The 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry, bringing with it battle honors for the Peninsula Campaign, Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Virginia Campaign of 1862 and 1863, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, was redesignated as the 23rd Infantry on September 21, 1866, making the birthday of the present 23rd Infantry Regiment.
The regiment won battle honors for the Arizona campaign of 1866, the Idaho campaign of 1868 and the battle of Little Big Horn as a result of its participation in the Indian Wars. In 1869 the regiment furnished the first garrison for the newly acquired Alaskan Territory.
In the Spanish-American War the regiment won battle honors in the Manila campaign, the Malolos campaign and a special streamer for the capture of Manila. Returning from the Philippines via the Suez Canal, the regiment gained the distinction of being the first United States Army unit to circumnavigate the globe.
Two more tours in the Philippines, including the punitive expedition against the infamous Moro chieftan, Datu Ali, preceded World War I.
In World War I, as part of the 2nd Division, the regiment won battle honors for the Lorraine, Aisne, Ile de France, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne campaigns. In addition, the regiment was presented the Fourragere by the French goverment for its part in the Meuse-Argonne and Aisne-Marne campaigns.
From 1919 to 1942 the regiment was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with the 2nd Infantry Division. In November 1942, the regiment began its World War II trek to Czechoslovakia and back to Texas via Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, Northern Ireland, Wales and Omaha Beach in Normandy. In World War II the regiment, as part of the 2nd Infantry Division won battle honors for the Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhinland and Central Europe campaigns.
