988 the Squadron moved Garrison to Katterbach, FRG and the unit eventually gained additional aviation elements to help support its mission. As part of the move and conversion from H Series Cavalry configuration to J Series Cavalry configuration, C Troop was dropped as a ground Troop and became one of the new Aviation Troops (C & D) added.

When Sadaam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait precipitating the Gulf War, the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment moved to Saudi Arabia from their bases in Germany and into the line by 8 January 1991. The 1st Armored Division was in a wedge for the advance forward, and 1 1 Cavalry was at the "sharp end" of the wedge. On 24 February, the 1st Cavalry led the way across the border and covered 244 kilometers in the enemy's rear during 89 hours of sustained combat operations. 1 1 Cavalry helped destroy 4 Iraqi divisions along the way, 3 of which were members of the vaunted Republican Guard. The squadron sustained no fatalities and a limited number of wounded, and only lost two M3A2 Bradley fighting vehicles.

In April 2003, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry and other regimentally affiliated units of the 1st Armored Division moved to Kuwait to begin staging for the Operation Iraqi Freedom. In March 2003, The Squadron conducted a Relief in Place of 3 7 Cavalry (3ID) in Baghdad and assumed operations. The Air Cavalry Troops of the Squadron (D, E, & F) were attached to 1st Battalion (Attack), 501st Aviation in order to provide Reconnaissance and Security to the entirety of forces in an around the greater Baghdad area. Troop H, Brigade Reconnaissance Troop (a separate but regimentally affiliated unit) and the Squadron conducted operations in and around Baghdad for the next 16 months (due to an involuntary extension imposed on them two weeks prior to their scheduled flight home at the 12 month mark). The Air Cavalry Troops earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Valorous Unit Award for their contributions. From March 2007 May 2008 3 1 Cavalry deployed with 3 3ID East of Bagdad at FOB Hammer in support of President Bush's "Surge". From September 2008 – September 2009, 5 1 Cavalry was deployed to the eastern Diyala Governorate in Iraq. From April 2011–April 2012, 5 1 Cavalry deployed to Kandahar Province in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Description: On a heraldic wreath Or and Tenné (Dragoon Yellow) a hawk rising with wings addorsed and elevated Sable and membered Gules—charged upon an eight pointed Dragoon Yellow star surrounded by a Black sword belt bearing the organizational motto "Animo et Fide" with the old Dragoon belt plate of 1836. The insignia is 1 inches (3.18 cm) in diameter. Symbolism: This Regiment was organized in 1833 as the Regiment of United States Dragoons. Many of its officers and men came from the Battalion of Mounted Rangers which had taken part in the Black Hawk War. The color of the Dragoons was Dragoon yellow (orange yellow) and a gold eight pointed star on the encircling belt was the insignia of the Dragoons until 1851. The motto translates to "Courageous and Faithful." Background: The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 1st Cavalry Regiment on 27 November 1923. It was redesignated for the 1st Armored Regiment on 7 September 1940. It was redesignated for the 1st Constabulary Squadron on 11 June 1947. The insignia was redesignated for the 1st Medium Tank Battalion on 13 August 1951. It was redesignated for the 1st Tank Battalion on 18 February 1955. The insignia was redesignated for the 1st Cavalry Regiment on 21 April 1958. It was amended to change the wording of the description on 20 October 1965.