The 310th Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. It was activated in early 1918 but broken up later that year to form new artillery units. The unit was recreated as a Tennessee

Organized Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020, ...

unit during the interwar period, and later moved to Georgia in the early 1930s. It was disbanded after the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

Shortly after the United States entered World War I, the regiment was constituted in the National Army on 18 May 1917, and organized on 17 February 1918 at

Fort Ethan Allen Fort Ethan Allen was a United States Army installation in Vermont, named for American Revolutionary War figure Ethan Allen. Established as a cavalry post in 1894 and closed in 1944, today it is the center of a designated national historic distric ...

. However, it was broken up on 18 October and its men were used to create the 58th and 59th Field Artillery Regiments, and the 20th Trench Mortar Battery. All three artillery units were demobilized at Camp Jackson on 10 February 1919. On 15 October 1921, the 58th and 59th Field Artillery and the 20th Trench Mortar Battery were reconstituted in the

as the 310th Cavalry Regiment, part of the 63rd Cavalry Division in the

Fourth Corps Area A Corps area was a geographically-based organizational structure (military district) of the United States Army used to accomplish administrative, training and tactical tasks from 1920 to 1942. Each corps area included divisions of the Regular Army ...

. The 310th was initiated (activated) on 2 February 1922 with regimental headquarters at

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

, 1st Squadron at

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, and 2nd Squadron at

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. The regiment joined the division's 155th Cavalry Brigade. It was reorganized on 1 July 1929 as a three-squadron regiment, and its headquarters was relocated to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

on 22 October 1929. The entire regiment was simultaneously moved to northeast Georgia. The regiment conducted summer training at

Camp McClellan, Alabama Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, is a decommissioned United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million tr ...

, and

Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia Fort Oglethorpe is a city predominantly in Catoosa County with some portions in Walker County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,423. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan St ...

, with the

6th Cavalry Regiment The 6th Cavalry ("Fighting Sixth'") is a regiment of the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War. It currently is organized into aviation squadrons that are assigned to several different combat aviation ...

. As an alternate form of training, the 309th provided basic cavalry military instruction to civilians under the

Citizens' Military Training Camp Citizens' Military Training Camps (CMTC) were military training programs of the United States. Held annually each summer during the years 1921 to 1940, the CMTC camps differed from National Guard and Organized Reserve training in that the program a ...

program at Fort Oglethorpe. Its designated mobilization training station was Fort Oglethorpe, and its primary

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

feeder school was the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. The regiment was disbanded on 18 October 1943, after its personnel were called up for active duty during the military buildup prior to the American entry into World War II. An unrelated reserve unit, the 310th Armored Cavalry Regiment, briefly existed after the war in California.

Commanders

The 310th was commanded by the following officers: * Colonel Julius T. Conrad (6 April–24 September 1918) * Colonel J. Perry Fyffe (2 February 1922 – 25 June 1923) * Colonel Richard H. Kimball (25 June 1923 – 18 January 1926) * Lieutenant Colonel Robert D. McDonald (18 January 1926–December 1929) * Colonel Warren A. Fair (December 1929–April 1933) * Lieutenant Colonel Hugh D. Blanchard (July–August 1939)

Heraldry

The 310th's coat of arms and distinctive unit insignia were approved on 23 September 1932, and both rescinded on 2 February 1959. The distinctive unit insignia included a 1 1/8 in (2.86 cm) gold colored metal and enamel device, which consisted of a yellow shield with cut off

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltator ...

s in the shape of an "X" in the center, and three conjoined horse's heads over the saltires. The yellow shield symbolized the cavalry, while the saltires and the horse's heads represented the regiment's number, 310. The regimental motto, "Fidelis" (Faithful), was attached to the bottom of the distinctive unit insignia. The regimental coat of arms was of a similar design to the distinctive unit insignia but included the Organized Reserve's

Minuteman Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

crest above the shield and omitted the motto.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wI8xAQAAIAAJ&q=%22307th+cavalry%22, title=Cavalry regiments of the US Army, last=Sawicki, first=James A., publisher=Wyvern Publications, year=1985, isbn=9780960240463, location=Dumfries, Virginia, pages= Cavalry regiments of the United States Army Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 Military units and formations in Tennessee Military units and formations in Georgia (U.S. state)