138th Infantry Regiment (United States)

Many of the Greys ignored President Lincoln's issued proclamation for the states to call up their militia and provide troops to the Federal Government to suppress the Rebellion after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, and mustered into service at the call of Governor Jackson, outside of St. Louis at Camp Jackson where St. Louis University now sits. Accused of plotting to capture the St. Louis Arsenal as part of the Camp Jackson Affair, now the location of the Budweiser Brewery, the 1st Missouri Volunteer Militia, with its two companies of St. Louis Greys, were captured by Union troops and marched to the arsenal. Upon being paroled, the Greys and the remainder of the old First Missouri broke their parole and were reformed into the Missouri State Guard. They then went to Memphis, Tennessee and created a Confederate regiment known as the 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment, 1st Missouri Brigade, otherwise known as the “Camp Jackson Boys” and was commanded by Col. John S. Bowen. With casualties came amalgamation, and after fighting in the Shiloh, Mississippi River, Vicksburg, Atlanta, Nashville, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama campaigns, the 1st Missouri surrendered at Fort Blakely, Alabama on 9 April 1865. The 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment marched on foot more than 4,000 miles and traveled more than 1,500 miles by railroad and streamboat during their 40-month journey across seven states on both sides of the Mississippi. It was also a part of the best drilled and finest combat unit of the Confederate States Army and one of the most elite units in the entire Civil War, the 1st Missouri Brigade "the South's Finest".[2]

Below is a quote from the company commander of Company "D": St. Louis Greys that served during the Civil War regarding the First Missouri Infantry:

I am proud of my connection with the First Missouri Infantry,
and claim for it that it was
the best organized and disciplined volunteer regiment
the war produced.

Missourians,
whether they were for the North or South,
can take pride in the prowess of
the First Missouri.

We represented our state, and despite our failure,
we were Missourians,
and stood to our guns

from the first to the last.

— Captain Joseph Boyce

Company D

1st Missouri Infantry

Confederate States of America[3]

After the Civil War, the Greys reformed and by 1873 joined other uniformed companies to create the 1st Regiment of Organized Missouri Militia. In 1898 nearly every member of the First Regiment, Missouri National Guard, as it was known at that time, volunteered to fight in the war with Spain under the name of the First Regiment of Infantry, Missouri Volunteers. They mustered into service at Jefferson Barracks and mobilized to Chickamauga Park, Georgia on 21 May 1898 but were never sent to Cuba or Puerto Rico due to lack of funding from the state.

The Militia Act of 1903 required the National Guard of Missouri to conform to federal regulations and with the initiation of the National Defense Act of 1916, the First Missouri took an oath to the President of the United States as well as to the Governor of Missouri. After taking part in the Punitive Expedition in 1916 with service in Loredo, Texas, the 1st Missouri returned home. However, it was a short stay. Ordered to Camp Doniphan, now part of Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, the regiment began training for the Great War. On 1 October 1917, the First and Fifth Regiments, both from St. Louis, were consolidated into the 138th Infantry Regiment, 69th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division.

During World War I, the 138th Infantry Regiment first took over operations in the Vosges Mountains in southern France and drew first blood for the 35th Infantry Division during a trench raid at Hilsenfirst. The regiment later took part in the Battle of St. Mihiel. In the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne, the regiment led the division on the first day of the attack on 26 September 1918. During this engagement, Private Nels Wald and Captain Alexander Skinker earned the Medal of Honor. Fighting through fog, enfilade fire from their left flank, and under constant artillery barrages, the regiment toiled through an exposed sector, German machine gun nests, and sniper fire to complete its objective on Vauquois Hill. The regiment fought alongside Colonel George S. Patton's tank brigade to capture the villages of Cheppy and Exermont. After the Meuse-Argonne, the 138th assumed occupation duty south of Verdun.

After the war's end, the regiment was demobilized on 12 May 1919 at Camp Grant, Illinois. The 138th Infantry was reconstituted in the National Guard in 1921, assigned to the 35th Division, and allotted to the state of Missouri. The 1st Infantry, Missouri National Guard, was reorganized in 1921 with the headquarters, auxiliary troops, and 1st and 2nd Battalions in St. Louis and the 3rd Battalion in eastern Missouri. The 138th Infantry was reorganized on 1 October 1921 by the redesignation of the 1st Infantry. On 8 July 1922, the U.S. Army approved the 138th's Regimental coat of arms along with the regimental colors. The coat of arms is an infantry blue shield with the Apotheosis of St. Louis in profile. The regiment's motto, "St. Louis’ Own" alludes to the historical home of the regiment and serves as a recognition if its history – nearly all the original members of the regiment were St. Louisans as were its Medal of Honor recipients. The regiment's official designation as the "First Missouri" also stands as testament to its former name – Missouri's first, and now only, infantry regiment.

During World War II, the 138th Infantry was sent to Alaska in increments from January to June 1942, being officially relieved from the 35th Infantry Division on 1 March 1942. The regiment served on mainland Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands, assisting in construction projects, defending bases and manning outposts. The regiment returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, on 20 July 1944. After 1945 the regiment returned once again to St. Louis but by 1963 only the 1st Battalion remained in service. 1 May 1974 was the first day that an infantry unit could not call St. Louis and the State of Missouri home, as it had for 142 years. On that day, the lineage and honors of the regiment passed to the 1138th Engineer Battalion and was held by units in St. Louis, including Company B, 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment, until reclaimed by the entire battalion in 2014 when the U.S. Army and National Guard Bureau recognized the 138th once again in the U.S. Army Regimental System.

The reactivation of 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment (1-138th) began on 1 September 2010, with early implementation of the modified table of organization and equipment occurring on 1 September 2009. The 1-138th Infantry is the first infantry unit allocated to the Missouri National Guard since the casing of the 138th regimental colors in 1974. The 1-138th Infantry began building, forming, and equipping actions on 1 September 2008 with Federal Recognition granted in January 2012. In a Ceremony on 17 June 2015 at Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas, the Soldiers of the 1-138th Infantry witnessed the uncasing of its regimental colors since their last casing over 30 years earlier – a poetic gesture, as the regiment's forebears fought valiantly as brothers in arms with Arkansas over 150 years before.

First Missouri citizen soldiers deployed to conduct State Emergency Duty during the winter storms of 2010 and most recently, to protect persons, property, and civil liberties in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014.

The battalion deployed to Qatar in 2017 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (Spartan Shield) to provide force protection of U.S. military assets and was there during the turbulent beginning of the GCC-Qatar Crisis. The battalion conducted security operations and was tasked with Quick Reaction Force responsibilities at various outposts in the region.

The reactivation of 3rd Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment (3-138th) began on 1 September 2023, with early implementation of the modified table of organization and equipment occurring on 1 September 2022.

• 1st Battalion, Battalion Commanders
• LTC Kevin Fujimoto (2008-2011)
• LTC Levon Cumpton (2011-2013)
• LTC Martin Clay (2013-2015)
• LTC Douglas McConnell (2015-2018)
• LTC Tom Pickle (2018-2020)
• LTC Peter J. McCann (2020-Current)

• 3rd Battalion, Battalion Commanders
• LTC Tyson K Erdman (2022-Current

• 1st Battalion, Battalion Command Sergeants Major
• CSM Scott Kennedy (2008-2009)
• CSM Larry Godsey (2009-2018)
• CSM Don Lilleman (2018-2021)
• CSM Wes Blanscet (2021-2022)
• CSM Eric Jordan (2022-Current)

• 3rd Battalion, Battalion Command Sergeants Major
• CSM Wes Blanscet (2022-Current)

Organized 26 July 1852 in the Missouri Militia at St. Louis as the National Guards

• Expanded 28 July 1858 to form two companies
• Converted, reorganized, and redesignated in June 1860 as the Engineer Corps of Missouri
• Captured by Union forces 10 May 1861 at Camp Jackson, Missouri
• Reorganized 14 February 1872 at St. Louis as the Company of National Guards
• Mustered into state service 9 April 1878 as the St. Louis National Guard Battalion

Organized 7 November 1877 in the Missouri National Guard at St. Louis as the 1st Regiment of Police Reserves

• Mustered into state service 21 November 1881 as the 3d Regiment

Constituted 14 December 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 880th Airborne Engineer Battalion, Aviation

• Activated 1 March 1943 at Westover Field, Massachusetts
• Redesignated 24 March 1943 as the 880th Airborne Engineer Aviation Battalion
• Disbanded 21 December 1944 on New Guinea
• Reconstituted 6 March 1952 in the Air National Guard as the 880th Engineer Aviation Battalion, and allotted to Missouri, Louisiana, and Colorado
• Organized 1952–1954 with headquarters federally recognized 26 January 1954 at St. Louis, Missouri

(Federal recognition withdrawn 1 April 1954 from Company C [Colorado Air National Guard]; Company B [Louisiana Air National Guard] redesignated 1 September 1954 as Company B, 225th Engineer Aviation Battalion – hereafter separate lineage)

• Redesignated 15 January 1957 as the 880th Engineer Battalion and allotted to the Missouri Army National Guard
• Battalion broken up 15 January 1968 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as follows:
• Headquarters and Headquarters Company as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 880th Engineer Battalion
• (Company A as the 1135th Military Police Company; Company B as the 202d Engineer Company; Company C as Company B, 110th Engineer Battalion – hereafter separate lineages)

A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 3/32 inches (2.78 cm) in height consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure, the equestrian statue in profile of Louis IX (St. Louis) of France Or, (the statue is in forest Park, St. Louis, by Charles Henry Niehaus).

The shield is blue for Infantry. The statue of Louis IX (St. Louis) alludes to the home area of the organization.

The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 138th Infantry Regiment on 24 May 1926. It was redesignated for the 1138th Engineer Battalion on 3 May 1989.

• • Shield- Azure, the equestrian statue in profile of Louis IX (St. Louis) of France Or, (the statue is in forest Park, St. Louis, by C.H. Niehaus).
  • Crest- That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Missouri Army National Guard: On a wreath of the colors Or and Azure, a grizzly bear rampant Proper. **Motto: ST. LOUIS’ OWN.

• • Shield- The shield is blue for Infantry. The statue of Louis IX (St. Louis) alludes to the home area of the organization.
  • Crest- The crest is that of the Missouri Army National Guard.

The coat of arms was originally approved for the 138th Infantry Regiment on 8 July 1922. It was amended to correct the blazon on 11 October 1923. It was redesignated for 1138th Engineer Battalion on 3 May 1989.