3rd Battalion - 7th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized)
3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, was originally constituted on 11 January 1812 in the Regular Army as a company of the 8th Infantry. It organized in 1812 in Tennessee, Georgia, or the adjacent territories. It was consolidated in May-October 1815 with a company of the 24th Infantry (constituted on 26 June 1812) and a company of the 39th Infantry (constituted on 29 January 1813) to form a company of the 7th Infantry. It was designated on 21 August 1816 as Company C, 7th Infantry.
It was consolidated on 26 May 1869 with Company C, 36th Infantry, which was itseld constituted on 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company C, 3rd Battalion, 18th Infantry, and organized on 16 October 1861 at Camp Thomas, OH. It was reorganized and redesignated on 26 December 1866 as Company C, 36th Infantry, and consolidated on 26 May 1869 with Company C, 7th Infantry, with the consolidated unit designated as Company C, 7th Infantry.
The newly consolidated unit was itself designated as Company C, 7th Infantry, with the 7th Infantry assigned on 21 November 1917 to the 3rd Division (later redesignated as the 3rd Infantry Division). It inactivated on 1 July 1957 at Fort Benning, GA, and relieved from assignment to the 3rd Infantry Division. It was concurrently redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battle Group, 7th Infantry. The unit was withdrawn on 11 May 1959 from the Regular Army, allotted to the Army Reserve, and assigned to the 102nd Infantry Division (its organic elements were concurrently constituted).
The Battle Group activated on 1 June 1959 with Headquarters at Danville, IL. It inactivated on 1 April 1963 at Danville, IL, and relieved from assignment to the 102nd Infantry Division. It was redesignated on 23 March 1966 as the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry; and concurrently withdrawn from the Army Reserve, allotted to the Regular Army, and assigned to the 199th Infantry Brigade.
The unit activated on 1 June 1966 at Fort Benning, GA. It inactivated on 15 October 1970 at Fort Benning, GA, and relieved from assignment to the 199th Infantry Brigade. It was reassigned on 21 March 1973 to the 197th Infantry Brigade and activated at Fort Benning, GA. It inactivated on 16 October 1987 at Fort Benning, GA, and was relieved from its assignment to the 197th Infantry Brigade.
The unit was assigned on 16 December 1987 to the 24th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Stewart, GA. It was relieved on 16 February 1996 from assignment to the 24th Infantry Division and reassigned to the 3rd Infantry Division.
The 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry, was reassigned to the 4th Unit of Action(Brigade), 3rd Infantry Division in 2004, upon the creation of that new unit. Prior to that, the 3-7th Infantry had been assigned to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.
