31st Cavalry Regiment (United States)

The 31st Cavalry is a historical organization within the United States Army and the Alabama Army National Guard that began as a Troop of Cavalry under "The Alabama Militia Law of 1820". The unit was constituted on 24 July 1821 in the Alabama Militia as the 1st Regiment Cavalry Troop at Jackson, Alabama

History

The last unit to fly a guidon with a 31st Cavalry designation was Troop E, 31st Cavalry, a rapid deployment unit of the Alabama Army National Guard in Sylacauga, Alabama from 1973 to 2005. Troop E was formed in 1973 without an official history. It was created as a new unit to be the reconnaissance for the recently formed 31st Armored Brigade. When E-Troop of the 31st Cavalry was created, no one bothered to document the correct history of the unit. There was an unofficial and incorrect history done that attempted to trace the history of Troop E, 31st Cavalry, but that version would more correctly be titled a history of units that occupied the armory in Sylacauga, Alabama—and not a history of the 31st Cavalry and its lineage. Because the 31st Armored Brigade traced its history and lineage from the former 31st Infantry Division, that history makes the 31st Cavalry a direct lineal descendant of the earlier 31st Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop of the 31st Infantry Division.

The 31st Infantry Division was originally created in 1917, and after service in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, it was later deactivated in 1968 as a part of a Department of Defense budget restructuring in order to make funds available to modernize several other National Guard Divisions. From 1968 until 1974 the Alabama units that had formerly been assigned to the 31st Infantry Division were transferred to the 30th Armor Division. In 1974 the 31st Separate Armor Brigade was formed, and in consequence, they became the inheritors of the 31st Division lineage.