A regiment is a military unit that has been in use by the United States Army since its inception. Derived from the concept originating in European armies, a regiment was historically commanded by a colonel, and consisted of ten companies, for a total of approximately 1,000 soldiers. Confusingly, the terms "regiment" and "battalion" were used interchangeably at this time; it was not until later that a battalion was defined as a sub-unit of a regiment.
The regiment fulfilled both administrative and tactical functions and was the principal maneuver unit of the US Army until being superseded in the 20th century by the division.
The regiment was retained as a unit in the US Army until after World War II when the Army reorganized under the Pentomic model. In order to give soldiers a sense of unit identity, the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) was adopted, later replaced with the U.S. Army Regimental System (USARS). The role of the regiment is currently fulfilled by the brigade and brigade combat team.
Contents
History
American Revolutionary War
The regiment had served as the basic administrative and tactical unit of European armies since the 16th century. In most armies, the regiment would be divided into multiple battalions to improve maneuverability on the battlefield. However in the British Army - which naturally influenced the Continental Army - most regiments only had one battalion. Thus the two terms became synonymous with each other in both armies.
While each of the Thirteen Colonies had their own method for organizing regiments, when George Washington arrived to take command of the Main Army at the Siege of Boston, he recognized that a more unifying reorganization was needed. Collecting the thoughts of other officers, they presented their findings to Congress, which approved the reorganization on 4 November 1775. There were a few changes over the coming months and the formalization of some positions, but ultimately the infantry regiment of 1776 was commanded by a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major, with a staff of ten to assist them, and contained eight companies of 90 officers, non-commissioned officers (NCO), and enlisted personnel each, for a regimental strength of 733 total. Where possible the existing regiments were simply reorganized, but it was often required for companies from several regiments be merged together. Regiments were also numbered based on the seniority of their colonel.
In contrast to their British counterparts, in which the colonel was only a nominal position and the lieutenant colonel often detached to serve as a brigadier, all three field officers had command responsibilities within the regiment. The colonel had ultimate tactical and administrative control of the regiment, with the lieutenant colonel and major assisting him. Among the regiment's staff officers and NCOs was the adjutant, responsible for recordkeeping and supervising daily details, assisted by the sergeant major; the quartermaster responsible for housing, feeding, and equipping the troops, and assisted by the quartermaster sergeant; a surgeon and a surgeon's mate responsible for the health of the regiment and screening recruits; a paymaster who oversaw the regiment's finances and ensured the troops were paid; and a drum major and a fife major who oversaw the musicians assigned to the companies. There was also a chaplain assigned to every two regiments, but after June 1776 every regiment had their own chaplain.
On paper, the Continental regiment had an advantage over its British counterpart in the number of rank-and-file it could deploy (640 to 480) and a higher ratio of officers to men. There were exceptions to this organizational principal: the 2nd Canadian Regiment for example organized itself in the French tradition with into four battalions of five 50-man companies each. However, most regiments started 1777 below full strength, and recruiting difficulties (due in part to suspicions of a standing army) meant that by the time the army arrived at Valley Forge, it was recognized that changes were necessary to fit the manpower reality.
After discussions with Washington and his senior advisors, Congress passed legislation on 27 May 1778 that revised the organization of infantry regiments. Regiments retained their colonels, but if lost the position was left vacant; instead, the lieutenant colonel took over as the regiment's commanding officer (known as the lieutenant colonel commandant) supported by the major. Additionally, each field officer took command of a company, replacing its captain. The permanent staff positions of adjutant, quartermaster, and paymaster were also removed. In their place, for extra pay two of the companies' lieutenants and one of its captains were chosen to serve double duty in these roles respectively. The eight line companies were retained but their strength was reduced to 64 total, although a ninth company of light infantry was added. These reforms gave the infantry regiment a total strength of 585 officers and enlisted personnel.
These changes left the infantry regiment weaker than its 1776 version but more financially viable and reflective of the available manpower. Since the British colonel was not a combat position, the field officer changes would make prisoner exchanges easier as well. With the light infantry company frequently detached, the regiment's fighting strength was 448 rank-and-file, closer to that of a British regiment. While Washington understood many of the changes were necessary, he disagreed with forcing line officers to perform staff roles. Another change, thanks to the influence of Baron Von Steuben, was organizing the regiment into two battalions of four companies each and designating a 12-man color guard.
The collapsing American economy impelled Congress to make further cost-saving reforms starting in August 1780; by October a plan had been approved balancing the financial needs with Washington's requests, to go into effect on 1 January 1781. The number of infantry regiments was reduced, but they retained the same number of companies, each of which increased to 78 total. Each company was commanded by its own captain, and the permanent positions of adjutant, quartermaster, and paymaster were reinstated. A new position, the recruiter, was also added to the regiment's staff, along with a fifer and drummer. These three remained in the regiment's home state in order to provide new recruits. Lastly, the number of field officers was returned to three: either a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major, or a lieutenant colonel commandant and two majors. On paper, the infantry regiment totaled 717 officers and enlisted personnel, increasing its fighting power and making it a more effective unit than its British counterpart.
A final change was made in 1782, as it became clear the war would end soon and Congress continued to seek ways to cut costs. Washington successfully argued against many of their changes, noting that the British still had more Loyalists than he had Continentals and the ratio of officers to enlisted was too low. But in April, Congress once again removed the permanent positions of adjutant, quartermaster, and paymaster, requiring company officers to take on these added responsibilities. Congress partially reversed themselves in November by restoring the adjutant and quartermaster to permanent positions.
Civil War
During the American Civil War the regiment was considered the fundamental unit of recruitment, training and maneuver of the Union Army. However, at the start of the war the Regular Army or United States Army (USA) consisted of just ten regiments of infantry, four regiments of artillery, and five mounted regiments. While the regular army was expanded to meet the challenge of the war, thousands more regiments were raised by the individual states as United States Volunteers (USV). Although modeled after the regular army, there were a number of differences between Regular and Volunteer regiments.
Traditionally, recruitment in Regular Army regiments was handled on an individual unit basis: officers and NCOs were sent out into the area around the regimental headquarters and home station to recruit specifically for their regiment. The General Recruiting Service set up in 1822, with depots in major cities to funnel new recruits to the regiments, supplemented but could not wholly replace this system. Efforts during the Civil War to revitalize the GRS and add incentives to encourage enlistment in the Regular Army increased its size but could not overcome most Americans' desire to serve in the Volunteers.
Volunteer regiments were raised under the authority of their state governor, who encouraged localities to form regiments. This was considered acceptable for what was originally considered to be a short war and also created strong bonds among the men who joined. Governors were also responsible for appointing USV regiments' field officers, and confirming the appointment of junior officers who were elected by the men of their company. In a large sense these appointments were for political purposes as they could be used to strengthen support for local politicians and allowed for the speedy organization of so many new regiments. It also resulted in many incompetent USV officers with no military experience being appointed, especially early in the war. Eventually, as casualties mounted and their constituents' complaints increased, governors took to issuing commissions on the basis of battlefield rather than political competence.
In both instances, once formed a regiment struggled to replenish their ranks as officers sent home to recruit replacements had to contend with governors who preferred to raise new regiments to meet their quotas and the allure of serving in a newly created unit. A regiment might start with 1,000 soldiers, but without even having engaged in combat after six months it might only be able to muster 600 or 700 on account of desertions, illness, leave, detachment on special duty, and other factors. By the time it had seen action, a veteran regiment averaged a little over 400 soldiers, a situation not only accepted as a matter of course but tactically advantageous for its maneuverability and ease of command. One of the benefits offered by the government to induce a long-serving regiment to reenlist was to allow it the official designation of a "veteran" volunteer regiment. Serious efforts were made to replenish regiments back to their full strength, of which Wisconsin did better than the other states, but it remained a clumsy and unpredictable system. Eventually the result for many regiments was that attrition continued to reduce their numbers until they were deemed combat ineffective, whereupon they would be disbanded or consolidated with another unit. Such a fate was deeply resented by the proud survivors of the original regiment and could lead to friction between them and the new unit.