The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry , also known as the First City Troop , is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard . It is one of the oldest military units in the United States still in active service and is among the most decorated units in the U.S. Army . Accordingly, the Troop operates under a number of principles of self-governance unique in the U.S. military, including the election of unit members and officers, voluntarily forgoing pay for military service to the country, continuing to practice horse cavalry skills and tactics, and recruiting a high percentage of its members from veterans of prior active duty service across all branches (many of whom resign past officer commissions to join), as well as older civilian mid-career professionals.
23-656: It is the only U.S. military unit that owns its own armory building, built with private funds in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. As of November 2017, the troop had 46 active members (33 drilling with the A-1/104th CAV), up from 35 in 2014. The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, or "First City Troop", was organized in 1774 as the Light Horse of the City of Philadelphia , often referred to as
46-702: A brief skirmish on June 26, 1863. The company later screened Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge against the Confederate forces of John Brown Gordon . John J. Pershing said that "no National Guard organization in the country did more, relatively, in the First World War than" the First City Troop. Today, the First City Troop deploys overseas with the Pennsylvania National Guard in support of Army operations. Since 9/11,
69-629: Is a prize awarded annually to the Army National Guard battalion(s) that achieves the highest standards of training and readiness. The Reckord Trophy is one of the highest peacetime awards given to National Guard units. The Reckord Armory at the University of Maryland is named after General Reckord. Reckord was the recipient of several honorary degrees , including: Franklin & Marshall College ( LL.D. , 1943); Western Maryland College (Doctor of Military Science and Tactics, 1943);
92-453: Is any one of numerous buildings of the U.S. National Guard where a unit trains, meets, and parades. A readiness center supports the training, administration, and logistics of National Guard units by providing assembly space, classrooms, weapons and protective personal equipment storage, and training space. Readiness centers can also be utilized as communal assembly areas, utilized by local organizations and governments. After World War II,
115-890: The Philadelphia Light Horse , one of the first patriotic military organizations established in the American Revolution . Abraham Markoe was the founder and the first Captain of the Philadelphia Light Horse, known today as the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. Early members came from a number of local social organizations, including the Schuylkill Fishing Company , the Schuylkill Company of Fort St. Davids,
138-558: The University of Maryland (LL.D., 1944); and Pennsylvania Military College (LL.D., 1944). Reckord Armory, a recreation and athletics building on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park , was named for Reckord in 1961. There is also a National Guard facility in the town of Bel Air, Maryland known as Reckord Armory. No longer used for military activities, it is now a facility for public events including weddings, trade shows, and business meetings. In 1950, Reckord
161-790: The "Battle of Fort Wilson" riot. During the American Civil War , the First City Troop was called into active duty several times, beginning with the 1861 Campaign that led to the First Battle of Bull Run . During the Gettysburg Campaign , the company, under the command of future U.S. Speaker of the House Samuel J. Randall , performed scouting duties leading into the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , in late June before being redeployed to York County following
184-452: The $ 377 million annual expenditure for constructing and improving readiness centers would produce "major long-term risks," and recommended more than quadrupling annual funding to "get to green" on key performance indicators by completely transforming and modernizing the portfolio of readiness centers. In the 20th century, a number of national guard armories were the target of burglaries and weapons theft. Bonnie and Clyde acquired many of
207-708: The 29th Infantry Division. During the years between the First and Second World War , Reckord was a leading advocate for increasing the role of the National Guard in the United States' national defensive strategy. From 1923 to 1925, he served as president of the National Guard Association of the United States . In 1933, he authored legislation that permanently gave National Guard personnel status as both state and federal troops. Reckord
230-689: The Adjutant General of Maryland. He received a state promotion to Lieutenant General from Governor J. Millard Tawes in 1961, and continued to serve as Adjutant General until his retirement in 1966. Record died at Fort Howard Veterans Hospital in Fort Howard, Maryland , on September 8, 1975. He was buried at Mountain Christian Church Cemetery in Joppa, Maryland . In 1910, Reckord married Bessie Payne Roe. They were
253-754: The French Legion of Honor (Officer), and the British Order of the Bath (honorary Knight Commander). In 1961, Governor J. Millard Tawes conferred on Reckord a state promotion to lieutenant general , and continued serving as adjutant general until retiring in 1966. Reckord was born to John and Lydia (Zimmerman) Reckord at their home in Harford County, Maryland . He commenced work at his father's milling plant in 1896 upon his graduation from Bel Air High School. Reckord expressed desire to serve in
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#1732793334982276-744: The Mexican border and served in the Mexican Expedition commanded by Gen. John J. Pershing . When the 29th Infantry Division was created on the eve of World War I in 1917, Reckord was given command of one of its regiments, the 115th Infantry, which saw combat during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive . In 1920, he was appointed Adjutant General of the Maryland National Guard and, in 1934, while still serving as Maryland's Adjutant General, he assumed command of
299-1023: The Section 5 Committee of the Office of the Chief of Staff, War Department, chaired by MG Milton Reckord , approved a policy of constructing National Guard armories using 75% federal and 25% state funding. In 1968, the Army National Guard had 2,786 armories; in 2000 the Army National Guard had 3,166 armories in 2,679 communities. In 2009, the Kansas Adjutant General's Department announced it would be closing 18 of its then-56 National Guard armories "due to state budget cuts." A report to Congress in 2014 noted that some National Guard armories are in poor or failing condition, with "the average nationwide [Readiness Center] condition [being] fair, but bordering on poor…". The report noted that
322-971: The St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia, the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Society of the Sons of St. George, and especially the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club. Captain Samuel Morris was Gloucester's first president and Captain Robert Wharton its last. During the Revolution, the troop fought in the battles of Trenton , Princeton , Brandywine , and Germantown . It often served as George Washington 's personal bodyguard. The unit also saved James Wilson at
345-523: The military, but, at the request of his mother, delayed entry into service until he turned 21. He enlisted in Company D, 1st Maryland Infantry, Maryland National Guard on February 15, 1901, and would eventually rise to command the same company when he was commissioned as a captain in December 1904. As a major, in 1916, Reckord was given command of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Maryland Infantry, which deployed to
368-484: The parents of a daughter, Gladys Atchison Reckord. Mrs. Reckord died on January 17, 1943, and Reckord never remarried. After retiring, he resided in Ruxton, Maryland , with his daughter and her husband, H. Frederick Jones Jr. In his military life, Reckord was a leader of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS), and served as its president from 1923 to 1925. In the years after World War II , Reckord
391-1037: The unit has deployed to Bosnia, Iraq, Egypt, and Kuwait, with elements of the unit additionally deploying to Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, Europe, and Latin America. Membership is by election. Soldiers on the active roll continue to donate their drill pay back to the unit, in order to maintain a tradition of voluntary service. The troop draws its membership from Troop A, 1st Squadron, 104th Cavalry Regiment , 28th Infantry Division (United States) , Pennsylvania Army National Guard . Revolutionary War Civil War War with Spain World War I World War II Operation Enduring Freedom 39°57′12″N 75°10′42″W / 39.953246°N 75.178415°W / 39.953246; -75.178415 National Guard Armory A National Guard Armory , National Guard Armory Building , or National Guard Readiness Center
414-698: The weapons used for their crime sprees, such Browning Automatic Rifles , through theft from National Guard Armories. Some of the burglaries were linked to radicalism, as in the case of Katherine Ann Power , who stole weapons from multiple armories in the 1970s. A particularly notable case in 1974 involved the theft of a huge arms cache from the Compton National Guard Armory in California, in which nearly 100 M-16 rifles and several rocket launchers were stolen. Several suspects were eventually arrested in 1975. The magnitude of this crime
437-826: Was a member of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) beginning in 1920, and served on the organization's Executive Council and as its executive vice president. He served as president of both the Maryland Jockey Club , which owned Pimlico Race Course , and the Hartford Agricultural and Breeders Association, which owned Havre de Grace Racetrack . In addition, he belonged to the Freemasons , Maryland Club , Baltimore Country Club , Advertising Club of Baltimore, and Racquet Club of Washington, D.C. The Reckord Trophy
460-720: Was a veteran of the Pancho Villa Expedition , World War I , and World War II . Reckord attained the rank of major general , and was a recipient of the Army Distinguished Service Medal (four awards) and the Bronze Star Medal . In addition, Reckord received the French Legion of Honor , the French Croix de Guerre with palm for his World War I service, the French Croix de Guerre with palm for his World War II service,
483-797: Was chairman of the NGAUS Committee on Legislation, and was the first individual to be appointed a life member of the NGAUS Executive Council. He was also a member of the Adjutants General Association of the United States (AGAUS), the 29th Infantry Division Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars , the Military Order of Foreign Wars , and the Army and Navy Club . In his civilian life, Reckord
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#1732793334982506-616: Was considered analogous to most dangerous kind of terrorist threats. In 1995, former soldier Shawn Nelson stole an M60A3 tank from a National Guard armory in San Diego and went on a rampage throughout the city until he was shot dead by police. Milton Reckord Milton Atchison Reckord (December 28, 1879 – September 8, 1975) was an officer in the Maryland Army National Guard and United States Army . The longtime Adjutant General of Maryland , he
529-627: Was mobilized for World War II with the 29th Infantry Division in February 1941 and took a leave of absence from his post as Maryland's Adjutant General. Deemed by the Army to be too old to command a division in combat, he was relieved of command and assigned as the commander of the III Corps Area. He later deployed overseas and was named Theater Provost Marshal, European Theater of Operations. After World War II, Reckord returned to his post as
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