Unit History
1-175th Infantry-
The 175th Infantry has been part of the 29th Division since the Division’s formation in 1917. One of the oldest regiments in the U.S. Army, the 175th Infantry was first organized in 1774 as the Baltimore Independent Cadets. The Cadets were absorbed into Smallwood’s Maryland Battalion in 1776, which fought heroically at Long Island in August of that year. Eventually
Smallwood’s unit grew into seven different Maryland regiments, known collectively as “The Maryland Line.”
When the Maryland Militia was reorganized 11 years after the Revolution, several Baltimore volunteer militia companies – including many ex-members of the Maryland Line- established the 5th Regiment of Militia. The 5th Maryland, which found gallantly at the Battle of North Point in September 1814, eventually broke up at the start of the Civil War when many members went south to fight for the Confederacy in the 1st Maryland, C.S.A. The 5th was reborn two years after the close of the Civil War. The “Dandy 5th,” as it became to be known, was federalized in 1917 and attached to the newly established 29th “Blue and Gray” Division. Prior to its overseas transfer, the 5th was consolidated with the 1st and 4th Maryland to form the 115th Infantry. Originally in defense positions in Haute, Alsace, the regiment fought in the great Meuse-Argonne offensive just before the close of World War One. After 22 days of continuous combat, over one third of the regiment was causalities. After the war, the 5th Maryland was reorganized in Baltimore. Just prior to the 5th activation in February 1941, the War Department assigned it a new designation: the “175th Infantry.” The regiment landed on Omaha Beach on the morning of June 7th, delayed a day from landing because of the chaos of the beach. The regiment then captured Isigny, a key German position and an important objective in linking the Omaha and Utah beaches. Practical continuous combat in St. Lo, Vire, Brest, Fallaise Gap, Belgium, Holland, Aachen, Aldenhove, Borheim, Roer Valley and finally a juncture with the Red Army on the Elbe River on 3 May 1945. Fighting with the 29th Infantry Division in France and Germany during World War Two, the 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry gained a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation and the French Army’s Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star for its June 1944 stand on Hill 108, just outside St. The 2nd Battalion later gained a Croix de Guerre for its gallant performance during the siege of Brest in September 1944. Upon the reactivation of the 29th Division in 1985, the 175th consisted of 2 battalions, the 1/175th based at the 5th Regiment Armory in Baltimore, and the 2/175th based in Dundalk. Both belonged to the 3rd Brigade, 29th Division (Light). Following 9/11 and the Global War on Terror, the 175th was mobilized to protect installations across Maryland. Portions of the battalion were deployed to aid in efforts following Hurricane Katrina and to help secure the border along Mexico in 2006. In 2004, Company B, then part of the 1-115th Infantry, and volunteers from A Co., deployed to Iraq and served with the 48th Infantry Brigade. The unit conducted combat patrols for over a year in support of OIF 3. Upon their return, the unit became part of the 1-175th Infantry. In 2007, the entire battalion was deployed to Iraq under Operation Iraqi Freedom 5. The battalion was located in the former Iraqi Air Base just West of Qayyarah, Iraq, known as Q-West, and the city of Mosul. Here it conducted combat logistics patrols and base defense operations in support of MNC-North. In 2011, the 1-175th IN deployed to Sinai, Egypt to serve under the Multinational Force and Observers. Their mission was to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty of 1981, and employ best efforts to prevent any violation of its terms. The battalion is currently stateside with its headquarters located in Pikesville, MD. It falls under the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, and the 58th BFSB.
1-115th Infantry-
The 115th Infantry dates its lineage back to the earliest militia units formed to protect the frontier of western Maryland. The birthdate of the unit, June 14, 1775, is also the birthdate of the United States Army. The first two companies to leave Maryland were assembled in Frederick in the summer of 1775 under the command of Captains Cresap and Price; they were organized in response to the Continental Congress' call to active duty. They left Frederick in August and marched 551 miles in 21 days to report to General Washington in September for the defense of Boston. These personnel later became part of the famous "Maryland 400" or "Maryland Line," who repeatedly charged a numerically superior British force during the Battle of Long Island, sustaining heavy casualties, but allowing General Washington to successfully evacuate the bulk of his troops to Manhattan. During the Civil War, the First Maryland Infantry (USA), organized by Colonel John R. Kenly, and the First Maryland Infantry (CSA), commanded by Colonel Bradley T. Johnson, constituted the major part of the forces engaged at the Battle of Front Royal on 23 May 1862. During this battle, in which the Confederates were successful, Colonel Kenly gave utterance to the famous commande, "Rally round the Flag," which is to this day the motto of the 115th Regiment. This was the only time in the Nation's military history that two regiments of the same numerical designation and from the same state engaged each other in battle. A direct descendant of this regiment was organized 29 September 1881 as the First Battalion of Infantry, Maryland Army National Guard, from existing independent companies at Hagerstown and Frederick. It was expanded and redesignated First Regiment of Infantry on 7 May 1886 by the consolidation of the First Battalion of Infantry with several more independent companies of infantry throughout the state. The unit mustered into federal service 11 May 1889 as the First Maryland Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers, and was assigned to the Second Army Corps during the Spanish-American War. The regiment was mustered out of the Federal Service 15 March 1890 without serving outside the continental United States. On 28 June 1916 the Regiment was again called into active servcie and saw duty at Eagle Pass, Texas during the Mexican Border Incident. During World War I the First Maryland was consolidated with elements of the Fifth Maryland Infantry Regiment to form the 115th. The 115th became one of the four regiments brought together into the Twenty-Ninth Division, which was formed in July 1917, at Sea Girt, New Jersey. The division wasn't even a year old when it received its baptism of fire in France. During the Meuse-Argonne offensive they would fight for 21 straight days, moving over 6 miles, throwing back elements of 6 enemy divisions, and suffering a staggering 4,781 casualties in the process. After the Armistice was signed, the Twenty-Ninth Division would be brought home in July, 1919 and dissipated. The 1-115th is authorized two campaign streamers for its service in World War I: one for Alsace and one for Meuse-Argonne. The next time the division would be reformed was for the maneuvers in 1936. On February 3, 1941, the Twenty-Ninth Division was recalled to active duty for one year at Fort George G. The division conducted extensive training here and elsewhere, to include A.P. Hill, Virginia, and Indiantown Gap, PA. They would also participate in the Carolina Maneuvers. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the division's term of service was extended "until the cessation of hostilities." Between September 27 and October 5, the division was loaded onto the HMS Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Once in England, the Twenty-Ninth would take part in what seemed to be almost continuous training exercises. These would terminate in June 1944 with the invasion of "Fortress Europe:" D-Day. On June 6, 1944, at 6:30 in the morning, elements of 3 US Infantry divisions landed on the Normandy coast, the first step on the road to the liberation of Europe. On Omaha beach, in the thick of the fiercest fighting, was the Twenty-Ninth Division, the only National Guard division in the attack. The 115th Regiment landed in the second assault wave. After securing the Omaha Beachhead, the division would live up to its battlecry of "Twenty-Nine, Let's Go!" Hill 192, Insigny, St. These are just a few of the names that will live in the history of the division. "The Major of St. Lo," Major Tom Howie, killed during the assault on that city, would be memorialized in Life Magazine, and a song would be written of the fight. From the fortress of Brest through the Julich and on to the Elbe River, the fame of the regiment would spread. The 5,948 casualties sustained attest to the ferocity with which the regiment fought. Campaign streamers for Normandy (with arrowhead), North France, Rhineland, and Central Europe were added to the colors. Additional decorations included a distinguished unit streamer embroidered "St. Laurent-Sur-Mer," a streamer in the colors of the French Croix du Guerre with palms embroidered "St. Laurent-Sur-Mer," and, for the First Battalion, a streamer in the colors of the French Croix du Guerre with Silver Star embroidered "St. The war's end would see the Twenth-Ninth Division come home; however, unlike the end of WWI, the division would be retained as a National Guard division. However, in 1968, due to changing requirements, the division's colors were retired, leaving the individual units to carry on the traditions of the division. The 1-115th became part of the 28th Infantry Division, the Keystone Division of Pennsylvania. The 1-115th and other Maryland units are now organized into the 58th BFSB, whose units are located entirely in Maryland.
