when did the us have a standing army
History of the United States Army When the American Revolutionary War began in April 1775, the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army. Previously, each colony had relied upon the militia, made up of part-time civilian-soldiers. The initial orders from Congress authorized ten companies of riflemen. The first full regiment of Regular Army infantry, the 3rd Infantry Regiment, was not formed until June 1784.[1] After the war, the Continental Army was quickly disbanded because of the American distrust of standing armies, and irregular state militias became the new nation's sole ground army, with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point's arsenal.
1st Infantry Division (United States) The 1st Infantry Division is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving in the Regular Army.[4] It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I.[5] It was officially nicknamed "The Big Red One" (abbreviated "BRO"[2]) after its shoulder patch[5] and is also nicknamed "The Fighting First".[5] However, the division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames.[6] It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas.