January 2001

     The 18th Infantry Regiment came into being by Presidential Proclamation on 3 May 1861, followed by War Department General Order 33, dated 4 May 1861, and ratified by Act of Congress on 29 July 1861. Henry B. Carrington (private citizen of Ohio) was appointed Colonel and Oliver L. Shepherd (3rd Infantry, USMA '40) was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 18th Infantry Regiment. The 18th Infantry was organized with three battalions of eight companies each, as opposed to the standard organization of ten companies (one battalion). It was organized at Columbus, Ohio and served in the Western Theater during the Civil War, achieving fame as a member of the Regular Brigade, 1st Division, Army of the Cumberland. Our 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry (Vanguards), is currently assigned to the 2nd Brigade (Dagger), 1st Infantry Division (Danger), stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany. Please visit our web page to view the complete lineage and honors of the 18th Infantry Regiment that are posted there, and to obtain information on our history and present activities. The 18th Infantry has a long and proud record of service in the United States Army, and we mark the year 2001 as our 140th Anniversary of continuous and distinguished service to the United States of America.
  

For Captain Ansel B. Denton's C/2/18 and the rest of the 18th US Regulars the next few hours would be the most costly of the war. Following the Regular Brigade's dramatic and unsupported stand in the cedars, the Confederates aggressively moved to the edge of the woods and poured a telling fire into the cotton field across which the regulars were withdrawing. Denton sensing the danger yelled, "For God's sake men, get back to the railroad or we will all be killed." Sergeant Flegeal was one of the many men hit and left in that field. Upon retiring to the relative safety of the railroad, Captain Denton could only account for ten men from his company. One of these was Private Kennedy, who pleaded with the reluctant officer to be allowed to return to Sergeant Flegeal. Kennedy had promised Flegeal that if he fell he would return his personal effects to his family in Maryland. It was a promise he was determined to keep. Denton finally agreed and Kennedy made a dramatic run under fire across no-mans-land. He found Flegeal who was mortally wounded, the bullet having traversed from his upper left to lower right breast. The sergeant admonished his friend for his dangerous actions while Kennedy removed his gold watch, wallet, and silver-mounted revolver. Kennedy then put a knapsack under Flegeal's head, covered him with a blanket and placed a canteen next to his body. Flegeal "...begged me to leave him and to get back to a place of safety, saying if I did not, I would be killed. I started to run back to the railroad, and then I realized the danger I was in. I thought the whole rebel army was shooting at me. The balls were plowing into the earth on all sides of me. If ever a man ran for his life I did then." Kennedy gave Flegeal's effects to Captain Denton who sent them to the sergeant's mother several weeks after the battle. Flegeal was last seen being loaded into an ambulance that evening and was never heard from again.

Kennedy's compassionate and bold action is likely to have been the cause of an unfortunate event. Amos Flegeal undoubtedly died of his wounds in the post battle chaos to a medical system overwhelmed with thousands of casualties. Kennedy had unknowingly removed the sergeant's identification. So when Sergeant Amos Flegeal joined the regiment's first man killed in action Corporal Thomas Long for his final roll call, he became one of the many unknown burials from the battle of Stones River/Murfreesboro. A total of 102 men from the 18th US were killed in action or died of wounds as a result of the action on New Year's Eve 1862, the regiments first major engagement.

Robert Kennedy went on to make Corporal and fought at Chickamauga in two days of almost continuous combat. Before he was captured near Kelly Field on September 20, 1863, he had fired over 200 rounds of muzzle loaded ammunition, changing rifles several times as they became fouled. He helped save the 2nd Battalion Colors by retrieving them from a pile of captured Colors and tearing them into pieces, distributing the pieces to other 2nd Battalion soldiers who had been captured with him (since they were not in enemy hands, they technically were not captured). He was sent to Danville, Virginia where he escaped and was recaptured before being sent to Andersonville. He survived Andersonville and returned home following the war. Corporal Robert Kennedy, C/2/18, lived to the age of 92 years and his memoir is arguably the best civil war account of any enlisted man in the 18th U.S. Infantry.
 

The primary source for this information is: That Brave Body of Men, The Civil War Campaigns of the 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th U.S. Infantry Regiments, Regular Army. Written by Mark W. Johnson, currently serving on active-duty with USAREC (formerly in 2-15 INF), this book is being published and due for release in Fall 2001.
 
 

SEP 2000 - As our soldiers returned from Kosovo the rest of the Battalion deployed to Grafenwoehr for yet another gunnery density. Fantastic results on Bradley Table VIII this time around -- only one crew had to fire twice to qualify (compared to 19 crews my first gunnery in NOV 99). Congratulations to 1LT Jake St. Laurent and his crew (C CO) for qualifying as the Battalion Top Gun (perfect score). Rifle squads completed an intense 3 day situational training exercise that culminated in a realistic live fire. Both the new ADC(M) (BG Turner) and the new CG (MG Craddock) watched our squads conduct this live fire and both were extremely impressed with what they saw. This gunnery rotation culminated with something new -- I call it a "platoon joust". Basically, we took a piece of ground (roughly 4 kms square) and put a platoon at either end. On the word "go" it became a force-on-force MILES battle with the winner being the "last man standing". Set up a double elimination tournament so every platoon in the battalion got at least 3 "fights". Congratulations go to 2LT Nagy and 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, for winning this very tough, realistic, and demanding event.

OCT 2000 - As the battalion redeployed to Schweinfurt for our normal After Operations Recovery (maintenance and cleaning of equipment), C CO and the Scout Platoon deployed to Grafenwoehr to complete their gunnery with 1-26 IN (the Blue Spaders). All three battalions in the 2nd "Dagger" Brigade (1-18 IN, 1-26 IN, 1-77 AR) have a fantastic working relationship and often go out of their way to help each other. Charlie Company and the Scouts had a great gunnery density and our sincere thanks go out to the Blue Spaders for their fabulous support,

NOV / DEC 2000 - These two months were consumed by events at the Combat Maneuver Training Center (CMTC). We got the opportunity to send some of our senior NCO's and junior officers over as observer/controllers. CMTC is not manned for their current level of operations so, through augmentation, we got the unique opportunity to see 3rd Brigade, 1st ID, plan and conduct force-on-force
operations against the OPFOR. A professionally rewarding experience for all that were involved. Special recognition goes out to A CO, who provided the bulk of the augmentees, and especially to 3rd Platoon, A CO, who got the opportunity to go and fight with the OPFOR. Once again, I heard, personally, from the OPFOR Commander that our soldiers did a fantastic job -- his comment was "it is always good to work with soldiers that know their job and can execute to standard".

NOV / DEC 2000 - At the same time Bravo Company got a tremendous opportunity to go and fight with TF 2-63 Armor during their CMTC rotation. I spent about a week at CMTC watching TF 2-63, and B/1-18 in particular (can't help it if I am partial), and words cannot adequately describe the phenomenal job they did. Being the only Mech Infantry Company in an Armor Battalion/Task Force is tough, but -- by the end of the 14 day rotation -- Bravo Company was the company that got every tough mission and the company that turned the tide during every battle. Hats off to the "Bad Boyz"!

23 NOV 2000 - We managed to get everyone back to Schweinfurt for Thanksgiving Weekend. As usual, a fantastic job by the soldiers who work in our Dining Facility (DFAC)!  They fed around 400 people (including families, the Brigade Command Group, and several local Germans) and won the "Best Thanksgiving Day DFAC" award. Thanks to the continued support of our Association we were able to provide holiday food baskets to 25 Vanguard families. Each basket contained a Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and a vegetable. Special thanks to SGT Ravenell (Chaplain's Assistant) for putting these baskets together and distributing them to our most deserving soldiers. Your thoughts, wishes, and donations went a very long way toward making it a very special day for these 25 families.

DEC 2000 - Gave the Battalion their Holiday Safety Brief on the 15th and put the soldiers out on a very well deserved 14 day Maximum Leave Period. Just like Thanksgiving, your donation made it possible to put together Christmas Baskets for 25 Vanguard Families. Hats off, once again, to SGT Ravenell for putting this plan together and for distributing the food baskets. Each one contained a Ham and a variety of other food items. This program has gone a very - very long way in making the holiday season just a little bit brighter for these deserving soldiers and their families. Our sincere gratitude, Thanks, and respect, go out to each and every Association Member for your generous support.

JAN / FEB 2001 - The New Year will find the Vanguards back to work early!  We deploy to Grafenwoehr for yet another gunnery density on 8 JAN and, this time, we will go through Bradley Table XII (platoon live fire). Immediately upon completion of that event we will put the Bradley Fighting Vehicles on trains and send them, and the soldiers, to Hohenfels for yet another rare opportunity. We get to conduct Platoon and Company Situational Training Exercises on the CMTC battlefield, against the OPFOR, and with CMTC OC coverage!  No one in Europe has every gotten this fantastic training opportunity and we are all looking forward to getting this unique chance to further hone our warfighting skills.

MAR / MAY 2001 - We're home in Schweinfurt conducting maintenance on our vehicles and cleaning our equipment. Then local area training in preparation for our June CMTC rotation. Highlights for these two months are an Infantry Squad / Section Proficiency Course and a Platoon Joust.

Remarks:  I met COL Layfield last week. He is a former Vanguard Commander, and is now assigned to V Corps. LTC Norman is back in Europe and is currently the G3 (Operations Officer) of the 1st Armored Division. Two great soldiers -- they continue to represent us all in an outstanding manner.

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and that this Newsletter finds all in good health and spirits. Please keep the Vanguard Soldiers in your thoughts and prayers during this coming year and we pledge to keep you in ours. Again, thanks for another year of fantastic support for our soldiers. They continue to represent you well - from Grafenwoehr to Hohenfels to Kosovo to Schweinfurt, your soldiers are earning the respect and admiration of everyone they come in contact with. They are truly the best that our great country has to offer and you should be very - very proud of the way they live up to, and build upon, the legacy and heritage you have given them!

FIRST TO BATTLE -- Vanguard 6 -- LTC Mike Murray