13th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 13th Infantry Regiment ( " First at Vicksburg " ) is a United States Army infantry regiment whose battalions are currently tasked as basic training battalions . History . War Department files of the 13th Infantry Regiment prior to its reconstitution in 1861 are unavailable . However , it has been established that during the first postwar expansion of the United States Army following independence , a 13th Regiment of Infantry was formed on 16 July 1798 , and was mustered out 11 January 1800 . Following the War of 1812 the first 13th Infantry was consolidated on 7 May 1815 , with the 4th , 9th , 21st , 40th , and 46th Regiments into a new 5th Infantry Regiment whose lineage continues to the present . The 13th Regiment was reconstituted in May 1861 . General William Tecumseh Sherman was the colonel of the regiment and Philip Sheridan was one of its captains . It was organized as one of the nine " three - battalion " regiments of regulars , each battalion containing eight companies of infantry , in contrast to the original ten regular regiments of infantry , which were organized on the traditional ten - company line . During the American Civil War , the unit earned its motto " First at Vicksburg " . It participated in the battles of Hayes Bluffs , Champion Hill , Black River , and on 19 May 1863 took part in the assault at Vicksburg . The 13th Regiment was the only Union unit to plant its colors on the Confederate positions . Following the Civil War , the army was reorganized by Congress in July 1866 , and the 13th was divided into three regiments , each battalion receiving two additional companies and being organized along traditional lines . The 1st Battalion retained the designation of the 13th Infantry , while the 2nd Battalion became the 22nd Infantry and the 3rd Battalion the 31st Infantry . From 1867 - 71 the regiment fought in the Indian Wars in Montana and North Dakota . In June 1898 the regiment was sent to Cuba and led the 1st Infantry ' s attack on San Juan Hill , capturing the Spanish flag . In 1897 the 13th US Infantry had been filmed at Fort Jay on Governors Island , New York where they were posted in the years before World War I . The regiment saw combat in the Philippines during the Philippine - American War , and was assigned to the 8th Infantry Division in June 1918 . As a member of this organization , the regiment did not participate in World War I . In 1939 the regiment was ordered to the Panama Canal Zone and a year later , after having been disbanded , was reconstituted at Camp Jackson , South Carolina . The regiment found itself fighting through the hedgerows of France in July 1944 as a member of the 8th Infantry Division and led the drive to the Ay River . The regiment spent ten months in combat in Northern France , The Rhineland and Central Europe . It occupied a position on the Siegfried Line and was involved in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest . Private First Class Walter C . Wetzel was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life to save his comrades . Following World War II the unit was inactivated at Fort Leonard Wood , Missouri on 18 November 1945 . On 17 August 1949 the regiment was activated once again at Fort Jackson , South Carolina as part of the 8th Infantry Division where it remained until 1 August 1954 . The 8th Infantry Division was transferred to Fort Carson , Colorado and the 13th went with it where it resumed its training mission . In 1955 the 8th ID was designated an Operation Gyroscope division and as part of the division the 13th completed its last training cycle in December , 1955 . In January the regiment began to get permanent party personnel and new recruits , Basic training for these recruits began in mid February and segued immediately into advanced training . Both training blocks were completed by mid June and the regiment achieved " combat ready " status . The regiment under the command of Ellis W . Williamson left Fort Carson for its ; new assignment in Germany where it replaced the 47th Infantry Regiment , 9th ID . Regimental headquarters and the 3rd Battalion were stationed at Wiley Barracks in Neu Ulm . In August 1957 the regiment was reorganised under the Pentomic system as the 1st Battle Group , 13th Infantry Regiment and the old guidons ( for A though M companies ) were retired and new ones for the 1st Battle Group were issued . In January , 1958 the 1st BG , 13th Infantry Regiment moved from Neu Ulm to Sandhofen . The First Battalion was posted to Baumholder whilst the Second Battalion was posted to Mannheim and remained there until 1 August 1984 when it was inactivated and relieved from assignment to the 8th Infantry Division . On 27 February 1987 , the 13th Infantry Regiment was transferred to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command and reorganized at Fort Jackson , South Carolina . Currently , the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battalions of the 13th Infantry Regiment , as part of the 193rd Infantry Brigade , conduct Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson , South Carolina . Forty Rounds . The regiment ' s motto that became a greeting by members of the unit originated during the American Civil War . A soldier of the 13th was asked what his Corps badge that was worn on the kepi . The soldier replied by tapping his cartidge box saying " Forty rounds in the cartridge box and twenty in the pocket ! " with the cartirdge box being used in the insignia of XV Corps .