First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry

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.^[1]

First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry's unit crest
Founded	November 17, 1774 (1774-11-17)
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Light cavalry unit
Size	46 men (2017)
Garrison/HQ	23rd Street Armory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nickname(s)	First City Troop, The Troop
Motto(s)	"For These We Strive"
Anniversaries	Unit founding: November 17
Engagements	Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Gettysburg
Website	https://firsttroop.com/history/
Commanders
Current commander	CPT Colin Yabor
Notable commanders	CPT Abraham Markoe

An 1812 illustration of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry by John Lewis Krimmel

Captain Joseph Lapsley Wilson of the First City Troop circa 1894

First Troop Armory in 1863

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.^[1]

History

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 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^[2] of the Philadelphia Light Horse, known today as the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry.^[3]

Early members came from a number of local social organizations, including the Schuylkill Fishing Company, the Schuylkill Company of Fort St. Davids, 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 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 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.^[4]

Today, the First City Troop deploys overseas with the Pennsylvania National Guard in support of Army operations. Since 9/11, 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.

Campaign credit

Flag of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry

Facade of the First Troop armory

Revolutionary War

• Battle of Trenton
• Battle of Princeton
• Battle of Brandywine
• Battle of Germantown
• New Jersey 1776
• New Jersey 1777
• Pennsylvania 1777

Civil War

• Peninsula Campaign
• First Battle of Bull Run
• Battle of Antietam
• Battle of Fredericksburg
• Battle of Gettysburg
• Battle of the Wilderness
• Battle of Spotsylvania
• Battle of Cold Harbor
• Siege of Petersburg
• Shenandoah
• Battle of Appomattox
• Virginia 1861
• Virginia 1862
• Virginia 1863
• Virginia 1864
• Maryland 1863
• Pennsylvania 1863

War with Spain

• Puerto Rico

World War I

• Battle of Ypres-Lys
• Champagne-Marne
• Aisne-Marne
• Oise-Aisne
• Meuse-Argonne
• Champagne 1918
• Lorraine 1918

World War II

• Northern France
• Central Europe

Operation Enduring Freedom

• Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Streamer

Captains of the Troop

• Philadelphia portal

• Abraham Markoe (1774-1776)^[5]
• Samuel Morris (1776-1786)
• Samuel Miles (1786-1788)
• Christian Febiger (1790-1794)
• John Dunlap (1794-1803)
• Robert Wharton (1803-1810)
• Charles Ross (1811-1817)
• John R. C. Smith (1817-1825)
• Lynford Lardner (1825-1827)
• William H. Hart (1827-1842)
• John Butler (1842-1847)
• Thomas C. James (1850-1863)
• Fairman Rogers (1866-1869)
• M. Edward Rogers (1869-1876)
• A. Loudon Snowden (1877-1878)
• Edward Burd Grubb (1878-1889)
• Jos. Lapsley Wilson (1889-1894)
• John C. Groome (1896-1910)
• J. Franklin McFadden (1910-1917)
• George C. Thayer (1917-1919)
• Thomas Cadwalader (1919-1920)
• Clement B. Wood (1920-1930)
• Effingham B. Morris Jr. (1930-1933)
• Crawford C. Madera (1933-1937)
• John C. Groome Jr. (1937-1941)
• Henry B. Coxe Jr. (1941-1942)
• Robert N. Downs III (1942-1946)
• R. Gwynne Stout (1946-1948)
• Robert S. Ingersoll Jr. (1948-1950)
• William S. Stokes Jr. (1950-1957)
• Henry P, Glendinning Jr. (1957-1960)
• Henry Mck. Ingersoll (1960-1965)
• Thomas G. Ashton (1965-1966)
• Charles M. Meredith III (1966-1968)
• G. Jeremy Cummin (1968-1970)
• Murray H. Dawson (1970-1975)
• Stanley Bright III (1975-1978)
• Alexander Kerr (1978-1980)
• Marcel Francois Lamour (1980-1983)
• Dennis Joseph Boylan (1983-1988)
• Simeon D. Isayeff (1988-1989)
• Richard D. Hughes (1989-1991)
• Keith D. Roger (1991- 1995)
• Christopher C. Smythe (1995-1997)
• Harry J. Gobora III (1997-2000)
• Eric E.L. Guenther Jr. (2000-2003)
• Lawrence J. Field (2003-2007)
• Anslem T.W. Richards (2007-2009)
• David B Thayer (2009-2010)
• Tyler C. Hathaway (2010-2014)
• Garri B. Hendell (2014-2016)
• Gregory T. Colella (2016-2020)
• Jason P. Wall (2020-2022)
• Michael L. Easterly (2022-2024)
• Timothy C. Lehotsky (2024-2025)
• Colin Yabor (2025-Present)

See also

• Philadelphia portal

• City guard