175th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) The 175th Infantry Regiment ( " Fifth Maryland " ) is an infantry regiment of the United States Army National Guard . History . Mordecai Gist , a young Baltimore merchant , organized a militia company on 3 December 1774 . This company was the nucleus of Baltimore ' s Fifth Regiment which — expanded , modified , and undergoing occasional changes in designation — has enjoyed an uninterrupted history down to the present 175th Infantry ( Fifth Maryland ) , Maryland Army National Guard . From Long Island in 1776 to the Iraqi Surge in 2007 - 08 , the Fifth has participated with distinction throughout this country ' s history . The unit stands as the seventh oldest regiment in the United States . Revolutionary War . By 1774 the people of Maryland had become thoroughly aroused over the troubles around Boston , especially the blockading of the port as the consequence of the “ Boston Tea Party . ” Their reaction to the British oppression was no less spirited than that of Massachusetts colonists , and while the Bostonians threw their tea into the water at night , the Marylanders in October , 1774 burned theirs during broad daylight in Annapolis Harbor , not scrupling to also burn the brig Peggy Stewart in which the tea had arrived . Open hostilities having thus begun , an assembly of delegates from the various counties met in Annapolis in November to discuss measures for armed resistance and to adopt resolutions for defense . In this tense atmosphere , Mordecai Gist of Baltimore undertook to organize a company of militia , which assumed the title “ The Baltimore Independent Cadets . ” On 3 December 1774 , 58 young men of the town signed an agreement to “ form ourselves into a body or company in order to learn the military discipline , ” and each agreed to provide himself with a uniform consisting of “ a coat turnd up with Buff , and trimd with Yellow Mettal , or Gold Buttons , White Stockings & black Cloth half Boots , ” and , of course to equip himself with arms and ammunition . And so was organized the first uniformed military company in Maryland , the parent from which the Fifth Regiment sprung in the early days of the war just two years later . Events thereafter moved swiftly . The First Continental Congress had already met . The “ wind from the North ” brought news in rapid succession of Lexington , Concord , and Bunker Hill during the spring of 1775 ; George Washington was chosen to command the Continental forces upon the motion of a Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress , and on 1 January 1776 , the Maryland Assembly voted to organize and send its first regiment of soldiers to the army . This consisted of nine companies , the eighth of which was Gist ’ s “ Independent Cadets . ” Gist became Major in the new regiment and the command of the company passed to Samuel Smith , later to become Major General , Mayor of Baltimore , and United States Senator from Maryland . Thus organized , Smallwood ’ s Regiment , so - called after its commander Colonel William Smallwood , left on 10 July 1776 to join General Washington ’ s army . It marched to Philadelphia , and from there was promptly dispatched by John Hancock , President of the Congress , to the “ Flying Camp ” of the army before New York . 27 August 1776 brought the Continentals their first clash with the full might of the British Army , and it was largely because Smallwood ’ s men , led that day by Major Gist , had the courage and gallantry to sacrifice nearly half of their number at the Battle of Long Island in a vain attempt to halt the British Advance , so that Washington ’ s Army was saved from destruction . The British , under General Howe , flanked the American positions , and General Washington ordered a withdrawal to the mainland . To enable the army to escape capture , Smallwood ’ s Regiment was ordered to attack the British forces and hold them long enough to give the American army time to withdraw across Long Island Sound . This attack marked the first time in history in which an American unit made a bayonet charge . During the following weeks , the regiment fought at Harlem Heights , Fort Washington , and White Plains . Several times during these engagements the Marylanders performed missions at the particular direction of General Washington . At this time , on 1 December 1776 , enlistments , which the Congress had authorized only to that date , expired throughout the army . Although practically all of the Maryland troops re - enlisted , the losses from the battles around New York , combined with the expired enlistments , made necessary a reorganization of the army . In doing so , General Washington organized all of the Maryland troops into seven regiments of the line in the Maryland Brigade , which collectively became known as the " Maryland Line . " Smallwood ’ s regiment was too depleted in numbers to form a regiment to itself but it gave many men and officers , including one of the subsequent wartime commanders , to the Fifth Regiment of the Line , and on 10 December 1776 , Colonel William Richardson assumed command of the new regiment . At this point begins the history of our own regiment as such . According to the historian James McSherry , writing of the Maryland Line during the Revolutionary War : Whiskey Rebellion . Shortly after the Revolutionary War , the regiment was reorganized in Baltimore by its former officers , and in 1794 , it responded to President Washington ’ s call for troops to put down the Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania by marching from Baltimore to Cumberland . Fortunately , the prompt assemblage of troops under General “ Light Horse Harry ” Lee caused the uprising to collapse without bloodshed . War of 1812 . Comparative calm now reigned in Baltimore Town until the approach of the second war with England again caused the feelings of Marylanders to run high . The Fifth Regiment had grown into a strong and well trained organization , and as the principal military group in the Town , it was quite natural that it promptly marched to Bladensburg when news of the British approach to Washington arrived . But here again the experience was not unlike that of another August day , thirty eight years hence , of Smallwood ’ s men at Long Island . When the British attack began , the hastily assembled raw American militia took to its heels and the Fifth was left to oppose the British troopers with only Commodore Barney ’ s Artillery in support . But their ground was held with determination and it was only when they were swept back by outnumbering enemy forces that General Winder ordered them from the field . Not many days later , the British fleet appeared off Baltimore and the Fifth immediately took its place in the defense works . Early on the morning of 12 September 1814 , Wellington ’ s Invincibles , led by General Ross , fresh from their defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Peninsular War , bore down on the lines held by the Fifth Regiment . Following their landing near Sparrows Point , the British Forces advanced up the Patapsco Neck between Jones Creek and Back River . The Fifth Regiment met the British Army in a heated meeting engagement along the line formed by the Bread and Cheese Creek . Early in the battle , General Ross was stretched dead upon the ground not far in front of the position held by the Independent Blues Company of the regiment . The regiment , outnumbered , slowly fought the British forces as they fell back to the earthen defenses established across Hampstead Hill ( preserved now as Patterson Park ) . The spirited Battle of North Point along with the formidable defenses around Baltimore convinced the British commander to withdrawal and redirect the attack on the city against Fort McHenry . That attack too , failed and the British withdrew from the Chesapeake . The British defeats at the battles of North Point and Baltimore were major factors which led to the Treaty of Ghent which ended the war between the Americans and the British . The 175th Infantry is one of only nineteen Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812 . Civil War . By the time 1861 had rolled around , the divergent sympathies of a border State had divided the members of the regiment . While most of them supported the Southern cause , and succeeded in making their way out of Baltimore when it passed under Union military control in April 1861 , others served in the Union Army . The substantial number of members of the 5th Regiment who served in the Confederate Army makes it possible to follow their history at this point . In June , 1861 , they organized the First Maryland Infantry , CSA , at Harpers Ferry and became part of Thomas “ Stonewall ” Jackson ’ s Corps which fought the first Battle of Manassas . During the Valley Campaign in 1862 , the town of Front Royal , Virginia was defended by Federal troops from Maryland . Upon receiving this information , General Jackson ordered , “ Maryland to the Front , ” to lead the attack . In this action the First Maryland Infantry ( CSA ) defeated the First Maryland Infantry ( USA ) at the Battle of Front Royal . They followed that victory with a rout of the Pennsylvania Bucktail Rifles at Harrisonburg on 6 June 1862 , earning an honor that is still borne on the battalion colors to this day . Early in 1863 , upon expiration of original enlistments , the First Maryland Infantry was disbanded and the Second Maryland Infantry ( CSA ) was organized under Colonel James R . Herbert , who became Colonel of the Fifth Regiment when it was reorganized after the war . The Second Maryland fought at the battles of Malvern Hill , Winchester , Gettysburg , Cold Harbor , the Siege of Petersburg , and surrendered 63 officers and men with General Lee at Appomattox . In the days following the cessation of hostilities , the Maryland State Legislature adopted a Militia Act which until , its repeal in 1867 , rendered ineligible for military service in Maryland all those who had served the Confederacy . Consequently , it was not until the latter year that the regiment could be reorganized because most of its former members had served in the Southern Army . When its standard was raised again on 10 May 1867 , former members and new ones flocked to its colors and in about two months it had reassembled a complete organization . In February 1868 , the ladies of Baltimore presented a blue and gold silk flag which they had embroidered by hand . This flag had been started before the war and was concealed during the occupation of the city by Federal troops , and the work upon it completed after the return to peace . The distinctive grey full dress uniform of the regiment , patterned after uniforms worn by several of the constituent companies before the war , as far back as 1812 , was adopted at this period . From this time until the Spanish – American War , the regiment , with but two exceptions , was engaged only in the pleasant pursuits of peace . The exceptions were : first , the violent Baltimore and Ohio Railroad riots of 1877 , when the regiment conducted itself admirably in assisting to maintain order in Baltimore without causing or suffering injury ; and , second , in 1894 , when it was called into service of the state during labor disturbances among the coal miners in Western Maryland . Aside from these duties , the regiment spent much time in visiting nearly all the cities on the Eastern seaboard on public occasions . In 1876 , it participated in the organization of the “ Centennial Legion ” at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia that year . Spanish - American War and Mexican Border Service . On 14 May 1898 , the regiment volunteered as a unit for service in the Spanish – American War and was mustered into Federal Service as the Fifth Maryland Regiment of United States Volunteers . After a short period of encampment near Baltimore , it was dispatched first to Chickamauga , then to Tampa , and finally to Huntsville , Alabama , returning to Baltimore in September of the same year . Like many other organizations in the war , it never reached the scene of active service , but it suffered severely from disease while in the camps , losing a number of men from this cause . February 1904 , brought disaster to Baltimore in the form of the great fire which destroyed most of the business district of the city . When the blaze had assumed the proportions of a conflagration , the services of the Fifth Regiment were called for and its members spent several days rescuing persons and property and establishing military control over the ruins to prevent the lawlessness that invariably attends such calamities . This same year marked the dedication of the enormous Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore , which occupied practically an entire city block , and served as the headquarters for the Regiment until 1995 . One hundred and two years after the close of the War of 1812 , the Federal Government again required its National Guard . In 1916 , the entire National Guard was mobilized for service on the Mexican Border , ostensibly to put down Mexican bandit " Pancho Villa " , but more probably as training for the sterner task to come . Eight months were spent at Eagle Pass , Texas until diplomatic relations with Germany were severed in February , 1917 . World War I . Scarcely had the regiment returned to Baltimore , when April , 1917 , ushered in the First World War . The Fifth Regiment was at once a part of the Army of the United States . Strenuous efforts were made to secure from the War Department the privilege of continuing in the army as the Fifth Regiment , but these failed , and the Fifth Maryland was combined with the First Maryland Regiment to form the 115th Infantry Regiment , 58th Brigade , 29th Division on 20 April 1917 . Training at Anniston , Alabama , was followed by departure for France . After preliminary service in Alsace , the 115th entered the great Meuse - Argonne Offensive on 8 October 1918 , and continued in the attack almost up to the close of the war . The 115th Infantry demobilized in June , 1919 . The Fifth Maryland Regiment reorganized between 1919 and 1923 and earned Federal recognition on 1 May 1923 . The regiment resumed its normal course of training for further emergencies . In 1933 , its armory was wrecked by fire , but a new and more splendid building , was erected from the ruins . World War II . In 1939 , the winds of war were once again blowing in Europe . The Fifth Regiment , in anticipation of its induction into the active Army , began to prepare , using its annual training to hone the skills that would prepare them for the rigors of combat . On 31 December 1940 , the Army re - designated the Fifth Regiment as the 175th Infantry Regiment to avoid confusion with the Regular Army ’ s 5th Infantry Regiment and designated as one of three infantry regiments of the 29th Infantry Division . Then in January , 1941 , the order to federalize the regiment was given . The 175th moved to Ft . Meade , Maryland , where it was reinforced by an influx of draftees in April and participated in 29th Division maneuvers in North Carolina that fall . The Regiment remained in training in the United States until 5 October 1942 when it sailed to England on the HMS Queen Elizabeth . The 175th was quartered at the Tidworth Barracks where it underwent intense training until its move to Cornwall . The regiment trained on the cold and dreary moors during the late summer of 1943 and then transitioned to invasion training . It performed amphibious assault training at Slapton Sands . It was then moved to the invasion assembly area in Devon . On 4 June 1944 , the regiment boarded the LSTs which would carry them to the beaches of Normandy . Following a 24 - hour delay , the attack was launched and the 115th and 116th Infantry assaulted the beaches on 6 June . The 175th , the 29th Division ' s reserve , landed on the still unsecured Omaha Beach on the morning of 7 June , and proceeded to its objective to seize the village of Isigny . It pushed through Isigny and crossed the Vire River and on to St Lo . The 175th fought stiff German resistance hedge row by hedge row . The 1st Battalion , 175th Infantry pushed the American lines to within three miles of St Lo , creating a salient into the German lines . The unit stubbornly defended the high ground , known as Hill 108 but nicknamed “ Purple Heart Hill ” as they were surrounded on three sides . The Regiment was rotated into the Division Reserve for the final thrust into St Lo . The 175th fought honorably in Normandy until the end of August when the Division was moved to Brittany to participate in the capture of Brest and the German submarine pens located there . Following the Battle of Brest , the Division was moved to Holland to participate in the 9th Army ’ s drive to the Rhine River . The Regiment played a significant role in capturing Julich followed by the occupation of the industrial center of Munchen - Gladbach . The Regiment was moved to occupy the lines along the Elbe River near Felberg . On 2 May 1945 , a patrol from 3 - 175 Infantry made contact with elements of the 28th Company , 6th Guards Cavalry of the Russian Army . Following the surrender of the German Army , the regiment remained in Europe until 1 January 1946 . The 175th demobilized between 11 - 17 Jan . 1946 , this time keeping the federal numerical designation for good . It reorganized as an infantry regiment and regained Federal recognition on 12 Nov . 1946 . Cold War . Following the war , the Regiment underwent reorganization and by January 1947 , the 175th Infantry was a small but growing activity . The unit trained for emergencies and reinstituted some of its old traditions . It prepared for the possibility of combat against communist aggression in Europe until the collapse of the Soviet Union ’ s threat from the late 1940s to the late 1980s . The 175th ' s infantry battalions were mobilized in 1967 , 1968 and 1971 as a response to the race riots in Cambridge , Baltimore and anti - Vietnam War demonstrations in College Park in Maryland . The 1990s brought preparation for combat in the Middle East as the training focus slowly changed from woodland combat to urban operations . During the Cold War , the 175th Infantry was alternately assigned to the reactivated 58th Infantry Brigade , the 3d Brigade , 28th Infantry Division , and the 3d Brigade , 29th Infantry Division . In 1985 , the 175th Infantry Regiment was reduced to two battalions under the 3rd Brigade , 29th Division and in 1995 , it was reduced to a single battalion . Individual members of the battalion participated in peacekeeping in the Sinai Peninsula in 1994 and in Bosnia - Herzegovina in 2001 . Global War on Terror . Following the attacks of 11 September 2001 , 1 - 175 Infantry responded to the threat of terrorism against the United States . More than 100 members of the battalion were individually mobilized to protect key airports in Maryland . This was followed by the 1 - 175 Infantry ’ s mobilization in 2003 for Operation Noble Eagle , to protect the vital national security infrastructure located at Andrews Air Force Base and the Warfield Air National Guard Base , both in Maryland . The Global War on Terrorism brought with it numerous overseas deployments for both the units of 1 - 175 Infantry and many of its individual officers and soldiers . Several officers and senior enlisted soldiers from the battalion have served as advisors for both the Afghan National Army and the Iraqi Army . In September 2005 , the battalion deployed several platoons and a company headquarters in support of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort in Mississippi and Louisiana . Thirty - two 1 - 175 Infantry soldiers served in a composite company , formed from 1 - 175 Infantry , from August to September 2006 on a formerly unsecured section of the U . S . / Mexico Border in an effort to stem the tide of illegal immigration and smuggling . Still others from our battalion were deployed to serve in the vital role of guarding the most notorious of the prisoners of the Global War on Terrorism at the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba from 2006 to 2007 . Company B , then a part of the 1st Battalion 115th Infantry , was mobilized as a separate company attached to the 48th Infantry Brigade from the Georgia National Guard , and deployed to Iraq in 2004 . They served for one year , conducting full spectrum operations against enemy forces in the vicinity of Taji , Iraq , then transitioned to supporting combat logistics patrols between Baghdad and the Jordanian border . They returned from combat in May 2006 only to find themselves reassigned to the 1st Battalion 175th Infantry and alerted for their next deployment less than one year later . In March 2007 , the battalion received its alert notification for its deployment to Iraq . This time , the entire battalion would be deployed . On 22 May 2007 , the battalion was federalized and on 25 May , it reported to Fort Dix , New Jersey for post - mobilization training in preparation for security forces operations in Northern Iraq . The first elements from the battalion arrived at Camp Buehring , Kuwait , in early August 2007 and were forward deployed into Iraq after a week of acclimatization and training . The remainder of the battalion arrived in theater by 21 August and all had been flown to their bases by 1 September . 1 - 175 Infantry was assigned to the 3rd Sustainment Brigade , of the 3rd Infantry Division . The battalion was deployed to the former Iraqi Air Base West of Qayyarah , Iraq , known as Q - West . Company C was detached and deployed to the Forward Operating Base MAREZ and the Logistics Support Area Diamondback located in Mosul , Iraq . There , Company C was attached to the 87th Combat Service and Support Battalion , where they conducted base defense operations and convoy logistics patrols to and from the border crossing at Habur Gate , Turkey . Companies B and D were attached to the 17th Combat Service and Support Battalion to conduct convoy logistics patrols throughout Ninewah Provence also known as Multi - National Division – North ( MND - N ) . The battalion headquarters retained command and control of HHC and Company A , with additional command and control of a contract security force made up of local Iraqis and Ugandans . They conducted aggressive base defense operations on and in the vicinity of the Q - West base complex . The battalion also supported combat , logistics and counter Improvised Explosive Device ( IED ) operations conducted with both US and Iraqi Army forces throughout MND - N through its ability to provide unparalleled intelligence , medical and unit ministry support . The battalion suffered only 8 wounded while serving 250 days of continuous combat operations . Collectively , the battalion was credited for 310 convoy logistics patrols , 81 route clearance operations and 280 reaction force operations with 100 % mission accomplishment , a brigade best IED pre - detonation find rate of 40 % and a record of zero successful indirect fire attacks on the Q - West Base Complex during its defense . The battalion redeployed to Fort Dix in mid - April 2008 . Present Day . Since 1 Sep . 2010 , 1 - 175 Infantry has been assigned for its federal mission to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team , 28th Infantry Division and to the 58th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade for its state mission . The 1st Battalion is organized as an IBCT light infantry battalion under the Brigade Unit of Action table of organization and equipment . In January 2010 , 1 - 175 Infantry again received notification that it would be mobilized and deployed , this time as the U . S . Infantry Battalion assigned to the Multi - National Force Observers Mission # 55 in the Sinai Peninsula , enforcing the Camp David Accords and the Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel . It was mobilized on 21 March 2011 , and moved to Camp Atterbury , Indiana for a brief period of post mobilization training . The battalion deployed to the Sinai on 27 April 2011 . 1 - 175 Infantry was the first U . S . force to perform this mission in the wake of the overthrow of the Mubarak regime during the Arab Spring revolution in Egypt . The battalion faced intense security challenges in and around their area of operations , including increased weapons trafficking , terrorist attacks , and conflicts with Bedouin tribes . The battalion completed its redeployment to Camp Atterbury on 9 March 2012 . Today , ever striving to give fuller meaning to its motto “ Decus et Praesidim ” – An Honor and a Guard – Maryland ’ s " Dandy Fifth " proudly and confidently looks to the future . Lineage . • Formed 3 Dec . 1774 , in Baltimore , Maryland , as the Baltimore Independent Cadets ( later called the Baltimore Independent Company ) . • Absorbed into 1st or Smallwood ' s Battalion ( or Regiment ) , organized 2 Jan . 1776 , with eight battalion companies and attached independent companies . • Smallwood ' s Maryland Regiment reorganized and expanded into the Maryland Brigade , Continental Line ( comprising the 1st , 2d , 3d , 4th , 5th , 6th , and 7th Maryland Battalions ) , 10 Dec . 1776 - Mar . 27 , 1777 . • Reorganized into the 1st and 2d Maryland Brigades , 1780 . • Reorganized into a single regiment of two battalions designated 1st Maryland Regiment , 13 Sept . 1780 . • Reorganized as the Maryland Battalion , 12 Apr . 1783 . • Mustered out 15 Nov . 1783 , at Baltimore , Maryland . • First Baltimore Light Infantry Company of Volunteers organized in Dec . 1787 . • Volunteer militia companies of Baltimore organized into the 5th Regiment of Militia , June 1794 , to include nine companies , divided into two battalions . • Mustered into Federal Service , 19 Aug . 1814 . • Mustered out of Federal Service , 18 Nov . 1814 . • 53d Regiment of Volunteer Infantry constituted in Baltimore , Maryland , of Volunteer Militia companies , Dec . 1835 ( The 53d Regiment formed , with the now - designated 5th Regiment of Volunteer Infantry and other elements . The First Light Division of Maryland Volunteers . Exchange of companies between the 53d and 5th Regiments was not uncommon ) . • Elements of the 5th and 53d Regiments reorganized at Harpers Ferry during May and June 1861 as the Maryland Battalion C . S . A . ( Company A mustered into Confederate service 21 May 1861 ) . • Redesignated 1st Regiment Maryland Infantry , C . S . A . , 16 June 1861 . • 1st Regiment Maryland Infantry , C . S . A . , mustered out Aug . 17 , 1862 at Gordonsville , Virginia . • Reorganized as the 1st Battalion Maryland Infantry at Winchester , Virginia , 2 Oct . 1862 . • Redesignated 2d Battalion Maryland Infantry , 19 Jan . 1864 . • Parolled at Appomattox , Virginia , 10 Apr . 1865 . • 5th Regiment of Volunteer Infantry reorganized 10 May 1867 , at Baltimore , Maryland , about a nucleus of former members of the Maryland Guard ( 1859 – 61 ) and the 1st and 2d Maryland Infantry , C . S . A . • Mustered into Federal service 14 May 1898 , at Pimlico , Maryland . • Mustered out of Federal service 22 Oct 1898 , at Baltimore , Maryland . • Called into Federal service 18 June 1916 . • Mustered out of Federal service , 24 Feb . 1917 . • Mustered into Federal service 20 Apr . 1917 ( Hq . Company and Supply Company , 5th Infantry Regiment , MDNG , redesignated Hq . Company and Supply Company , 112th Field Artillery Regiment , later 110th Field Artillery Regiment , on 1 Oct . 1917 ; Machine Gun company reassigned to 110th MG Battalion ; remaining companies became elements of the 115th Infantry Regiment , 29th Division . • Demobilized 2 – 7 June 1919 , at Camp Meade , Maryland . • 5th Infantry Regiment , MDNG , reorganized at Baltimore , Maryland , between Dec . 1919 and Apr . 1923 ; Headquarters Federally recognized 1 May 1923 . • Reorganized and redesignated 5th Infantry Regiment ( Rifle ) , MDNG , 1 May 1940 . • Redesignated 175th Infantry Regiment ( Rifle ) , 1 Jan . 1941 . • Inducted into Federal service 3 Feb . 1941 , as a component of the 29th Infantry Division . • Inactivated 11 - 17 Jan . 1946 , at Camp Kilmer , New Jersey . • 175th Infantry Regiment reorganized and Federally recognized 12 Nov . 1946 . A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 5 / 16 inches ( 3 . 33 cm ) in height consisting of a cross bottony quarterly Gules and Argent surmounted by a Gray roundel bearing the number " 5 " in Gold within a Red belt garnished Gold with the inscription " DECUS ET PRAESIDIUM " in Gold letters . The red color of the annulet is symbolic of the red uniforms of the Baltimore Independent Cadets , the military forebears of the Regiment , which during the War of the Revolution were incorporated in Smallwood ' s Regiment of the Maryland Line . Superimposed on the annulet is a belt of military design and origin containing the inscription " Decus Et Praesidium , " the regimental motto which is translated " An Honour and a Guard . " The belt is the heraldic symbol of knighthood and identifies the insignia as being of the military order , while the gray field represents the Confederate Service in the War Between the States . The numeral " 5 , " the historic designation of the regiment , was assigned following the Revolutionary War by act of the General Assembly of Maryland in 1794 . The insignia is the design of the Crossland Arms , Alicia Crossland having been the mother of George Calvert , 1st Baron Baltimore and planner of the colony of Maryland . The insignia symbolizes the historic record of the regiment from 1774 to 1931 . The cross bottony forms the escutcheon , and the annulet represents the five most significant periods in the regiment ' s history until the time of adoption : 1774 — the organization of the Baltimore Independent Cadets ; 1776 — the Revolutionary War ; 1814 — War of 1812 ; 1861 — The war Between the States , Confederate Service ; and 1918 — World War I . The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 9 July 1958 . Azure , two pallets Argent , a torteau charged with a swan ' s head erased of the second , on a chief paly of six Or and Sable a bend counterchanged , a bayonet ( c . 1776 ) fesswise Silver . That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Maryland Army National Guard : On a wreath of the colors Argent and Azure , a cross bottony per cross quarterly Gules and Argent . Coat of Arms . Blazon . Motto DECUS ET PRAESIDIUM ( An Honour and a Guard ) . The colors blue and white are for Infantry , white the original color of Infantry facings has been superseded by blue ; the combination of the old and new colors signifies the regiment has been Infantry since organization . The five stripes have a dual significance . They represent the regiment ' s participation in five major wars , i . e . , The Revolution , War of 1812 , War Between the States ( C . S . A . ) , World Wars I and II . The Whiskey Rebellion 1794 , Harpers Ferry 1859 , War with Spain 1898 and The Mexican Border Incident 1916 , are not referenced , though Federal Service , since combat was not involved . They also indicate the former regimental designation , the Fifth Maryland , 1794 – 1941 , and the popular sobriquet , " The Dandy Fifth of Maryland . " The torteau alludes to the red of the uniform of the Baltimore Independent Cadets , the initial uniformed militia company of the Colony of Maryland ; this uniform was later adopted during the Revolutionary War by Smallwood ' s Regiment of the Maryland Line . The swan is from the coat of arms of the Gist family and commemorates Mordecai Gist who on 3 December 1774 organized and commanded the Baltimore Independent Cadets , the parent unit of the regiment . The gold and black pattern in chief is from the reverse of the Great Seal of the proprietary Colony of Maryland , the family coat of arms of the Calverts , under whose authority the Mordecai Gist company was organized . The bayonet is representative of its introduction to American arms at the Battle of Long Island 1776 , by the Maryland Line and in the use of which it became famed throughout the War . It is also symbolic of the Maryland 400 which by repeated charges and sustaining heavy losses delayed General Howe ' s army , which enabled General Washington to successfully withdraw his defeated army across the Hudson River . The coat of arms was approved on 9 July 1958 .