| Unit Name: | 134th Cavalry Regiment |
| Type: | Cavalry |
| Branch: | Nebraska Army National Guard United States Army National Guard (National Guard of the United States) |
| Dates: | 1855–present |
| Size: | Regiment (one squadron active) |
| Nickname: | "First Nebraska" (special designation) "Nebraska's Own" |
| Motto: | "Lah We Lah His" (The Strong, The Brave) |
| Battles: | |
| Identification Symbol Label: | DUI |
The 134th Cavalry Regiment (formerly the 134th Infantry Regiment) is a cavalry regiment in the Nebraska Army National Guard. By extension, it is a member of the United States Army National Guard, and as a currently federally-recognized unit, also a member of the National Guard of the United States.
The 134th Cavalry Regiment's history can be traced back to 1855 with the initial formation of the 1st and 2nd Regiments, Nebraska Militia to protect settlers from the ever present native threat in the territory. on the 23rd of December, 1854, acting Governor Thomas B. Cuming ordered the creation of militia companies to be organized into two regiments comprising one brigade. Each company was assigned to a regiment based on its location, with companies north of the Platte River being assigned to the 1st Regiment and those to the south assigned to the 2nd. The exact composition of these early regiments is currently unknown. [1]
On the 23rd of January, 1856 "An act to organize the Nebraska Volunteers." was passed within the state legislature, completely changing the organization of the territories militia forces. The act declared that the militia of Nebraska should consist of one division split into two brigades. The brigades took over where the regiments used to exist, with the 1st to the north of the Platte and the 2nd to the south. Regiments and Battalions were then formed by the discretion of the Brigade and Division Commanders. Companies were formed independently, and each company voted to select their branch of service upon their formation. One day after the passing of this act, a vote was held to select the Division and Brigade commanders. John M. Thayer, commander of the 1st Brigade, Nebraska Militia was unanimously elected Major General and commander of the 1st Division. L. L. Bowen was appointed commander of the 1st Brigade and H. P. Downs was selected to command the 2nd Brigade. Elements of the Division operated against hostile natives until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861.
When the war started, U.S. Regular Army troops were withdrawn from Fort Kearny and Fort Randall to serve in more threatened areas, but at the increased risk to Nebraska settlers from Indian attacks. The Federal government requested that the Nebraska Territory form one volunteer regiment, with some companies supposed to stay behind to protect the territory. The territorial legislature met in special session in Omaha, and agreed to raise the requested local defense force. Thus, the 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment was organized at Omaha, between June 11 and July 21, 1861, with the future governor of Nebraska and the Wyoming Territory, John Milton Thayer, as its first colonel. However, the promise was reneged, and the regiment was sent eastward in August to fight the Confederacy.[2] The regiment camped at various sites in Missouri, including Pilot Knob, throughout the fall and winter of 1861–1862.[3]
After joining the Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant, the 1st Nebraska Infantry participated in the successful attack on Fort Donelson in Tennessee, fought at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, and took part in the Union advance on, and siege of, Corinth, Mississippi.[4] The unit then participated in several minor engagements in Missouri and Arkansas. The regiment was redesignated the 1st Nebraska Cavalry Regiment on November 6, 1863. It was transferred to the frontier to keep the Plains Indians in check. It was amalgamated with the 1st Nebraska Veteran Cavalry Battalion in 1865, and mustered out of the Union Army in 1866.
In 1913, the 1st and 2nd Nebraska Infantry Regiments were consolidated. Companies located north of the Platte River were reorganized as part of the new 4th Infantry, while companies south of the Platte River were reorganized as part of the new 5th Infantry.
The 5th Nebraska Infantry was called into federal service for World War I on 15 July 1917, and was designated to form part of the 34th Division, on 18 July. The regiment was drafted into federal service on 5 August. It proceeded to Camp Cody, near Deming, New Mexico, for training. On 1 October, the 34th Division was reorganized under General John J. Pershing's tables of organization of August 1917, and the 5th Nebraska was redesignated the 134th Infantry, part of the 67th Brigade. Training began, and draftees arrived from Camp Funston, Kansas, and Camp Dodge, Iowa, in October and November. In June 1918, nearly all trained personnel of the 34th Division were sent overseas to replace casualties in the American Expeditionary Forces in France, and replacements chiefly from Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas were sent to the division to bring it to full strength. The 34th Division proceeded overseas in stages from 20 August-24 October 1918, but on 17 October, was ordered "skeletonized" on arrival with most personnel sent to the 2nd Depot Division for transfer to other frontline units. On 29 October, remaining division officers were informed it was not contemplated for reconstitution, and the Armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the war shortly after.
The 134th Infantry Regiment returned to the United States aboard the USS General G. W. Goethals, arriving at the port of New York on 24 January 1919. The regiment proceeded to Camp Grant, Illinois, where it was mustered out of federal service, demobilized, and personnel discharged on 18 February 1919.[5] Like many other states, Nebraska did not immediately reorganize its National Guard after World War I, instead choosing to wait for the War Department to present it an allotment of troops authorized per the amendments to the National Defense Act of 1916.[6] This proved problematic. The Omaha race riot of 1919 forced the state to call upon federal troops at Fort Crook and Fort Omaha, and when a response was not received in a timely manner, the remaining Home Guard troops nearest the riot and a volunteer force of 300 World War I veterans were mobilized. The riot concluded by the time these troops were ready to move.[7]
In late July 1920, after receiving its initial allotment which included one regiment of infantry, provisional companies were gradually organized and federally recognized as provisional companies in towns across the state: the 1st Separate Company at Scottsbluff on 29 July 1920; the 2nd Separate Company at Omaha on 17 August 1920; the 3rd Separate Company at Hartington on 29 October 1920; the 4th Separate Company at Beatrice on 26 January 1921; the 5th Separate Company at Mitchell on 29 December 1920; the 6th Separate Company at Auburn on 15 December 1920; the 7th Separate Company at Falls City on 28 January 1921; the 8th Separate Company at Omaha on 25 January 1921; the 9th Separate Company at Hastings on 9 February 1921; the 10th Separate Company at Grand Island on 25 March 1921; the 11th Separate Company at Fairmont on 28 March 1921; the 12th Separate Company at Lincoln on 26 April 1921; the 13th Separate Company at York on 14 April 1921; the 14th Separate Company at Seward on 7 June 1921. The regimental headquarters company was organized at Omaha on 30 June 1921, while the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalion Headquarters Companies were respectively organized at Nebraska City, Gering, and Lincoln, on 5, 7, and 6 July 1921. The Medical Detachment was organized at Omaha on 5 July 1921.
On 1 July 1921, the provisional companies of the Nebraska National Guard were reorganized as the 1st Infantry Regiment, Nebraska National Guard. The 6th Separate Company became Company A, the 7th Separate Company became Company B, the 4th Separate Company became Company D, the 1st Separate Company became Company E, the 3rd Separate Company became Company F, the 9th Separate Company became Company G, the 10th Separate Company became Company H, the 12th Separate Company became Company I, the 14th Separate Company became Company M, and the 13th Separate Company became the Service Company. The 134th Infantry Regiment was reconstituted in the National Guard in 1921 and assigned to the state of Nebraska. It was concurrently relieved from the 34th Division and assigned to the 35th Division. A provision of the 1920 amendments to the National Defense Act of 1916 allowed for units of the National Guard and Organized Reserve that had served in World War I to retain their "names, numbers and other designations, flags, and records." On 25 October 1921, the 134th Infantry Regiment was reorganized by a redesignation of the 1st Infantry Regiment, Nebraska National Guard.
The 134th Infantry, along with the other units of the Nebraska National Guard, conducted annual training most years at Camp Ashland, along the banks of the Platte River in Saunders County near Ashland. Exceptions to this rule came in 1921 and 1922, when the regiment trained at Camp Dodge, near Des Moines, Iowa, and at the federal rifle range near Plattsmouth, respectively, because Camp Ashland was not yet ready for occupation after being neglected during World War I. In 1937, the 134th Infantry participated with the 35th Division in the Seventh Corps Area concentration of the Fourth Army Maneuvers at Camp Whiteside, Fort Riley, Kansas, and in 1940, in the same kind of maneuvers around Camp Ripley, Minnesota.
Companies A, B, I, G, and M of the 134th Infantry, along with several other Nebraska National Guard units, were called to Nebraska City in January-February 1922 for riot control duty after martial law was declared during the nationwide 1921-1922 Amalgamated Meat Cutters strike, which affected the Morton-Gregson plant in the city. Company G was used for traffic control and property protection from 9-12 May 1930 after a tornado struck Hastings. The entire regiment, along with a majority of the entire Nebraska National Guard, was called to Omaha from 15-21 June 1935 and was used for riot control duty after martial law was declared in the city during a major strike of workers of the Omaha Traction Company. From 28 August-6 September 1935, the Howitzer Company and Company E was used for security duties along irrigation canals in Scotts Bluff County after martial law was declared over a water rights dispute.
Troop B, 1st Squadron, 134th Cavalry relocated from the closed Fremont Armory to the new Titan Readiness Center near Mead in 2014.[8] [9] On 1 September 2017, the squadron became the cavalry squadron of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Arkansas Army National Guard as the 67th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade converted to a maneuver enhancement brigade.[10] Company D, 39th Brigade Support Battalion at Lincoln was activated in 2016 as the squadron forward support company under the same reorganization.[11]
The 2nd Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) was activated in the Nebraska National Guard in November 2019, but under United States Army Center of Military History regulations, is a new unit and does not perpetuate the lineage of the previous iteration of the 134th Infantry Regiment, only sharing its name.
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 134th Infantry Regiment on 1 December 1932. On 22 August 2006, it was redesignated for the 134th Cavalry Regiment, with the description and symbolism updated.
A Gold color metal and enamel device NaNinches in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Per chevron Azure and Argent, in chief the Katipunan sun in splendor and an olla Or charged with a bull skull Gules, in base a mound Vert a palm tree Proper entwined with a snake of the fifth. Attached below a Gold scroll inscribed "LAH WE LAH HIS" in Blue letters.
The shield is Argent (white) and Azure (blue), the colors of the Infantry and the original designation of the unit. The Katipunan sun represents the Philippine Insurrection, and the palm tree Spanish–American War service. The olla is made gold to comply with heraldic rules, and denotes the World War I service of the organization in the 34th Division. The snake symbolizes Mexican Border service.
The coat of arms was originally approved for the 134th Infantry Regiment on 11 July 1938. On 22 August 2006, it was redesignated for the 134th Cavalry Regiment with the symbolism of the shield updated.