The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, also known as the First City Troop, is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. It is one of the oldest military units in the United States still in active service and is among the most decorated units in the U.S. Army. Accordingly, the Troop operates under a number of principles of self-governance unique in the U.S. military, including the election of unit members and officers, voluntarily forgoing pay for military service to the country, continuing to practice horse cavalry skills and tactics, and recruiting a high percentage of its members from veterans of prior active duty service across all branches (many of whom resign past officer commissions to join), as well as older civilian mid-career professionals.[1]
It is the only U.S. military unit that owns its own armory building, built with private funds in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood.
As of November 2017, the troop had 46 active members (33 drilling with the A-1/104th CAV), up from 35 in 2014.[1]On 23 September 1940, the Troop, then designated as Headquarters Troop, 52d Cavalry Brigade, was reorganized and redesignated as Troop A, 104th Cavalry Regiment (Horse-Mechanized), and assigned to II Corps. One horse-mechanized regiment was assigned to each of the nine army corps.
As the name implies, horse-mechanized regiments used horse trailers and other motorized vehicles to transport cavalry to forward battle areas, as well as to support them when they got there. Inducted into federal service on 17 February 1941 at Philadelphia, the Troop departed Philadelphia on 1 March 1941, after having cleared a foot of snow from in and around the horse trailers. By nightfall, the Troop had arrived at its new training area, the Pennsylvania Military Reservation at Fort Indiantown Gap.
The Troop remained at Fort Indiantown Gap until 25 September 1941 when it departed for the North Carolina Maneuvers to act as the opposing force for the 1st Armored Division. With training completed, the Troop returned to Indiantown Gap by 9 December.
On 9 April 1942, horses were exchanged for motorcycles and jeeps. On 16 April 1942, the Troop departed Fort Indiantown Gap for Philadelphia, where it provided security for vital installations and Lend-Lease material along the Delaware River waterfront. Shortly after its arrival in Philadelphia, approximately fifty percent of the Troop’s enlisted personnel left for Officer Candidate School.
As in World War I, the Army sought qualified officer candidates, and once again, the First City Troop provided its share. By the following September, the turnover was 100 percent. Most of the fifty-five Troopers who left the organization in 1942 were assigned to the 166th Field Artillery Regiment, the 28th Division, and other elements of the 104th Cavalry Regiment. By the end of 1943, not one pre-war Trooper remained on the rolls of Troop A.
During the war, 271 troopers served in every branch of the military. Most served in the Army, with one member, Charles S. Cheston, attaining the rank of brigadier general. The Troop additionally supplied thirty-two officers to the Navy, six officers to the Marine Corps, and one officer to the Coast Guard. One trooper even became a war correspondent. On 17 November 1942, Troop A arrived at Camp Jackson, South Carolina. There, it was reassigned to XII Corps, Second Army. On 6 January 1943, the troop arrived at Salem, Oregon, where it patrolled the Pacific coastline. With the reorganization of the 104th Cavalry Regiment into a Group, the Troop was again reorganized and redesignated, becoming Troop A, 104th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, on 1 January 1944.
From Oregon, the Troop departed for California, where it patrolled the beaches from Malibu to Point Conception and trained in marksmanship and commando tactics. In June, 1944, the Troop entrained for Camp Polk, Louisiana, and from there, the New York Port of Embarkation. The Troop arrived at St. Valery, France, in March 1945. On 2 April 1945, the Troop entered the area of operation, serving in the line as infantry between the 44th Infantry Division and French troops. The troop suffered several casualties before the end of hostilities on 8 May 1945. Following V-E Day, the Troop moved to Marseilles, France, for shipment to the Philippines. News of Japan’s surrender was received en route, and the ship changed course for New York City.