History of the 11th U.S. Cavalry



The 11th U.S. Cavalry was activated on 2 February 1901 at Fort Myer, Virginia. New recruits had to be able to read, write, and be mentally and physically fit. These were high standards for the time. Not everyone was cut out to be in the Cavalry.

The Regiment served under the first civil governor of the Philippines, William Howard Taft, who would later become President of the United States.

In December 1901, the Regiment was deployed to the jungles of the Philippines. Its mission was to help neutralize insurrectionist forces trying to seize power in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War.. For this tropical deployment, the men operated more like light infantry than cavalry, due to the jungle terrain in which they fought and patrolled. In addition to their Krag-Jorgensen rifles, the men were issued "bolo" knives - machetes used in the Philippines to slash through thick vegetation. The bolos became a part of the Blackhorse crest. First Squadron saw the heaviest action in the Samar campaign of 1902 for which it earned the Regiment's first battle streamer, embroidered "Samar 1902." It was also there that the Regiment suffered its first trooper killed in action: Private Clarence L. Gibbs, who was shot 4 March 1902, by guerrilla forces who ambushed a U.S. wagon train.

History of the 11th U.S. Cavalry



The 11th U.S. Cavalry was activated on 2 February 1901 at Fort Myer, Virginia. New recruits had to be able to read, write, and be mentally and physically fit. These were high standards for the time. Not everyone was cut out to be in the Cavalry.

The Regiment served under the first civil governor of the Philippines, William Howard Taft, who would later become President of the United States.

In December 1901, the Regiment was deployed to the jungles of the Philippines. Its mission was to help neutralize insurrectionist forces trying to seize power in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War.. For this tropical deployment, the men operated more like light infantry than cavalry, due to the jungle terrain in which they fought and patrolled. In addition to their Krag-Jorgensen rifles, the men were issued "bolo" knives - machetes used in the Philippines to slash through thick vegetation. The bolos became a part of the Blackhorse crest. First Squadron saw the heaviest action in the Samar campaign of 1902 for which it earned the Regiment's first battle streamer, embroidered "Samar 1902." It was also there that the Regiment suffered its first trooper killed in action: Private Clarence L. Gibbs, who was shot 4 March 1902, by guerrilla forces who ambushed a U.S. wagon train.