Ohio units part of Armor Branch’s 247-year history
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Mann, Ohio National Guard historian
The Armor Branch of the U.S. Army traces its origin to the cavalry, which began on Dec. 12, 1776, when the Continental Congress authorized the organization of a regiment of cavalry. While cavalry continued as a separate branch through World War II, the mechanization of the Army during the war led to the elimination of the cavalry as a basic branch of the Army and the growth of armor as a permanent branch in 1950.
The organization of mounted units in the early years of the Ohio Militia were usually centered on call-ups for wartime. Volunteer cavalry and dragoon units were formed during the War of 1812 and Mexican War. During the Civil War, Ohio produced 13 regiments, five independent battalions/squadrons and eight independent companies of cavalry to Union armies.
Permanent troops of cavalry were formed in the Ohio National Guard in the late 1870s, but were short lived due to the high cost of procuring and maintaining horses and equipment. Cincinnati’s 1st Troop was disbanded in 1879, followed by the 3rd Troop, of Shelby, in 1883. Hillsboro’s 2nd Troop was converted to an infantry company in 1882.
However, in 1887 the 1st Cleveland Troop of Cavalry was mustered into the Ohio National Guard, marking a continued presence of mounted units in Ohio ever since. The troop was organized in 1877 as an independent militia company by Cleveland’s socioeconomic elite and became known as the “Black Horse Troop,” reflecting their exclusive use of black mounts.
Ohio’s first mechanized unit was the 37th Tank Company, which was formed in Port Clinton in 1920 as Company H, Tank Corps. The unit would heroically fight in the defense of the Bataan Pennisula in 1941-42 in the Pacific, with many of its members later taking part in the infamous Bataan Death March.
Today, Ohio maintains two mounted regiments — The 145th Armored Regiment, which consists of the 1st Battalion with headquarters in Stow, and the 107th Cavalry Regiment, which consists of the 2nd Squadron with headquarters in Hamilton.
Even though cavalry is no longer a separate branch, units in the Army force structure that primarily perform a reconnaissance mission are designated as cavalry units and maintain the customs and traditions of their mounted predecessors.
Ohio’s cavalry and armor units have earned campaign credit in the Civil War, World War II and the War on Terrorism.
Ohio Cavalry/Armor Units (post-Civil War)
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1st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry (1898)
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1st Cavalry Squadron (1910-1917)
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1st Cavalry Regiment (1917, 1919-1921)
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22nd Reconnaissance Squadron (1939-1940)
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22nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (1944)
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37th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (1942-1948)
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37th Reconnaissance Company (1948-1959)
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37th Tank Company (1921-1940)
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54th Cavalry Brigade (1922-1940)
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107th Cavalry Regiment (1921-1944, 1993-Present)
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107th Cavalry Group, Mechanized (1944-1949)
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107th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (1944-1949)
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107th Armored Cavalry Regiment (1949-1993)
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137th Tank Battalion (1949-1959)
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137th Armor (1959-1968)
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145th Armored Regiment (2007-Present)
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147th Armor (1994-2005)
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185th Tank Battalion (1946-1949)
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237th Cavalry (1963-1968, 1977-1994)
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637th Tank Battalion (1947-1949)
Members of the 1st Ohio Volunteer Cavalry (OVC) pose for a photograph during the Civil War. Sitting, from left, Henry M. Harris and Daniel N. Brown; standing, from left, William H. Brown and Fulton Gitteau. Brothers Daniel and William Brown enlisted in Company L, 1st OVC at Marietta, Ohio in September 1861.
Commissioned to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the organization of the First City Troop, later First Cleveland Troop, in 1957, this artwork shows the distinctive dress uniforms, inspired by the French Hussars, worn by the troop from 1877 through World War II.
In 1924, famed military band leader John Philip Sousa composed “The Black Horse Troop March” in honor of the Ohio National Guard’s Troop A, 107th Cavalry. It was played for the first time at a concert of the Sousa Band in Cleveland’s Public Auditorium on Oct. 17, 1925. Troop A members rode their horses onto the stage in their dress uniforms and positioned themselves behind the band during its performance.
Members of the 37th Tank Company stand in front of newly issued M1A2 light tanks in July 1937.
Members of Troop A, 22nd Reconnaissance Squadron show off their new mechanized equipment during a public display in downtown Cleveland in 1939.
Soldiers from the 37th Reconnaissance Troop, 37th Infantry Division conduct a reconnaissance northwest of the Laruma River and to the Kuraio Mission on Bougainville in November 1943. The troop, organized in 1942, primarily operated dismounted for the division on New Georgia and Bougainville, but saw extensive long-range reconnaissance and security missions while mounted in armored cars on Luzon.
Men of the 137th Tank Battalion, 37th Infantry Division provide support for infantry in their M47 Patton Medium Tank during Operation Quick Punch at Camp Breckinridge, Ky., in 1958.
Following World War II, the Army replaced its mechanized cavalry groups with armored cavalry regiments whose job was to provide reconnaissance, surveillance and security at a corps level. Throughout the Cold War, the 107th Armored Cavalry was one of the premier ACRs in the Army and by the 1980s consisted of two reconnaissance squadrons along with an aviation and support squadron. This 1988 photo shows the combined arms of the regiment in action during annual training at Camp Grayling, Mich.
Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 145th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division use cover while maneuvering in a M1A1 Abrams tank during Decisive Action Rotation 16-07 at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif., June 24, 2016.
Spc. Mortman Gallant, left, assigned to Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment, and Staff Sgt. Neil Smith, a mortar section leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, prepare to fire a 120 mm high explosive mortar round using an advanced mortar protection system during a live-fire exercise in northeast Syria, Feb. 20, 2023.
