The Seventy Cavalry Regiment was constituted after the end of the Civil War. Its primary duty for the next 25 years was fighting Indians, although it also served for a while in the South to enforce the implementation of Reconstruction.
The most famous battle was "Custer`s Last Stand" against the Sioux at the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, at which its commander, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and 211 men died. The regiment also committed the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, which effectively ended the Indian wars. For heroism in these two engagements, 41 members of the regiment received the Medal of Honor.
The Seventh Cavalry took part in the invasion of Mexico in 1916 and 1917. Thereafter, the "horses" of the cavalry became mechanized. In World War II, it was engaged in the Pacific Theater. It remained in Japan during the occupation and fought in Korea. In Vietnam, its tanks were supplemented with helicopters and its role was primarily reconnaissance.