Company C, 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment is a rifle company in the 181st Infantry Regiment. In the National Guard, companies often have two histories. They share the history of the regiment to which they are assigned, but also may have a unique company history and lineage. Therefore, Company C 1-181 IN shares the long history of the

181st Infantry Regiment The 181st Infantry Regiment shares the distinction of being the oldest combat regiment currently organized in the United States Army. It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots and campaign credit for the War of 1812. The re ...

. This site concentrates on the unique history of Company C as a militia / National Guard company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company traces its history to 1831 when it was first mustered as the Cambridge Light Infantry. It later served with Union forces in 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 th ...

, and as a federalized Massachusetts National Guard regiment with the U.S. Army during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

Mexican Border Campaign The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

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

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 ...

. Most recently Company C has served in Bosnia, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, New Orleans following

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, Iraq and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

History

Formation

The present Company C 1-181 IN was first mustered in 1831 as the Cambridge Light Infantry. The company was formed as a "more professional" force because the other Cambridge companies were considered "mere gentlemen's clubs". The Cambridge Light Infantry was soon considered the finest company in the military service and a model for the new light companies that were formed throughout the Commonwealth. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr daguerreotype 1861

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr daguerreotype 1861

Civil War

In 1861 mobilized for the Civil War as the Cambridge City Guard with the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (The Harvard Regiment). Among the officers of the company were Major Paul J. Revere, and Lieutenant

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...

The 20th regiment lost 17 officers and 243 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded. One officer and 148 enlisted men by disease. The regiment ranks first among Massachusetts regiments and fifth among Union regiments in total casualties. In 1866 the Cambridge City Guard became Company F of the 5th Mass.

National Guard and overseas service

In June 1898 The Cambridge City Guard was mobilized for the war with Spain along with the 5th Mass. and served at Gunville, South Carolina. The land forces of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia were redesignated as the

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is toda ...

on 15 November 1907. In June 1916 the Cambridge Guard was sent to the Mexican border as Company A of the 8th Mass. Infantry. The 8th Mass. served on the Mexican Border at El Paso, Texas.

World War I

In the First World War, the company sent many of its soldiers to the 101st Infantry, the remainder of the company served in France as part of the 5th Pioneer Infantry Regiment. The pioneer regiments included such specialists as mechanics, carpenters, carriers, and masons. They were supposed to work under the direction of the engineers to build roads, bridges, gun emplacements, and camps "within the sound of the guns". They received standard infantry training so that they could defend themselves, but there are very few documented instances of any pioneer troops unslinging their rifles. They were demobilized in January 1919 at Camp Wadsworth. On 1 April 1923, the Cambridge City Guard was designated as Company H of the 101st Infantry Regiment.

World War II

Company H was mobilized in January 1941 for one year of training with the Yankee Division. The year of training ended in December 1941 but the company's service continued after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the Second World War. Company H, 101st Infantry deployed to Europe with the Yankee Division and fought from Normandy across Germany to meet the Soviets in Czechoslovakia at war's end. The company served in the Army of Occupation in Austria until 1946. In 1946, the Cambridge City Guard was re-established as Company H, 101st Infantry, and later was designated as Company C of the 1-182 IN. The company served through the Cold War.

Later service

In 1995, the Cambridge Guard became Company C, 1-181 IN (Light). In August 2001, Company C 1-181 IN mobilized for service in Bosnia-Herzegovina as an element of the NATO Stabilization Force. (SFOR 10) On 8 September 2003, Company C, 1-181 Infantry was mobilized for one-year duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba providing security for the detention facilities at Camp America and Camp Delta in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In September 2005, Company C mobilized as an element of JTF Yankee for rescue and security operations in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In July 2007, C Company mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit served as an operational support team. The mission was to provide security for theater counterintelligence operations, for the commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNFI). The company was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. In August 2010, Company C 1-181 IN deployed for one year of service with the International Security Force in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The company provided command and control at Camp Alamo in Kabul and conducted security operations in Khost, Paktya and Paktika Provinces.

Battles

, Cambridge City Guard, 20th Massachusetts Infantry *

Battle of Ball's Bluff The Battle of Ball's Bluff was an early battle of the American Civil War fought in Loudoun County, Virginia, on October 21, 1861, in which Union Army forces under Major General George B. McClellan suffered a humiliating defeat. The operation was ...

* The Peninsula Campaign *

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, Cambridge City Guard, 5th Massachusetts Infantry

Mexican Border campaign The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

, Cambridge City Guard, 8th Massachusetts Infantry

, 5th Pioneer Infantry Regiment * Champagne Marne * Saint Mihiel *

Meuse Argonne Offensive The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

, H Company,

101st Infantry Regiment (United States) The 101st Infantry Regiment was a formation of the United States Army, Massachusetts Army National Guard. Its history dates back to the American Civil War, and continues to the Spanish–American War, World War I, and World War II before being dea ...

* Northern France * Rhineland * Ardennes-Alsace * Central Europe 1990s onwards, Company C 1-181 IN * Bosnia SFOR * Guantanamo Bay * Iraq * Afghanistan War (2001–2021)

Unit decorations

Notes

{{reflist Military units and formations in Massachusetts Companies of the United States Army National Guard