🇺🇸 ORGANIZATION DAY 🇺🇸
Below are photos from the 1949 Organization Day activities from 70 years ago. This was just a year after the Regiment was reactivated at Fort Myer and Fort McNair as a ceremonial unit.

In 1920, the Regiment selected the anniversary of Monterrey to serve as Organization Day to remember the fierce fighting and the men lost during the Monterrey campaign.

On the 21 September 1846, the 3rd Infantry, 262 men strong, was part of the first wave to attack Monterrey. Enemy artillery was stationed at street intersections, and the narrow streets were bounded on each side with buildings filled with infantry. In penetrating the first line of defense of the walled city, the Regiment found itself drawn into a situation in which the limited space to maneuver made it difficult for American units to support each other.

The losses that ensued reflect the nature of the combat. Over forty enlisted men were casualties; five officers, including the three senior officers, were killed and five wounded. The unit took its objective and held its ground until a lack of ammunition made withdrawal a necessity. The Regiment remained under Mexican artillery fire during the night and into the morning, when the city fell to the American army. The bitter house-to-house defense of the city by the Mexican troops made it the most costly single day in the history of the 3rd Infantry until Gettysburg.

The Regiment entered the battle with six companies and an effective strength of 14 officers, 40 non-commissioned officers, 7 musicians and 201 privates for a total of 262 officers and men. Losses totaled 52 (20%): 6 Officers KIA or DOW, 1 Officer WIA, 15 NCOs and Privates KIA or DOW, 29 NCOs and Privates WIA, 1 Musician WIA. Included among the officers killed were the Regimental Field Commander and the Regimental Adjutant.