1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment
The 24th Infantry Regiment was first constituted on 28 July 1866 in the Regular Army as the 38th Infantry. 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment was first
1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment
The 24th Infantry Regiment was first constituted on 28 July 1866 in the Regular Army as the 38th Infantry. 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment was first constituted on 28 July 1866 in the Regular Army as Company A, 38th Infantry and organized on 1 October 1866 at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.
The 38th Infantry was consolidated on 15 March 1869 with the 41st Infantry and consolidated unit was redesignated as the 24th Infantry. Company A, 38th Infantry was consolidated on 15 March 1869 with Company A, 41st Infantry. That unit was first constituted on 28 July 1866 in the Regular Army as Company A, 41st Infantry and organized 25 December 1866 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The consolidated unit was redesignated as Company A, 24th Infantry. All of the enlisted soldiers were black, either veterans of the US Colored Troops or freed slaves. The 24th Infantry served throughout the Western United States. Its missions included guarding posts, battling Indians, and protecting roadways against bandits.
1898 saw the 24th Infantry deploy to Cuba as part of the US Expeditionary Force in the Spanish-American War. At the climactic battle of San Juan Hill, the 24th Infantry assaulted and seized the Spanish-held blockhouse and trench system on the hill.
In 1899 the Regiment deployed to the Philippine Islands to help suppress a guerilla movement. The Regiment would return to the Islands again in 1905 and 1911. Though the 24th Infantry fought a number of battles in the Philippines, one of the most notable occurred on 7 December 1899, when 9 soldiers from the Regiment routed 100 guerillas from their trenches.
In 1916, the 24th Infantry guarded the US-Mexico border to keep the Mexican Civil War from spilling onto US soil. When it did, the 24th Infantry joined the "Punitive Expedition" under General Pershing and entered Mexico to fight Pancho Villa's forces. In 1919, rebels and troops of the Mexican government fought in Juarez, Mexico, which borders the US City of El Paso, Texas. The 24th Infantry crossed over again to engage the rebels, ensuring that no violence erupted across the US border.
During World War II, the 24th Infantry fought in the South Pacific Theater as a separate regiment. Deploying in April 1942, the Regiment assumed defensive positions in the New Hebrides Islands. The 24th Infantry moved to the Solomon Island