The 1st Regiment New Mexico Cavalry was a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

cavalry regiment in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Service

Civil War

In August 1861,

Ceran St. Vrain Ceran St. Vrain, born Ceran de Hault de Lassus de Saint-Vrain (May 5, 1802 – October 28, 1870), was the son of a French aristocrat who immigrated to the Spanish Louisiana in the late 18th century; his mother was from St. Louis, where he was b ...

and

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

organized the 1st New Mexico Volunteer Infantry Regiment. This regiment fought at the

battle of Valverde The Battle of Valverde, also known as the Battle of Valverde Ford, was fought from February 20 to 21, 1862, near the town of Val Verde at a ford of the Rio Grande in Union-held New Mexico Territory, in what is today the state of New Mexico. I ...

. On March 31, 1862, the 1st,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

, 4th, and

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

New Mexico Infantry Regiments were consolidated to form the 1st New Mexico Volunteer Cavalry Regiment with Kit Carson as colonel. The regiment was dispersed throughout the Department of New Mexico stationed at various frontier forts: Stanton, Goodwin, McRae,

Wingate Wingate may refer to: Places New Zealand * Wingate, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt United Kingdom * Wingate, County Durham * Wingate Quarry, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham * Old Wingate, County Durham * Wingat ...

, Craig,

Canby Canby may refer to: People * Canby (surname) Places

;In the United States * Canby, California * Canby, Iowa * Canby, Minnesota * Canby, Oregon * Canby Creek, a stream in Minnesota * Canby Mountains, Oregon {{disambiguation, geo ...

, Sumner, Marcy, Bascom,

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and other points in that department, during entire term of service. In January 1864 Kit Carson led a detachment of nearly 400 in the

battle of Canyon de Chelly The Battle of Canyon de Chelly was fought in 1864 as part of the Navajo Wars. It was a successful operation for the United States Army which precipitated the Long Walk and was the final major military engagement between the Navajo and the Ame ...

. Later that year Carson led a detachment at the

first Battle of Adobe Walls The First Battle of Adobe Walls was a battle between the United States Army and American Indians. The Kiowa, Comanche and Plains Apache (Kiowa Apache) tribes drove from the battlefield a United States Expeditionary Force that was reacting to at ...

. The regiment was mustered out on September 30, 1866.History - New Mexico Troops
/ref> However the 1st Battalion Cavalry and Infantry was organized from it August 31, 1866. It continued on duty in the Department of New Mexico and Arizona until mustered out November 23, 1867.Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, The Dyer Publishing Company, Des Moines, Iowa, 1908; (Part 3) Regimental Histories, New Mexico Volunteers, pp.1366-1367
/ref>

Spanish–American War

With the declaration of war with Spain in April 1898 the 1st New Mexico Cavalry entered Federal service as the 2d Squadron, 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, better known as the "Rough Riders." Theodore Roosevelt conceived the idea of raising a cavalry regiment recruited from businessmen, cowboys and outdoorsmen. Roosevelt, a former New York National Guardsman, helped to organize the regiment and was appointed its lieutenant colonel. After training in Texas and Florida, the Rough Riders landed in Cuba, without their horses, on June 22, 1898. It was during the

Battle of San Juan Hill The Battle of San Juan Hill, also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Spanish fo ...

, on July 1, that the Rough Riders, under the command of Lt Col Roosevelt, made their mark in American military history. Ordered to seize

Kettle Hill The Battle of San Juan Hill, also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an United States, American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler agains ...

in support of the main attack, the Rough Riders fought their way to the top despite heavy enemy fire. New Mexico's E and G Troops were among the first to reach the top of Kettle Hill. After taking the hill, the Rough Riders continued their attack, seizing the heights overlooking the city of Santiago. The American victory led to the Spanish surrender two weeks later.

21st Century

The heritage of the 2nd Squadron, 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, is perpetuated by the 200th Air Defense Artillery, New Mexico Army National Guard.http://www.ng.mil/resources/photo_gallery/heritage/roughriders.html

Colonels

* Colonel Christopher H. Carson (31 Mar 1862-8 Oct 1866) * Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1898 – January 6, 1919)

References