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Troop B, Washington Cavalry
Troop B dismounted, circa 1905
Active1889-1940
Country Washington
Allegiance United States
BranchWashington National Guard
Typecavalry
Size35 (1889)
55 (1916)
99 (1922)
Garrison/HQTacoma Armory[1]
EngagementsBorder War
World War I

Troop B, Washington Cavalry was a troop of the Washington National Guard's single regiment of cavalry. Raised in 1890, it served in California during the Mexican border war from 1916 to 1917 and in France during World War I. In 1921 it was redesignated Headquarters Troop of the 24th Cavalry Division. On the eve of World War II, it was converted into Headquarters Company of the 103rd Anti-Tank Battalion.

The Tacoma Riding Club, later the Woodbrook Hunt Club, was founded by Troop B veterans.

History

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Formation and early history

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Troop B on parade in Tacoma, Washington in 1907
Upon return from deployment to the Mexican border, Troop B was given the liberty of the chamber of the Washington House of Representatives (pictured here in 2009).
The front page of the Tacoma Times on 30 April 1917
Elements of Troop B of the 58th Machine Gun Squadron, pictured in Wyoming in 1923.

The Tacoma City Troop of the Washington Territorial Militia was activated in 1889 and redesignated Troop B of the Washington Cavalry, an unnumbered cavalry regiment sometimes referred to as 1st Washington Cavalry, upon the entry of Washington to the United States that year. It served as the mounted escort to Governor of Washington Elisha P. Ferry during his inauguration in 1892.[2]

Following the 1902 death of Governor John Rankin Rogers, eight soldiers of Troop B were assigned to provide the guard of honor for the lying in state of Rogers' remains.[3]

In 1904, the troop participated in maneuvers at American Lake involving, in addition to other units of the Washington National Guard, elements of the Oregon National Guard and the United States Army.[4]

Deployments

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Mexican border emergency

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As of March 1916 the troop had an authorized strength of 103, and an actual strength of 55.[5]

During the Mexican border emergency of 1916, Troop B was among the Washington units called up and "performed the considerable feat of recruiting up to wartime strength and assembling at their mobilization camp in six days".[6] The troop departed for Calexico, California by rail on June 30 and, by July 7, had set-up camp.[6]

In late July, Sergeant W.R. Tyree commented on conditions in Calexico in a letter to his wife:


The following November, Governor Ernest Lister departed for California to visit the men in camp.[6]

Troop B remained on duty in California until early 1917 and was mustered out of federal service in Vancouver, Washington, in February of that year.[6] Prior to dismissal, it was invited to the Washington House of Representatives and, by a resolution of that body, extended the liberty of the chamber, marking the first time that any state legislature had given a National Guard unit the privileges of the house.[6]

During the Troop B deployment, discharged veterans of the unit organized a rump replacement to maintain "a semblance of a mounted organization in Tacoma" during that year's Preparedness Day parade.[8]

World War I

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Within a few months after its return from Mexican border service, Troop B was again mobilized due to United States entry into World War I.[9] On 19 September 1917, it was redesignated for federal service as Company B, 116th Train Headquarters and Military Police, 41st Division and deployed to France.[9]

In correspondence home in February 1918, Corporal Charles Sweet remarked that:


It was redesignated as 217th Company, Military Police Corps on 1 November 1918, and became the 267th Military Police Company on 15 January 1919.[9] The troop was demobilized on 14 July 1919 at Fort Lewis.[9]

Later history

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Troop B was assigned to the 58th Machine Gun Squadron of the 24th Cavalry Division in June 1921; as of 1922 it reported an actual strength of four officers and 95 men.[11][12] It was redesignated as Headquarters Troop of the 24th Cavalry Division on 1 November 1924.[12] Despite its redesignation, the troop continued to be known in the Tacoma area as Troop B.[13]

By 1937, Headquarters Troop (Troop B) was the oldest extant military unit in the state of Washington.[14]

General Orders No. 25 of 30 September 1940 converted the former Troop B into Headquarters Company, 103rd Anti-Tank Battalion.[11][a]

Legacy

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The Tacoma Riding Club, later the Woodbrook Hunt Club, was founded by Troop B veterans.[16]

Notable members

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The 103rd Anti-Tank Battalion was, itself, later redesignated the 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion. One of its soldiers, Charles Havlat of Nebraska, is believed to be the last American soldier killed in action in the European Theater of World War II.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b Denfeld, Duane. "Major Ensley Llewellyn of Tacoma publishes the first edition of the World War II Stars and Stripes newspaper on April 18, 1942". HistoryLink. HistoryInk. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  2. ^ Field, Virgil (1961). The Official History of The Washington National Guard Volume 5 (PDF). Olympia, Washington: Washington National Guard. pp. 1–2.
  3. ^ "Gov Rogers is Dead". Colfax Gazette. January 3, 1902. Retrieved June 22, 2018.(subscription required)
  4. ^ Archambault, Alan. "Army and National Guard troops hold American Lake Maneuvers beginning on July 1, 1904". HistoryLink. HistoryInk. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "Troop B is Prepared". Tacoma Times. March 11, 1916. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e Sadler, Louis R. (2015). The Great Call-Up: The Guard, the Border, and the Mexican Revolution. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 445–450. ISBN 978-0806149547.
  7. ^ "Troop B Equal of Any, Declares Tyree". Tacoma Times. July 28, 1916. Retrieved June 22, 2018.(subscription required)
  8. ^ "Former Troopers to Parade". Tacoma Times. July 3, 1916. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d Sawicki, James A. (1985). Cavalry regiments of the US Army. Dumfries, Virginia: Wyvern Publications. ISBN 9780960240463.
  10. ^ "Great Ocean Voyage, Writes Corp. Sweet". Tacoma Times. February 9, 1918. Retrieved June 22, 2018.(subscription required)
  11. ^ a b Field, Virgil (1961). The Official History of The Washington National Guard Volume 6 (PDF). Olympia, Washington: Washington National Guard. pp. 1–2.
  12. ^ a b Clay, Steven (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919-1941, Volume 2. Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 670. ISBN 9780984190140.
  13. ^ "Horse Show at the Armory". tacomalibrary.org. Tacoma Public Library. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  14. ^ Keniston-Longrie, Joy (2009). Woodbrook Hunt Club. Arcadia Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 978-0738558639.
  15. ^ "The Last American Killed in Action in Europe during World War II". abmc.gov. American Battle Monuments Commission. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  16. ^ Longrie, Amberose (2010). Tacoma's Stadium District. Arcadia Publishing. p. 125. ISBN 978-0738580692.
  17. ^ Onofrio, Jan (2000). Iowa Biographical Dictionary. Somerset Publishers. p. 209. ISBN 040309304X.
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