The 61st Cavalry Division was an

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, ...

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 ...

. It was created in 1921 from the perceived need for additional cavalry units after

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 was numbered in succession of the Regular Army Divisions, which were not all active at its creation. The 61st was officially disbanded on 30 January 1942, although most of its personnel had been reassigned in 1941. The unit was nicknamed "The Foragers". The Division was composed of personnel from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

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. The Division Headquarters was initially located in Rochester, New York, but moved to New York City in 1922.

Organization

In early 1940, the division included the following units: *Headquarters (

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

) *Headquarters, Special Troops (Rochester) *Headquarters Troop (Manhattan) **61st Signal Troop ( Buffalo) **581st Ordnance Company (Medium) (Buffalo) **461st Tank Company (Light) (Manhattan) * 151st Cavalry Brigade (Rochester) ** 301st Cavalry Regiment DUI

301st Cavalry Regiment (Rochester) ** 302nd Cavalry Regiment DUI

302nd Cavalry Regiment (Newark) * 152nd Cavalry Brigade (Manhattan) ** 303rd Cavalry Regiment USAR DUI

303rd Cavalry Regiment 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cu ...

(Manhattan) ** 304th Cavalry Regiment DUI

304th Cavalry Regiment The 304th Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry unit of the United States Army during World War I and the interwar period. It was activated in early 1918 but broken up in the middle of the year to form new artillery units. The unit was recreated as a New ...

(Manhattan) * 861st Field Artillery Regiment (New York City) * 461st Reconnaissance Squadron (reorganized from the 151st Machine Gun Squadron in 1929) ( Albany) * 401st Engineer Squadron (New York City) * 361st Medical Squadron (Albany) * 461st Quartermaster Squadron (Rochester)

Notable personnel

William J. Donovan William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Bur ...

was the first

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the 301st Cavalry Regiment. * Terry de la Mesa Allen served as the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

of the 303rd Cavalry Regiment. * Brice Pursell Disque commanded the 151st Cavalry Brigade from 6 June 1922, to 14 April 1937. From 15 April 1937, to June 1939, he commanded the 152nd Cavalry Brigade.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *�

The Trading Post, Journal of the American Society of Military Insignia Collectors, April- June 2009, page 21

External links