15th U.S. Infantry

15th Infantry Regiment
Coat of arms
Active	1861–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Infantry Branch
Role	Light infantry (3rd Battalion)
Size	Regiment
Garrison/HQ	Fort Stewart (3-15 IN)
Nickname(s)	"The Old China Hands"
Motto(s)	Can Do
Mascot(s)	Dragon
Engagements	American Civil War Indian Wars Spanish–American War Boxer Rebellion Philippine Insurrection World War II Korean War Gulf War Iraq War War in Afghanistan
Commanders
Commander	LTC LaFran Marks
Notable commanders	George Marshall Matthew Ridgway Richard G. Stilwell
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 15th United States Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment in the United States Army. It has a lineage tracing back to the American Civil War, having participated in many battles.

The official Army history and lineage does not credit the current 15th Infantry with the honors or lineage of these earlier regiments.

The first 15th Infantry in the U.S. Army was organized on 16 July 1798 for the "Quasi-War" with France. The regiment saw no war service and was inactivated in 1800. A second 15th Infantry was activated in 1812 in New Jersey for service in Canada during the War of 1812. The 15th fought in the capture of Toronto and Fort George in April and May 1813, and covered the retreat of militia troops from Fort George in December 1813. In this retreat, no member of the 15th was captured, despite taking heavy casualties. The 15th fought in the Champlain Valley campaign in autumn 1814, and participated in General Dearborn's offensive in Ontario in October, and took part in many smaller battles that same year. The regiment was eliminated in the Army reorganization of 1815.

On 11 February 1847, a new 15th Infantry was activated for service in Mexico. As companies of the 15th arrived at Vera Cruz, they moved inland to join General Winfield Scott's army advancing on Mexico City. The regiment fought in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, as well as smaller engagements before storming the walls of Chapultepec in Mexico City. Following garrison duty in Mexico City and Cuernavaca, the regiment returned to the United States for inactivation in August 1848.

The current 15th Infantry was activated during the Civil War on 3 May 1861 by General Order No. 33 with its headquarters first in Wheeling,West Virginia then Cleveland, Ohio, then on to Newport Barracks, Kentucky and finally ending up in Fort Adams, Rhode Island. At the Battle of Shiloh on 7 April 1862, the 15th Infantry was the first new infantry regiment to engage in battle in the Civil War. In April–May 1862, the regiment marched toward and fought in the First Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. By the end of the Civil War, the regiment had fought in 22 major engagements, including Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Murfreesboro, and Atlanta as a part of BG King's Brigade of Johnson's Division, XIV Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. The regiment was a key element of the only regular brigade in Sherman's Army. The regiment's crest includes the acorn, the symbol of the Major General George Thomas's XIV Corps, and the mountains of stone to symbolize the corps' firm stand as the "Rock of Chickamauga". The four acorns represent the four major engagements.