View source for 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts)

{{Redirect|26th Cavalry Regiment|the 1963–1988 [[Combat Arms Regimental System]] parent regiment|110th Cavalry (United States, 1988–1996)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts)
| image = 26CavRegtCOA.png
| image_size = 120
| caption = Coat of arms
| nickname = 
| motto = ''Our strength is in loyalty''<ref name="26th Cavalry Regiment">{{Cite web
  | title = 26th Cavalry Regiment
  | url = http://vfwpost7591.org/26thcav.html
  | access-date = 31 January 2008
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071023202113/http://www.vfwpost7591.org/26thcav.html
  | archive-date = 23 October 2007  }}</ref>
| colors = 
| march = 
| ceremonial_chief = 
| type = [[Cavalry (United States)|Cavalry]]
| branch = [[United States Army]]
| dates = 1922–1946
| disbanded = 1951
| country = United States
| allegiance = {{flag|United States of America}}<br>{{flag| Commonwealth of the Philippines}}
| command_structure = 
| size = [[Regiment]]
| specialization = 
| garrison = [[Fort Stotsenburg]]
| battles = [[World War II]]
*[[Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)|Philippine Islands]]
| notable_commanders = [[Brigadier General (United States)|BG]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The Battle of Bataan: A Complete History |last=Young |first=Donald J. |year=2009 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-0786441808 |page=108 |access-date=17 September 2012 |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/51299958/7/The-Battle-for-the-Points-Continues}}</ref> [[Clinton A. Pierce]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The US Cavalry |last=Selby |first=John |year=2012 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=9781780967721 |page=34 |access-date=17 September 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9LST1REZtQC&q=Philippines&pg=PA34 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Louis |title=The Fall of the Philippines |editor1-first=Kert Roberts |editor1-last=Greenfield |url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm#part2 |access-date=17 September 2012 |series=United States Army in World War II |orig-year=1953 |year=2006 |publisher=Center of Military History |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter=VIII. THE MAIN LANDINGS |chapter-url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_8.htm |page=131 |archive-date=8 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108061554/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm#part2 |url-status=dead }}</ref> <br>
LCol [[Lee Vance]]
| anniversaries = 
| decorations = [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.westernshootinghorse.com/wshcontent/2008/09/04/the-last-cavalry-charge-in-us-history/# |title=The Last U.S. Cavalry Charge |author=Steve Shaw |date=4 September 2008 |work=Parting Shot |publisher=Western Shooting Horse Magazine |access-date=22 October 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register |author=Headquarters, Department of the Army |author-link=United States Army |author2=Major General J.C. Lambert |year=1961 |publisher=Department of the Army |page=75 |url=https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/p672_1.pdf |access-date=14 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811141647/http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p672_1.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><br/>[[Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation|Philippine Presidential Unit Citation]]
<!-- Insignia -->| identification_symbol = [[File:26th Cavalry Distinctive Unit Insignia Left.png|120px]] [[File:26th Cavalry Distinctive Unit Insignia Right.png|120px]]
| identification_symbol_label = Left & right [[distinctive unit insignia]]
| identification_symbol_2 = 
| identification_symbol_2_label = 
}}
{{Military unit sidebar
 | title = U.S. Cavalry Regiments
 | previous =[[18th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|18th Cavalry Regiment]]
 | next =[[27th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|27th Cavalry Regiment]]
}}
The '''26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts)''' (26th CAV (PS)) was part of [[U.S. Army Forces Far East|U.S. Army Forces Far East's]] [[Philippine Department]], during [[World War II]].  The 26th engaged in the last cavalry charge in the history of the U.S. [[cavalry]]. The [[American Battle Monuments Commission]] list 301 dead who were members of this regiment interred at [[Manila American Cemetery and Memorial]].

== Formation ==

The 26th Cavalry Regiment was constituted in the Regular Army on 1 October 1922 and assigned to the Philippine Department. It was concurrently activated at [[Fort Stotsenburg]] by transfer of personnel from the [[25th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)|25th Field Artillery Regiment]] (PS) and [[43rd Infantry Regiment (PS)]], with equipment and horses taken from the [[9th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|9th Cavalry Regiment]] when that regiment transferred to [[Fort Riley]], [[Kansas]], on 12 October 1922.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clay|first=Steven E.|date=2010|title=U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Coast Artillery, 1919-41|location=Fort Leavenworth, KS|publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press|pages=622, 627}}{{source-attribution}}</ref><ref name="GR2011">{{cite book |title=World War II US Cavalry Units: Pacific Theater |series=Elite Series |last=Rottman |first=Gordan |year=2011 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=9781780962146 |page=32 |access-date=17 September 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKczexjHB5kC&q=26th+cavalry+25th+field+artillery+fort+Stotsenburg&pg=PT32}}</ref> The entire regiment was based at Fort Stotsenburg, with the exception of Troop F, which was based at [[Nichols Field]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gluekstein |first=Fred |title=The Last Mounted Cavalry Charge: Luzon 1942 |journal=Army |url=https://www.questia.com/article/1P3-859478421/the-last-mounted-cavalry-charge-luzon-1942|date=July 2005 |access-date=31 January 2008 }}</ref>  In addition to the horse-mounted troops, the regiment had a Headquarters Troop, Machine Gun Troop, and a platoon of six [[White armored car|Indiana White]] [[M1 Scout Car|M1]] [[scout car]]s, and trucks for transporting its service elements.<ref name="GR2011" /> The regiment was reorganized on 1 December 1927 as a three-squadron regiment. Troops C and G were inactivated on 6 March 1928 at Fort Stotsenburg. Concurrently, the 2nd Machine Gun Troop was redesignated the Machine Gun Troop, 26th Cavalry. The regiment conducted a river crossing exercise in May 1933 on the [[Rio Grande de Mindanao]] and [[Hagonoy, Bulacan|Hagonoy Rivers]]. Troops C and G were activated on 15 March 1941 at Fort Stotsenburg. The 26th Cavalry was the primary
reconnaissance force for the Philippine Department, and was assigned the task of performing the covering force mission from [[Lingayen Gulf]] to the Bataan Peninsula.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clay|first=Steven E.|date=2010|title=U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Coast Artillery, 1919-41|location=Fort Leavenworth, KS|publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press|pages=627}}{{source-attribution}}</ref> On 30 November 1941, the regiment had 787 enlisted men and 55 [[commissioned officer|officers]],<ref name="GJWU1983">{{cite book |title=The United States Cavalry: An Illustrated History, 1776-1944 |last=Gregory J. W. |first=Urwin |year=1983 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=9780806134758 |page=186 |access-date=17 September 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZoaSDGQXLUC&q=26th&pg=PA186 }}</ref> and its commander was Colonel (later Brigadier General) [[Clinton A. Pierce]] (USA).

==World War II combat history==
===Northern and central Luzon===
[[File:26th Cavalry PI Scouts moving into Pozorrubio.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Cavalrymen moving into [[Pozorrubio, Pangasinan|Pozorrubio]].]]
Following the [[Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)#Invasion|1941 Japanese invasion]], the 26th participated in the Allied withdrawal to the [[Bataan Peninsula]]. In doing so, the unit conducted a classic delaying action that allowed other, less mobile, units to safely withdraw to the peninsula.<ref>{{Cite book
 | last =Merriam 
 | first =Ray
 | year =1999
 | title =War in the Philippines
 | publisher =Merriam Press
 | pages = 70–82
 | isbn =1-57638-164-1
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=utbD8wwF91kC&q=26th+cavalry&pg=PA70
 | access-date =31 January 2008
 }}</ref> During the delaying action the 26th provided the "stoutest"<ref name="GJWU1983"/> and only "serious opposition"<ref name="136LM1953">{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Louis |title=The Fall of the Philippines |editor1-first=Kert Roberts |editor1-last=Greenfield |url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm#part2 |access-date=17 September 2012 |series=United States Army in World War II |orig-year=1953 |year=2006 |publisher=Center of Military History |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter=VIII. THE MAIN LANDINGS |chapter-url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_8.htm |page=136 |archive-date=8 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108061554/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm#part2 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to the Japanese; the majority of the units sent north towards [[Lingayen Gulf]] were divisions ([[11th Division (Philippines)|11th]], [[21st Division (Philippines)|21st]], [[71st Division (Philippines)|71st]], & [[91st Division (Philippines)|91st]] Infantry Divisions) of the untrained and poorly equipped [[Philippine Army]].<ref name="136LM1953" /> For instance, during the initial landings the regiment alone delayed the advance of four Japanese infantry regiments for six hours at [[Rosario, La Union|Damortis]], and on 24 December repulsed a tank assault at [[Binalonan, Pangasinan|Binalonan]].<ref name="GJWU1983"/> However, the resistance was not without cost, as by the end of 24 December the regiment had been reduced to 450 men.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Louis |title=The Fall of the Philippines |editor1-first=Kert Roberts |editor1-last=Greenfield |url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm#part2 |access-date=17 September 2012 |series=United States Army in World War II |orig-year=1953 |year=2006 |publisher=Center of Military History |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter=VIII. THE MAIN LANDINGS |chapter-url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_8.htm |page=138 |archive-date=8 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108061554/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm#part2 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The United States Army: A Chronology, 1775 to the Present |last=Fredriksen |first=John C. |year=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781598843446 |page=260 |access-date=21 September 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dM_AIslBqh4C&q=194th&pg=PA260 }}</ref> Following these events, the regiment was pulled off the line and brought back up to a strength of 657 men, who in January 1942 held open the roadways to the [[Bataan Peninsula]] allowing other units to prepare for their stand there.<ref name="GJWU1983"/>

===Bataan===
The 26th Cavalry Regiment, consisting mostly of [[Philippine Scouts]], was the last U.S. [[cavalry]] regiment to engage in horse-mounted warfare. When Troop G encountered Japanese forces at the village of [[Morong, Bataan|Morong]] on 16 January 1942, Lieutenant [[Edwin P. Ramsey]] ordered, for that time, the last cavalry charge in American history.<ref>{{cite news |title=WWII cavalry officer in the Philippines |author=Elaine Woo |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=17 March 2013 |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/17/local/la-me-edwin-ramsey-20130317|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319154950/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/17/local/la-me-edwin-ramsey-20130317|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 March 2013}}</ref><ref name=Independent>{{cite news |title=Lieutenant-Colonel Edwin Ramsey: Soldier who led the last cavalry charge by the US army |author=Phil Davison |newspaper=The Independent |date=3 April 2013 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lieutenantcolonel-edwin-ramsey-soldier-who-led-the-last-cavalry-charge-by-the-us-army-8557345.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408071703/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lieutenantcolonel-edwin-ramsey-soldier-who-led-the-last-cavalry-charge-by-the-us-army-8557345.html |archive-date=2013-04-08 |url-access=limited |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author=John Skow | title=In Kansas: Echoing Hoofbeats | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966029-3,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103090618/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966029-3,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=3 November 2012 | publisher=Times Magazine | date=23 November 1987 | access-date=12 May 2009}}</ref> It would not be until 22 October 2001, when American Soldiers would enter combat on horseback again, when members of the 12-man [[5th Special Forces Group (United States)|Operational Detachment Alpha 595]] (Green Berets), accompanying members of the Afghanistan [[Northern Alliance]], rode into battle at Cōbaki in [[Balkh Province]].<ref name=jon>{{cite web |last=Zimmerman |first=Dwight Jon |title=Operation Enduring Freedom: The First 49 Days |url=http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/operation-enduring-freedom-the-first-49-days-4/ |access-date=15 January 2012 |date=16 September 2011}}</ref>

During the retreat to Bataan, the 26th was heavily outnumbered by an infantry force supported by tanks. They drove off the surprised Japanese. Due to a shortage of food, they found it necessary to butcher their mounts and the regiment was converted to two squadrons, one a [[Motorised infantry|motorized rifle]] squadron, the other a mechanized squadron utilizing the remaining scout cars and [[Universal Carrier|Bren carriers]].<ref name="GJWU1983"/>

=== Order of Battle 1942 ===

* Headquarters, 26th Cavalry Regiment (PS) - Captain Paul Montgomery Jones
** 1st Scout Car Platoon - 1st Lieutenant Carol I. Cahoo, USA
** Recon Patrol - Captain Charles Bowers
* 1st Squadron - Major Hubert Ketchum | Captain William E. Chandler
** Troop A - 1st Lieutenant Hugh Stevenson
** Troop B - Captain Theodore Hurt, Jr. | Captain Joseph Rhett Barker
** Troop C - 1st Lieutenant William Gordon Bartlett | Captain Ralph Praeger<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ralph Praeger |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-6179/ |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=Hall of Valor: Medal of Honor, Silver Star, U.S. Military Awards |language=en-US}}</ref>
** Troop D
* 2nd Squadron - Major [[Thomas J. H. Trapnell|Thomas Trapnell]], USA
** Troop E
** Troop F - 1st Lieutenant William Gordon Bartlett
** Troop G - 1st Lieutenant Edwin Ramsay
** Troop H

===Guerrilla activities===
{{see also|Japanese occupation of the Philippines#The occupation|label 1=Occupation}}
Following the delaying action down the central Luzon plain, Troop C was cut off from the rest of the regiment, having been ordered into Northern Luzon in an attempt to defend [[Baguio]] by [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV|Wainwright]] in late December 1941.  In January 1942, the unit, with assistance from [[71st Infantry Regiment (Philippine Commonwealth Army)|71st Infantry]] and elements of the [[11th Infantry Regiment (Philippine Commonwealth Army)|11th Infantry]],<ref name="GN">{{cite web |url=http://www.nhi.gov.ph/downloads/mp0110.pdf |title=Guillermo Nakar |work=National Historical Institute |publisher=Republic of the Philippines |access-date=15 February 2011 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308170228/http://www.nhi.gov.ph/downloads/mp0110.pdf |archive-date=8 March 2012}}</ref> raided [[Tuguegarao|Tuguegarao Airfield]],<ref name="DJR" /> destroying several planes,<ref name="BD" /> and killing multiple Japanese soldiers.<ref name="GN" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon
 |last=Norling |first=Bernard |year=2005 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=[[Lexington, Kentucky]] |isbn=978-0-8131-9134-8 |pages=43–62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xL-JoQYiwykC |access-date=21 May 2009 }}</ref> Eventually the unit was supplemented by other soldiers and guerrillas, and remained an effective fighting force well into 1943.<ref name="DJR">{{cite web|title=The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon |url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/june/guerrillas.htm |work=BOOK REVIEW |publisher=Defense Journal |year=2002 |access-date=21 May 2009 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323170920/http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/june/guerrillas.htm |archive-date=23 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Intrepid Guerrillas of North Luzon
 |last=Norling |first=Bernard |year=2005 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=[[Lexington, Kentucky]] |isbn=978-0-8131-9134-8 |pages=284 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xL-JoQYiwykC |access-date=21 May 2009 }}</ref> The remnants of Troop C would later be integrated into the [[United States Army Forces in the Philippines – Northern Luzon]],<ref name="BD">{{cite web |url=http://www.bataandiary.com/Research.htm |title=Bataan Diary: Research |publisher=Chris Schaefer |access-date=15 February 2011}}</ref> which due to deaths and captures would be led by [[Russell W. Volckmann]].<ref>{{cite book |title=American Guerrilla: The Forgotten Heroics of Russell W. Volckmann: The Man Who Escaped from Bataan, Raised a Filipino Army Against the Japanese, and Became 'father' of Special Forces |last=Guardia |first=Mike |year=2010 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |location=[[Havertown, PA]] |isbn=978-1-935149-22-4 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-1VPWU2EowC&q=Praeger&pg=PA98 |access-date=15 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Falk |first1=COL Stanley L. |year=2010 |title=Guerrilla Warfare in the Philippines |journal=Army |volume=60 |issue=9 |pages= 85–88 |publisher=[[Association of the United States Army]] |url=http://www.ausa.org/publications/armymagazine/archive/2010/9/Documents/Reviews_0910.pdf |access-date= 15 February 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110217200127/http://www.ausa.org/publications/armymagazine/archive/2010/9/Documents/Reviews_0910.pdf| archive-date= 17 February 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> Other guerrilla organizations were led by officers of the regiment, who ignored the surrender orders, or by enlisted men who escaped from Bataan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Last of cavalrymen a true hero |url=http://www.oldgoldandblack.com/o_article/last_of_cavalrymen_a_true_hero/ |work=Old Gold & Black |publisher=Wake Forest University |date=6 March 2003 |access-date=21 May 2009 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916174000/http://www.oldgoldandblack.com/o_article/last_of_cavalrymen_a_true_hero/ |archive-date=16 September 2008 }}</ref> However, those organizations did not have a direct connection to the regiment, as the Cagayan-Apayao Forces did.{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}

The regiment was inactivated in 1946 and disbanded in 1951.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscavalry.org/cav_library/26th.pdf|title=Records of the 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts): A Descriptive Inventory of Documents in the U.S. Cavalry Memorial Research Library|publisher=U.S. Cavalry Memorial Research Library|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070724145331/http://www.uscavalry.org/cav_library/26th.pdf|archive-date=24 July 2007|url-status=dead |access-date=9 December 2009}}</ref>

== Decorations ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Ribbon
! Award
|-
||{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|other_device=|ribbon=U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=100}}
||[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]], 3 awards <ref>(North Luzon Force, United States Army Forces in the Far East. Cited; War Department General Order # 14, 1942).</ref><ref>(Army Troops, United States Army Forces in the Far East. Cited; War Department General Order #32, 1942.)</ref><ref>(Military and naval forces of the United States and Philippine Governments. Cited; War Department General Order #22, 1942, as amended by Department of the Army General Order #46, 1948).</ref>
|-
||[[File:Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.png|100px]]
||[[Philippine Presidential Unit Citation]]
|-
|}
{{Clear}}

{| class=wikitable
! Conflict
! Streamer
! Year(s)
|-
| [[World War II]] <br> [[File:Streamer APC.PNG|150px]]
|| [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|Philippine Islands]]
|| 7 Dec 41 - 10 May 42
|-
|[[World War II]]
[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|150px]]
|[[Philippines campaign (1944–1945)|Southern Philippines]]
|17 Oct 44 - 4 Jul 45
|-
| [[World War II]] <br> [[File:Streamer WWII V.PNG|150px]]
|| World War II Victory
|| service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946
|-
|}
{{Clear}}

==See also==
* [[Horses in World War II]]
* [[Military history of the Philippines during World War II]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{AIOH| url = http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Heraldry/ArmyDUISSICOA/ArmyHeraldryUnit.aspx?u=7918| article = 26th Cavalry Regiment  }}

==External links==
*[http://www.philippine-scouts.org/the-scouts/regiments-units-bases/26th-cavalry-regiment-ps.html 26 Cav at philippine-scouts.org]
* [http://www.edwinpriceramsey.com/ Edwin Price Ramsey Web site] Lt. Ramsey led the cavalry charge at Morong, mentioned in this article.

{{DEFAULTSORT:026}}
[[Category:Cavalry regiments of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Military history of the Philippines| ]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1922]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1951]]
[[Category:United States Army regiments in World War II]]
[[Category:American military personnel of Filipino descent]]