17th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 17th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment. An earlier regiment designated the 17th Infantry Regiment was organized on 11 January 1812, but it was consolidated with four other regiments as the 3rd Infantry in the post-war reorganization of the army following the War of 1812, due to the shattering losses it sustained at the River Raisin. The current 17th Infantry was constituted as the 17th Regiment of Infantry on 3 May 1861.

17th Infantry Regiment
Coat of arms
Active1861–present
Country United States
Branch United States Army
TypeInfantry
Garrison/HQJoint Base Lewis–McChord,
Fort Bliss
Nickname(s)"The Buffalos"
Motto(s)Truth and Courage
EngagementsAmerican Civil War
Spanish–American War
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Panama
Iraq
Afghanistan
Commanders
Notable
commanders
William Wilson Quinn
Clement A. Trott
James Durrell Greene
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

History

Civil War

The 17th Infantry Regiment served in the Army of the Potomac, in Sykes' Division of the 5th Army Corps. Its badge was a white cross patee.

During the Battle of Fredericksburg, the 17th Infantry suffered heavy losses in the assault on Robert E. Lee's Confederates entrenched behind a stone wall. "For one entire day, (December 14) the men of the 17th lay flat on their faces eighty yards in front of the famous stone wall, behind which the enemy was posted in large numbers and any movement on their part was sure to draw the fire of rebel sharpshooters."

On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 17th Infantry regiment, commanded by Colonel James Durrell Greene, fought in tough hand-to-hand combat in the Wheatfield. The 17th US Infantry lost 24 KIA and 125 WIA/MIA in this engagement.

Coat of arms

A buffalo, displayed on the a shield below the stone wall, represents the regiment's history in the Korean war. The "Buffalo" nickname was adopted at the suggestion of the 17th Regiment's commander in the Korean War, Col. William W. "Buffalo Bill" Quinn.[1][2]

The shield is blue, as it is the color of the infantry.

The crest is a sea lion taken from the Spanish Arms of Manila to represent the fighting for that city in 1898.

The five-bastioned fort, shown on the blue shield above and to the right of the stone wall, was the badge of the 5th Army Corps in Cuba in 1898.

The two arrows represent the Indian campaigns the 17th Regiment participated in.

The 17th Infantry Regiment was in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War in Sykes' Division of the 5th Army Corps, the badge of which was a white Cross pattée, which is embodied in the coat of arms and shown on the blue field above and to the left of the stone wall.

At Fredericksburg the 17th suffered heavy losses in the assault on the famous stone wall, "For one entire day, (December 14) the men of the 17th lay flat on their faces eighty yards in front of the famous stone wall, behind which the enemy was posted in large numbers and any movement on their part was sure to draw the fire of rebel sharpshooters.

Medal of Honor recipients

Spanish–American War
World War II
Korean War

Lineage

  • Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry
  • Organized 6 July 1861 at Fort Preble, Maine
  • Reorganized and redesignated 13 December 1866 as the 17th Infantry
  • Consolidated 1 June 1869 with the 44th Infantry, Veteran Reserve Corps (constituted 21 September 1866), and consolidated unit designated as the 17th Infantry
  • Assigned 5 July 1918 to the 11th Division
  • (2d and 3d Battalions inactivated 1 October 1921 at Fort McIntosh, Texas; activated 24 June 1922 at Fort Crook, Nebraska)
  • Relieved 24 March 1923 from assignment to the 11th Division and assigned to the 7th Division
  • Relieved 15 August 1927 from assignment to the 7th Division and assigned to the 6th Division
  • (2d Battalion inactivated 31 October 1929 at Fort Des Moines, Iowa)
  • Relieved 1 October 1933 from assignment to the 6th Division and assigned to the 7th Division (later redesignated as the 7th Infantry Division)
  • (2d Battalion activated 1 July 1940 at Camp Ord, California)
  • Relieved 1 July 1957 from assignment to the 7th Infantry Division and reorganized as a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System
  • (4th Battalion activated 1984)
  • 1986 - 1st and 2nd Battalions re-activated at Fort Richardson, AK as part of the 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light).
  • Withdrawn 16 November 1986 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System
  • (3rd and 4th Battalion inactivated 1993 at Ft. Ord, CA)
  • Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 17th Infantry Regiment
  • (4th Battalion activated in Jan 2011 at Fort Bliss TX under 1st Brigade 1st Armored Division)
  • 4th Battalion de-activated in June 2019 at Fort Bliss TX under 1st Brigade 1st Armored Division (reflagged as 2d Battalion 37th Armored Regiment)

Campaign participation credit

[2]

Unit awards

Ribbon Award Streamer embroidered
Presidential Unit Citation (Army) LEYTE[3]
Valorous Unit Award NINEVEH PROVINCE AND BAGHDAD[3]
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) AFGHANISTAN 2012-2013[3]
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945[3]
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation INCHON[3]
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation KOREA 1950-1953[3]
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation KOREA 1952-1953[3]
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation KOREA 1945-1948; 1953-1957[3]

A Company, 1-17 IN, received the Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) for actions in support of Operation Helmand Spider in Marjah during Operation Enduring Freedom 09-11.

See also

References

  1. Blair, Clay (1997). The Forgotten War. Times Books. p. 616. ISBN 0812916700.
  2. "17th Infantry Regimental History - HONORS AND LINEAGE". 17th Infantry Regiment Association. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  3. "17th Infantry Regiment". U.S. Army Center of Military History. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.

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