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Introduction

The 15th Infantry Regiment Association is dedicated to the preservation of the traditions and history of the 15th Infantry Regiment.

Our celebrated unit is the fourth to hold the number 15 in the infantry of the Regular Army.

The first unit to be the 15th Infantry was initially organized on 16 July 1798 as a result of the Quasi-War with France 1798-1800.

The second use of the 15th Infantry was as a volunteer unit in the War of 1812. The 15th Infantry participated in the expedition which captured Fort George, Canada. Following the capture of the post, a British counterattack drove the American Force into a nearly disastrous retreat. The movement was covered successfully by the 15th Infantry which lost nearly half of its strength in a valiant fight against a much stronger foe

Again as a volunteer unit, the 15th Infantry served in the Mexican War as a part of General Winfield Scott's expedition to Vera Cruz. The Regiment fought in the battle there as well as in others at Plandol Rio, Cerro Gordo, Curubusco, Las Animas, Jalapa, Chapultepec, and Mexico City. When peace came, the 15th again was mustered out.

The 15th Infantry today traces its official Army lineage to the 1st Battalion of the 15th Infantry constituted on 3 May 1861 by General Order No. 33. By the end of the Civil War, the regiment had fought in 22 major engagements, including Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Murfreesboro, and Atlanta as a part of BG King's Brigade of Johnston's Division, XIV Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. The Regiment was a key element of the only Regular Brigade in Sherman's Army. The regiment's crest includes the acorn, the symbol of the Major General George Thomas's XIV Corps, and the mountains of stone to symbolize the Corps' firm stand as the "Rock of Chickamauga". The four acorns represent the four major engagements.

Since then, the 15th Infantry has served continuously in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Phillipine Insurrection, World War II, the Korean War, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Operation Restore/Continue Hope, Somalia, Operation Uphold Democracy, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

The 15th Infantry has more overseas service than any other Regiment in our Army with 26 years in China and 32 years in Germany.

The 15th Infantry Regiment Association is dedicated to the preservation of the traditions and history of the 15th Infantry Regiment.

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