The 2nd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army that has served for more than two hundred years. It was constituted on 12 April 1808 as the 6th Infantry and consolidated with 4 other regiments in 1815 to form the present unit.

Origin The first unit designated the 2nd Infantry Regiment was constituted in March 1791 and fought in the Northwest Indian War and the War of 1812 at Fort Bowyer, Alabama. Its history and lineage are not a part of the present regiment, and it became part of the 1st Infantry through the consolidations of 1815. For the history of the original 2nd Infantry Regiment, please refer to the page for the 1st Infantry Regiment

At the end of the War of 1812, an act of Congress dated 3 March 1815 reduced the size of the Regular Army to a maximum of 10,000 men. Eight infantry regiments, one rifle regiment and an artillery regiment was formed from the elements of the 46 existing regiments, while the cavalry was eliminated. This was done with no regard for the traditions of the existing regiments. The old regiments which happened to be closest together were pooled to form new regiments and the numbers assigned the regiments were based on the seniority of the colonels commanding them.

In accordance with the act, on 17 May 1815 a new 2nd US Infantry was created by the consolidation of the 6th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd, and 32nd Regiments of Infantry, all then located in upper New York and Vermont. The date of organization of the present 2nd Infantry is that of the original 6th Infantry, 12 April 1808. The regiment's headquarters was in the cantonment at Sackett's Harbor. Colonel Hugh Brady became the regiment's commanding officer with Henry Leavenworth as major and Ninian Pinkney as lieutenant-colonel., in The regimental number was "2" because Brady was the second most senior regimental commander in the United States Army. Colonel Brady was in command of the 22nd Infantry at the time of the consolidation and, though he served in several other commands and reached the rank of major general, he remained colonel commandant of the 2nd Infantry Regiment from his residence in Detroit until his death on 15 April 1851.

The War Department ruled that the present 2nd Infantry bear upon its colors the campaign honors of the regiments consolidated into its organization. Thus, the colors bear the campaign streamers for Canada, Chippawa and Lundy's Lane, even though it did not participate in any of the battles in Canada during the War of 1812. The present 2nd Infantry also bears the two battle honors earned by the original/old 2nd Infantry for the Miami Campaign (1790–1795) and Alabama 1814.

Military service

First Indian War period In the ensuing years the regiment was primarily concerned with manning and constructing forts around the Great Lakes. When the Black Hawk War of 1832 erupted the 2nd Infantry was sent to Illinois but did not participate in any fighting. The regiment returned to its posts on the Great Lakes. During the Second Seminole War, from 1838 to 1842, the regiment was in Florida, where it was on the move daily, fighting and building roads and installations. In April 1840 with Colonel Brady attending to other duty assignments Lieutenant Colonel Bennett C. Riley assumed command of the regiment. Lieutenant Colonel Riley remained in command of the regiment until January 1850. In 1843 the regiment returned to its posts on Lakes Ontario and Champlain in upstate New York.

War with Mexico When war broke out with Mexico in 1846, the 2nd Infantry Regiment was sent to Camargo, Mexico and joined General David E. Twiggs' Brigade. From September 1846 to December 1847 the regiment campaigned from the Rio Grande to Mexico City, fighting in battles at Veracruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Moline del Rey and Chapultepec.

Second Indian War period In September 1848 because of conflicts with the Indians in Oregon and California the regiment was sent west. The regiment sailed via Rio de Janeiro, Cape Horn and Santiago, Chile, to California. Between 1849 and 1853 the regiment was in California occupying stations from Goose Lake on the north to Fort Yuma on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the east, scouting, providing protection for the '49ers and fighting throughout the entire area. The regiment returned to New York in 1853 only to be sent to the Western Plains where it constructed or reconstructed forts, built roads and scouted the hills and plains along the Missouri River as far west as Fort Kearny, Nebraska and Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

American Civil War During the Civil War the 2nd Infantry fought in the early Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri and the first Battle of Bull Run. The regiment was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and fought in engagements such as Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. By June 1864 the commissioned and enlisted strength of the regiment had reached such a low figure, less than 100 men, that at the request of the regimental commander the remaining enlisted men were transferred to Company C, and that company was given a full complement of officers and non-commissioned officers. From then until December 1864 the entire regiment consisted of just Company C. On 18 April 1869 the 2nd Infantry was consolidated with the 16th Infantry and the consolidated unit was designated as the 2nd Infantry.

The 2nd Infantry bears nine battle honors from the Southern Campaign through its 1869 consolidation with the 16th Infantry. These honors were earned by the 16th Infantry: Atlanta, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Georgia 1864, Kentucky 1862, Mississippi 1862, Murfreesboro, Shiloh, and Tennessee 1863.

Third Indian War period From 1877 to 1886 the regiment was in Washington, Oregon and Idaho Territory campaigning against the Nez Perce, then the Bannocks and then a band of the Eastern Shoshones called the Sheepeaters. In 1886 it moved to Fort Omaha, Nebraska to help fight the Sioux. The 2nd Infantry was on the Pine Ridge Reservation on 29 December 1890 when the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred and, although the regiment was not involved, one officer from the regiment was wounded there. The regiment remained on the western plains until 1898.

Spanish–American War In 1898 the regiment was deployed to Cuba at the start of the Spanish–American War, with Headquarters, Staff, Band, and Companies C and G sailing on the same ship with the Rough Riders. The regiment, under the command of LTC William Wherry, (regimental commander COL John C. Bates had been promoted to brigadier general of volunteers) fought in battles along the road to San Juan Heights and the battle of Santiago, where it fought on the extreme left of San Juan Heights. In August 1898, the regiment returned to the United States only to return to Cuba in January 1899. The regiment stayed in Cuba until September 1899 when it returned to the United States to prepare for deployment to the Philippines.

Philippine Insurrection In August/September 1900 the 2nd Infantry was deployed to deal with the Philippine Insurrection during which it fought in over 25 engagements on several of the islands. In May 1903 the regiment returned to duty in the western United States, it was stationed at Fort Logan, Colorado and Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming. In February 1906 the regiment was redeployed to the Philippines and remained there until returning to the United States in March 1908. The 3rd Battalion went to Fort Assinniboine, Montana and the balance of the regiment to Fort Thomas, Kentucky for training and garrison duties until deploying to Hawaii in 1911.

World War I When war broke out, the 2nd Infantry Regiment was on security duty in the Hawaiian Islands guarding interned German ships and sailors, as well as various U.S. installations. In July 1918, it returned to the United States and was assigned to the 19th Division at Camp Dodge, Iowa. The war ended just as the regiment was about to deploy to France.

Post-World War I

In February 1919, the regiment was relieved from the 19th Division when it was demobilized, and resumed its status as a separate regiment. The 2nd Infantry was stationed at Camp Dodge, Iowa, as of June 1919. The 1st and 2nd Battalions were transferred in September 1919 to Camp Sherman, Ohio, while the regimental headquarters and 3rd Battalion followed in November. The 2nd Infantry was redesignated as a training center regiment on 27 July 1921 and assigned to the Sixth Corps Area Training Center, with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions being inactivated. The regiment was reorganized as a combat regiment on 17 August 1922 upon the inactivation of the Sixth Corps Area Training Center, and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were reconstituted with personnel from the 54th Infantry. The regimental headquarters was transferred in August 1922 to Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Concurrently, the 1st Battalion was transferred to Fort Sheridan, the 2nd Battalion to Fort Wayne, Michigan; and the 3rd Battalion to Fort Brady, Michigan. The regiment was assigned to the 6th Division on 24 March 1923. The regimental headquarters was transferred in 1929 to Fort Wayne. In April 1933, the regiment assumed command and control of the 1st Forest District, Civilian Conservation Corps (later redesignated as the Fort Brady CCC District). Colonel Frederick B. Shaw, who wrote a history of the regiment, commanded from 1928 to 1930. Assigned Reserve officers, less those in the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, conducted summer training with the regiment at Fort Sheridan; those assigned to the 2nd Battalion trained at Camp Custer, Michigan, and those assigned to the 3rd Battalion trained at Fort Brady. Reserve officers also conducted the infantry Citizens Military Training Camp held at Camp Custer in 1939.

World War II

On 16 October 1939, the regiment was relieved from the 6th Division and assigned to the 5th Division. It was transferred on 3 November 1939 to Fort McClellan, Alabama, on 1 June 1940 to Fort Wayne, and on 25 September 1940 to Fort Custer. In February 1942 the regiment was sent to Iceland to relieve United States Marines who were providing security for U.S. bases located there, and to load and unload supply ships. It was then sent to England and then Ireland for training. In July 1944 the 2nd Infantry Regiment landed in Normandy, France. It became part of General George Patton's Third United States Army, leading the way in the breakout from the beaches of Normandy in Operation Cobra, capturing Rheims and then seized Metz after a major battle at Fort Driant.

When the Battle of the Bulge began the 2nd Infantry Regiment moved to the battle zone in the area of Nideranven, Luxembourg. In January 1945 the 2nd Infantry Regiment forced a crossing of the Sauer River and attacked into the Siegfried Line. The regiment then crossed the Rhine River near Oppenheim and secured the crossing for other Third Army units. The unit then spearheaded the attack into Czechoslovakia and was located near the town of Volary when the word came to cease all forward movement at 08:31 on 7 May 1945.

Post-World War II Following World War II the 2nd Infantry Regiment returned to the United States and was inactivated and activated several times and returned to Germany for a period. During the Korean War the regiment was stationed at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania with the 5th Infantry Division training recruits for deployment to Korea. In June 1957, at the time of the Pentomic reorganization, the 2nd Infantry Regiment was stationed at Fort Ord, California with the 5th Infantry Division, serving as a training regiment. The 2nd Battalion was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battle Group, 2nd Infantry and released from assignment with 5th Infantry Division and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. At this time both the 1st and 3rd Battalions were inactivated.