In almost all armies it long has been standard practice to use distinctive devices of cloth and metal to distinguish between arms and services, and between individual units of each arm, to enhance morale and develop esprit de corps. Colors of units of the British Army have had ancient badges emblazoned on them since before the establishment of the present standing army in 1661. By the end of the first half of the 18th century some of these badges had been authorized for placement on horse furniture or for wear on grenadier caps. This was especially true of the regiments of horse and a few of the older regiments of foot. The infantry regiments received numerical designations in 1751, and these numbers were worn on waist belts, shoulder belts, and cartridge-box plates. When the infantry units acquired county titles in 1782, these names often were added to the plates. In 1767 regimental numbers were ordered placed on the buttons of officers and other ranks; in practice these numbers were often combined with other devices.[1]
[Footnote 1: PARKYN'S _Shoulder-Belt Plates and Buttons_ contains a wealth of information on British regimental devices.]
In the American Army such devices have taken many forms, ranging from distinctive buttons, plumes, cockades, cap plates, shoulder-belt plates, and waist-belt and cartridge-box plates to the well-known shoulder sleeve insignia and distinctive unit insignia of the present day. The origin of much of this insignia and many of the changes in its design can be tied more or less directly to the organization of the Regular Army--its contractions and expansions and its changes in arm and service designations--and to the peculiar circumstances surrounding the origin and growth of the volunteer or uniformed Militia. Thus, a short discussion of the organization of each is in order.[2]
[Footnote 2: For history of the organization of the Army, see _American Military History, 1607-1953_; MAHON, "History of the Organization of the United States Infantry"; and JONES, "History of the Organization of the United States Field Artillery."
Unfortunately, there is no single, completely satisfactory source on the militia system of the United States. The following works, however, contain sound information and, when taken together, provide an excellent background on the subject: TODD, "Our National Guard"; MAHON, "Citizen Soldier"; LUNDEBERG, "History of the North Carolina Militia"; ANSELL, "Legal and Historical Aspects of the Militia"; GRONERT, "First National Pastime in the Middle West"; and RIKER, _Soldiers of the States_.]
Organization of the Regular Army
Two months after the War of the Revolution officially ended with the signing of a peace treaty on September 3, 1783, General Washington directed the Army to turn in its arms and disband.[3] Since the Continental Congress had made no provision for a permanent establishment, Washington retained in service one infantry regiment and a battalion of artillery to guard military stores and take over posts to be evacuated by the British.[4] Early in June 1784 Congress ordered these units disbanded except for detachments to guard stores at Fort Pitt and West Point; then, in order to secure the frontier against Indian unrest, it immediately authorized a regiment to be raised from the militia of four of the States to comprise eight companies of infantry and two of artillery.[5] This unit, called the First American Regiment, gradually turned into a regular organization.
[Footnote 3: _Writings of George Washington_, vol. 27, p. 222.]
[Footnote 4: Ibid., pp. 256-258; also letter dated January 3, 1784, from Henry Knox, Commander in Chief of the Army, to President of the Continental Congress (in Knox papers).]
[Footnote 5: Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. 27, p. 524; also, UPTON, p. 69.]
The failure of an expedition commanded by Col. Josiah Harmar of the First American Regiment against the Indians in 1790 awakened the Congress somewhat to the threat in the Northwest and resulted in the organization of another infantry regiment, which was designated the 2d Infantry Regiment; the First American Regiment was redesignated the "1st".[6] Trouble with the Indians continued, and after another severe reverse Congress authorized the raising of three additional infantry regiments and, at the same time, empowered the President to organize the Army as he might see fit.[7]
[Footnote 6: Act of March 3, 1791 (_Military Laws_, pp. 90-91).]
[Footnote 7: Act of March 5, 1792 (_Military Laws_, pp. 92-94).]
Under this discretionary power, the Army was reorganized into the Legion of the United States. This was a field army in which the three combat branches--infantry, cavalry, and artillery--were combined. The Legion was in turn broken down into four sublegions, with each containing infantry, cavalry, artillery, and riflemen; thus, the sublegions were the fore-runners of the modern combined arms team. The 1st and 2d Infantries became the 1st and 2d Sublegions. Of the three additional infantry regiments authorized, only two were organized, these becoming the 3d and 4th Sublegions.[8] Under the forceful leadership of Gen. Anthony Wayne the Legion reversed the record on the frontier and decisively defeated the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The temporary peace which followed turned attention to the problem of protecting the Atlantic seaboard, and in 1794 Congress authorized a large increase in the artillery, assigned engineer officers, and designated the new organization the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers.[9] The Legion was continued until it was replaced in 1796 by the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th Infantry Regiments, which were constituted from the four sublegions, two troops of light dragoons, and the above-mentioned Corps.[10]
[Footnote 8: _American State Papers_, pp. 40-41.]
[Footnote 9: Act of May 9, 1794 (_Military Laws_, p. 104).]
[Footnote 10: Act of May 30, 1796 (_Military Laws_, p. 114).]
The threat of war with France in 1798 brought further expansions. In April of that year an "additional regiment" of artillerists and engineers was authorized, with the Corps created in 1794 becoming the 1st and the new unit being designated the 2d Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers.[11] In the following July, 12 more regiments of infantry and 6 troops of light dragoons--to be combined with the two troops in existence to form a regiment--were authorized; an additional 24 regiments of infantry, plus units of other arms, authorized the following winter made a total of 40 regiments of infantry.[12]
Actually, the greatest part of this force remained on paper. Only the 1st and 2d Infantries ever attained their required strength, and only 3,400 men were enlisted for the 5th through the 16th. There were no enlistments at all for the other regiments. Officers were assigned to the six troops of light dragoons, but no enlisted personnel were raised and no horses were bought.[13]
[Footnote 11: Act of April 27, 1798 (_Military Laws_, pp. 119-120).]
[Footnote 12: Acts of July 16, 1798, and March 2, 1799 (_Military Laws_, pp. 127-128).]
[Footnote 13: _American State Papers_, p. 137.]
More quickly than it had arisen, the threat of a war with France abated. Early in 1800 action was suspended under the two acts creating the paper regiments, and the Army was reduced to the regular establishment of four regiments of infantry, two regiments of artillerists and engineers, and two troops of light dragoons.[14] Two years later the antipathy of the new Jefferson administration to a standing army further reduced this establishment to two regiments of infantry and one of artillery. The Corps of Artillerists and Engineers was abolished; a Corps of Engineers was organized to be stationed at West Point and "constitute a military academy"; and the light dragoons were disbanded.[15]
[Footnote 14: Acts of February 20 and May 14, 1800 (_Military Laws_, pp. 139, 141); also, _American State Papers_, p. 139.]
[Footnote 15: Act of March 16, 1802 (_Military Laws_, pp. 141-149).]
The Jeffersonian theories regarding a strong militia and a small professional army were rudely shaken in 1807 by the _Chesapeake-Leopard_ affair. With war seeming imminent, Congress added to the Regular Establishment, though cautiously "for a limited time," five regiments of infantry, one regiment of riflemen, one of light artillery, and one of light dragoons. The new regiments of infantry were numbered the 3d through the 7th.[16] There was no further preparation for a fight with England until just before war was actually declared. In January 1812, 10 regiments of infantry, two of artillery, and one regiment of light dragoons were added; three months later a Corps of Artificers was organized; and in June provision was made for eight more infantry regiments, making a total of 25.[17] In January 1813, following the discouragements of the early campaigns in the Northwest, Congress constituted 20 more infantry regiments, bringing the total to 45, the largest number in the Regular Establishment until the 20th century.[18]
A year later three more regiments of riflemen, designated the 2d through the 4th, were formed.[19]
[Footnote 16: Act of April 12, 1808 (_Military Laws_, pp. 200-203).]
[Footnote 17: Acts of January 11, April 23, and June 26, 1812 (_Military Laws_, pp. 212-215, 222-223, 230).]
[Footnote 18: Act of January 1813 (_Military Laws_, pp. 238-240).
There is some confusion as to just how many infantry regiments were organized and actually came into being. The Act of January 29, 1813, authorized the President to raise such regiments of infantry as he should see fit, "not exceeding twenty." It seems that 19 were actually formed, made up partly of 1-year men and partly of 5-year men. There are 46 regiments listed in the Army Register for January 1, 1815, and it is known that several volunteer regiments were designated as units of the Regular Establishment and that a 47th and a 48th were redesignated as lower numbered units when several regiments were consolidated because of low recruitment rate. Mahon (in "History of the Organization of the United States Infantry") is not clear on this point. There is an organizational chart of the Army for this period in the files of the Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army.]
[Footnote 19: Act of February 10, 1814 (_Military Laws_, pp.
251-252).]
In March 1814 Congress reorganized both the artillery and the dragoons. The three artillery regiments, which had never operated as such, but rather by company or detachment, were consolidated into the Corps of Artillery; and the two regiments of dragoons, which had never been adequately trained and generally had given a poor account of themselves, were merged into one.[20] The Regiment of Light Artillery remained untouched.
[Footnote 20: Act of March 30, 1814 (_Military Laws_, pp. 252-255); JONES, p. 58; "History of the Organization of the United States Cavalry."]
Almost as soon as the war ended, Congress moved to reduce the Army[21]
by limiting the peacetime establishment to 10,000 men, to be divided among infantry, artillery, and riflemen, plus the Corps of Engineers.
The number of wartime infantry units was reduced to eight, and the rifle units to one. The Corps of Artillery and the Regiment of Light Artillery were retained, but dragoons were eliminated.[22]
[Footnote 21: Act of March 3, 1815 (_Military Laws_, pp. 266-267).]
[Footnote 22: The reorganization of 1815 is treated by MAHON "History of the Organization of the United States Infantry" (pp. 11-12), JONES "History of the Organization of the United States Field Artillery"
(pp. 59-60), and WIKE, unpublished study.]
By 1821 the prospects of a prolonged peace appeared so good that Congress felt safe in further reducing the Army. Consequently, in that year the number of infantry regiments was cut to seven; the Rifle Regiment was disbanded; the Corps of Artillery and the Regiment of Light Artillery were disbanded, with four artillery regiments being organized in their stead; and the Ordnance Department was merged with the artillery,[23] an arrangement that continued until 1832.
[Footnote 23: Act of March 2, 1821 (_Military Laws_, pp. 303-309).]
The opening of the West in the decades following the War of 1812 brought an important change in the organization of the Army.
Experience having shown that infantry were at a distinct disadvantage when pitted against the fleetly mounted Indians, in 1832 a battalion of mounted rangers was organized to quell disturbances on the northwest frontier,[24] but this loosely knit force was replaced by a regiment of dragoons the following year.[25] The mounted arm had come to stay in the Army.
[Footnote 24: Acts of April 5 and June 15, 1832 (_Military Laws_, pp.
322-323, 325-326).]
[Footnote 25: Act of March 2, 1833 (_Military Laws_, pp. 329-330).]
When the second Seminole War broke out in 1836, a second regiment of dragoons was organized.[26] And, as the war dragged through another inconclusive year, a reluctant Congress was forced to increase the size of existing line units and to authorize an additional regiment of infantry, the 8th. Meanwhile, increasing demands for surveying and mapping services resulted in the creation of the Corps of Topographical Engineers as a separate entity.[27]
[Footnote 26: Act of May 23, 1836 (_Military Laws_, pp. 336-337).]
[Footnote 27: Act of July 5, 1838 (_Military Laws_, pp. 341-349).]
Meanwhile, the responsibilities of the Army in the opening of the West continued to increase, and in 1846 the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen was organized to consolidate the northern route to the Pacific by establishing and manning a series of posts along the Oregon Trail.[28]
However, the outbreak of the War with Mexico postponed this mission.
[Footnote 28: Act of May 19, 1846 (_Military Laws_, pp. 371-372).]