the 7th."' There was no further preparation for a 

 fight with England until just before war was actually- 

 declared. In January 1812, 10 regiments of infantry, 

 two of artillery, and one regiment of light dragoons 

 were added; three months later a Corps of Artificers 

 was organized; and in June provision was made for 

 eight more infantry regiments, making a total of 25.'" 

 In January 1813, following the discouragements of 

 the early campaigns in the Northwest, Congress con- 

 stituted 20 more infantry regiments, bringing the 

 total to 45, the largest number in the Regular Estab- 

 lishment until the 20th century." A year later three 

 more regiments of riflemen, designated the 2cl 

 through the 4th, were formed."* 



In March 1814 Congress reorganized both the 

 artillery and the dragoons. The three artillery regi- 

 ments, which had never operated as such, but rather 

 by company or detachment, were consolidated into 

 the Corps of Artillery; and the two regiments of 

 dragoons, which had never been adequately trained 

 and generally had given a poor account of themselves, 

 were merged into one.-'" The Regiment of Light 

 Artillery remained untouched. 



Almost as soon as the war ended. Congress moved to 

 reduce the Army ^' by limiting the peacetime 

 establishment to 10,000 men, to be divided among 

 infantry, artillery, and riflemen, plus the Corps of 

 Engineers. The number of wartime infantry units 

 was reduced to eight, and the rifle units to one. The 



If' .\ct of .\pril 12, 1808 {Mililary Laws, pp. 200-203). 



'" .^cts of January 11, April 23, and June 26, 1812 (Mililary 

 Laws, pp. 212-215, 222-223, 230). 



18 .\ct of January 1813 [Military Laws, pp. 238-240). There 

 is some confusion as to just how many infantry regiments were 

 organized and actually came into being. The Act of January 

 29, 1813, authorized the President to raise such regiments of 

 infantry as he should see fit, "not exceeding twenty." It seems 

 that 1 9 were actually formed, made up partly of 1 -year men and 

 partly of 5-year men. There are 46 regiments listed in the Army 

 Register for January 1, 1815, and it is known that several vol- 

 unteer regiments were designated as units of the Regular 

 Establishment and that a 47th and a 48th were redesignated as 

 lower numbered units when several regiments were consolidated 

 because of low recruitment rate. Mahon (in "History of the 

 Organization of the United States Infantry") is not clear on this 

 point. There is an organizational chart of the -Army for this 

 period in the files of the Office of the Chief of Military History, 

 Department of the .\i-my. 



'■' .\ct of February 10, 1814 (MiUlary Laws, pp. 251-252). 



-0 Act of March 30, 1814 (Mililary Laws, pp. 252-255); Jones, 

 |). 58; "History of the Organization of the United States 

 Cavalry." 



2' .\ct of March 3, 1815 (Military Laws, pp. 266-267). 



Corps of -Artillery and the Regiment of Light .\rtillery 

 were retained, but dragoons were eliminated. -- 



By 1821 the prospects of a prolonged peace appeared 

 so good that Congress felt safe in further reducing the 

 Army. Consequently, in that year the number of 

 infantry regiments was cut to seven; the Rifle Regi- 

 ment was disbanded; the Corps of Artillery and the 

 Regiment of Light Artillery were disbanded, with four 

 artillery regiments being organized in their stead; and 

 the Ordnance Department was merged with the 

 artillery,^' an arrangement that continued until 

 1832. 



The opening of the West in the decades following 

 the War of 1812 brought an important change in the 

 organization of the Army. Experience having shown 

 that infantry were at a distinct disadvantage when 

 pitted against the fleetly mounted Indians, in 1832 a 

 battalion of mounted rangers was organized to quell 

 disturbances on the northwest frontier,^* but this 

 loosely knit force was replaced by a regiment of 

 dragoons the following year.-^ The mounted arm 

 had come to stay in the Arm\'. 



When the second Seminole War broke out in 1836, 

 a second regiment of dragoons was organized.-' 

 And, as the war dragged through another inconclu- 

 sive year, a reluctant Congress was forced to increase 

 the size of existing line units and to authorize an 

 additional regiment of infantry, the 8th. Meanwhile, 

 increasing demands for surveying and mapping 

 services resulted m the creation of the Corps of 

 Topographical Engineers as a separate entity.-" 



Meanwhile, the responsibilities of the Army in the 

 opening of the \\'est continued to increase, and in 

 1846 the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen was or- 

 ganized to consolidate the northern route to the 

 Pacific by establishing and manning a series of posts 

 along the Oregon Trail.-* However, the outbreak of 

 the War with Mexico postponed this mission. 



At the start of the War with Mexico Congress 

 leaned heaxih' on \olunteer units, with the hard 



" The reorganization of 1815 is treated by Maho.\ "History 

 of the Organization of the United States Infantry" fpp. 11-12), 

 Jones "History of the Organization of the United States Field 

 .■\rtillery" (pp. 59-60), and Wike, unpublished study. 



23 .\ct of March 2, 1821 (Military Laws, pp. 303-309). 



" .\cts of .\pril 5 and June 15, 1832 (Mitilaiy Laws, pp. 322- 

 323, 325-326). 



" Act of March 2, 1833 (Military Laws, pp. 329-330). 



=' .Act of May 23, 1836 (Military Laws, pp. 336-337). 



" Act of July 5, 1838 (Military Laws, pp. 341-349). 



28 Act of May 19, 1846 (Mililary Laws, pp. 371-372). 



