Origins The 109th was organized on 14 August 1877 as the Scranton City Guards Battalion, a unit of the
Pennsylvania National Guard based at
Scranton. On 23 September 1878, it was expanded, reorganized, and redesignated to become the 13th Infantry Regiment. By 1898, it included eight companies: A, B, C, D, F, and H at Scranton, E at
Honesdale, and G at
Montrose. The regiment formed part of the Third Brigade of the Pennsylvania National Guard division. In response to President
William McKinley's proclamation calling for volunteers to serve in the
Spanish–American War, the regiment encamped at
Mount Gretna on 28 April, where it joined the rest of the Pennsylvania National Guard to be mustered into Federal service. At Mount Gretna, it accepted recruits to increase the strength of each company to three officers and 75 men. All companies except for Company A and the regimental headquarters were mustered into Federal service on 12 May, followed by the latter on the next day. In Federal service, the regiment was designated the 13th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The 13th Pennsylvania departed Mount Gretna for
Camp Alger in northern Virginia on 19 May and arrived there the next day. There, it was assigned to the Third Brigade of the First Division of the
Second Army Corps, along with the
8th and
12th Pennsylvania. Colonel Henry A. Coursen, the 13th Pennsylvania regimental commander, temporarily served as brigade commander until 25 June. Meanwhile, on 1 June, the regiment expanded the enlisted strength of each company to 106 men through recruiting. The regiment moved its camp from Camp Alger to a location near
Dunn Loring station on 19 July, then relocated to
Camp George G. Meade in Pennsylvania on 31 August. While stationed at the latter, the regiment participated in the 27 October Philadelphia Peace Jubilee celebration to commemorate the cessation of hostilities. The 13th Pennsylvania again relocated to
Camp MacKenzie near
Augusta, Georgia, on 14 November, where it was mustered out of Federal service on 11 March 1899. After mustering out, the regiment returned to Scranton two days later via Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg. The 13th was reorganized in northeastern Pennsylvania between 21 June and 20 August of that year. For service on the Mexican border, it was mustered into Federal service on 26 September 1916 at Mount Gretna. Returning from the border, the regiment was drafted into Federal service on 5 August 1917 after
American entry into World War I. It was consolidated with the
1st Infantry Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard on 11 October 1917 to become the 109th Infantry of the
28th Division. He combined Company D with soldiers from his own company, then led an ad hoc attack that resulted in numerous enemy killed, wounded, and taken prisoner, as well as the capture of several machine gun nests. The 109th Infantry returned to the
Port of New York aboard the
USS Maui on 3 May 1919. The regiment was demobilized at
Camp Dix, New Jersey between 17 and 20 May. Company D of the 109th at Plymouth became Company D of the 165th Military Police Battalion, while the Tank Company of the 109th at Nanticoke became Battery B (155mm), 2nd Howitzer Battalion, 109th Field Artillery. As a result of the
Reorganization Objective Army Division plan, battle groups were replaced by battalions and on 1 April 1963 the 1st Battle Group became the 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry (1-109th Infantry) and the 2nd Battalion, 109th Infantry was activated; both battalions were part of the 28th. A 3rd Battalion was activated on 24 March 1964 as a non-divisional unit, but was eliminated on 17 February 1968. The 3rd Battalion was reactivated as a 28th Division unit on 1 April 1975. The 109th was reorganized under the
United States Army Regimental System on 5 April 1988. and the 3rd Battalion similarly became the 3rd Battalion, 103rd Armor on 1 October 1995, leaving only the 1-109th Infantry. The 1-109th was ordered into active Federal service between 28 and 31 May 2002 for duty in Bosnia with the
Stabilisation Force, along with the 28th Infantry Division headquarters, the
104th Infantry Detachment, and 1st Squadron,
104th Cavalry. After two months of training at Indiantown Gap, the units conducted additional training at
Fort Dix and
Hohenfels before arriving in Bosnia at the end of August to take over responsibility for
Multi-National Division (North). The 1-109th returned to Pennsylvania in March 2003, and was released from active Federal service on 20 May, reverting to state control. Five soldiers of Company B were killed in
Ramadi on 28 September when their
M2A2 Bradley detonated an IED while providing security for the building of a railway bridge and was set on fire by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. On 1 October, the army officially reintroduced the designation of regiment to parent regiments, with the 109th Infantry becoming the 109th Infantry Regiment. the 1-109th was released from active Federal service on 25 November 2013, reverting to state control. On 1 September 2016, the battalion was transferred back to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division again after the 55th became the
55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. ==Distinctive unit insignia==