Commissioned by President Andrew Jackson on May 23, 1836, the Second Regiment of Dragoons has had the distinction of being the oldest continuously active regiment in the United States Army. After serving with distinction in the Seminole Wars, Congress called for the elimination of the Regiment. Compromise was reached and the Second Dragoons were redesignated as a rifle regiment, though they spent a year as infantrymen before they were remounted as Dragoons. During the Mexican War the Regiment served with distinction. At the Battle of Resaca de la Palma a battery of Mexican artillery guarding the Matamoros road was charged by the Dragoons under Captain Charles May. The Dragoons overran the battery and May?s order of the day became the Regimental motto: ?Remember your Regiment and Follow your Officers.? In 1861 the regiment was recalled to the East and renamed the 2nd US Cavalry Regiment. They fought with distinction in the First Cavalry Division of the Army of the Potomac. Throughout the Civil War the Regiment participated in the battles of Fredricksburg, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettyburg, The Wilderness, Manassas, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor. For its gallantry the Regiment received 14 battle streamers and 5 of its troopers were awarded the Medal of Honor.

After the Civil War the Regiment was stationed on the frontier and saw action against the Sioux, Cheyenne and Nez Perce tribes during the Indian Campaigns.

During the Spanish-American War, the Second Cavalry was deployed for action and was the only regular mounted cavalry unit to participate in the war. The Regiment participated in the battles of El Caney, San Juan Hill, Aquadores and Santiago, and remained in Cuba as part of the pacification force for three years after the American victory. After Cuba the Regiment also saw action on the other side of the globe during the Philippine Insurrection, as well as with General John J. Pershing?s expedition into Mexico against Pancho Villa.

With the outbreak of World War I, the Second Regiment found itself again under General Pershing as part of the American Expeditionary Force, and with the singular distinction of being the only US unit used as horse cavalry during the war. The Regiment participated in the Aisne-Marne offensive, the reduction of the St. Mihiel Salient, as well as the last Allied offensive, the Meuse-Argonne.

With WWII underway, the Regiment was reorganized in 1942 as the Second Armored Regiment, and in 1943 as the Second Cavalry Group, Mechanized. They fought in France as part of Patton?s Third Army and distinguished themselves in the Ardennes-Alsace, the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns. It was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation and a Belgian Croix de Guerre for its part in the Battle of the Bulge. Elements of the Regiment fought in the Pacific theater and were awarded battle streamers for Leyte and Ryukus, and a Philippine Presidential Citation.

In 1948 it was redesignated the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and played a vital role guarding the Iron Curtain until the end of the Cold War in 1990.

Operation Desert Storm found the 2nd ACR as a cavalry screen for the VII US Corps. When the Ground War commenced the Regiment played a vital role in advancing quickly upon Republican Guard positions while additional divisions were committed through or around the ACR to destroy the heavier divisions of Republican Guards. After the fighting ended the Regiment moved into Iraq in a peacekeeping force.

The 2nd ACR is currently in Bosnia-Herzagovina for an eight-month deployment. They are there to support the ongoing peacekeeping mission by performing the traditional cavalry duty of reconnaissance and area security, as well as to assist in regional elections.