Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. (October 5, 2023): In this photo by Kevin Sterling Payne, Army Sergeant William Peters, a team leader assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, directs his troops while conducting a scout section live-fire exercise. This storied unit traces its history to the Seminole Indians Wars in Florida in the early 1800s and units of these “Dragoons” played a key role in the later invasion of Mexico.
Sixteenth Century infantrymen were called “Dragoons” due to the weapon they carried. The gun was a variant of the blunderbuss which was nicknamed the “Dragon” due to the hail of fire it emits. The 2nd Cavalry Regiment Dragoons are currently a Stryker infantry unit stationed at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany, and it is assigned to the defense of Europe and Africa.
2nd Cavalry soldiers wear a distinctive 8-pointed star insignia that celebrates an episode in the Mexican American War. A squadron of the 2nd Cavalry was ambushed by Mexican soldiers who were later avenged at the battle of Resaca de la Palma. On May 9, 1846, Companies D and E under Captain Charles A. May were ordered to charge a battery of Mexican guns in what appeared to be a suicide mission. Prior to the charge, May issued a simple order; "Remember your Regiment and follow your officers." The attack destroyed the enemy battery and a Mexican general was captured in the bargain.
The insignia features Tenné, a dragoon in the uniform of the Mexican War mounted on a white horse brandishing a saber and charging the Mexican field gun. The palmetto leaf in the background represents the Regiment's first action against the Seminole Indians in Florida, where the palmetto leaf grows in abundance. The unit’s motto "Toujours Prêt" (Always Ready) expresses the spirit and pride of one of America’s most storied Regiments.