The 31st Infantry Regiment

Formed in 1916, the U.S. Army 31st Infantry Regiment--known as the Polar Bears--has fought in virtually every war in modern American history. This richly illustrated chronicle of the regiment's century of combat service covers their exploits on battlefields from Manila to Siberia--including Pork Chop Hill, Nui Chom Mountain and Iraq's Triangle of Death--along with their survival during the Bataan Death March and the years of brutal captivity that followed.

The Iraqi Triangle of Death, south of Baghdad, was a raging inferno of insurgent activity in August of 2006; by November 2007, attacks had been suppressed to such an extent as to return the area to near obscurity. In the intervening months, the U.S. Army 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry ("Polar Bears") employed a counterinsurgency approach that set the conditions for a landmark peace agreement that has held to the present. With a focus on counterinsurgency, this book is the first to look at the breadth of military operations in Yusifiyah, Iraq, and to analyze the methods the Polar Bears employed. It is a story not of those who fought in the Triangle of Death, but of how they fought.

Rain, Mud & Swamps is a meticulously researched account of one of the most durable Missouri regiments to serve the Union cause. Even though the unit fought with General Sherman in such places as Vicksburg and Missionary Ridge, remarkably little has been written about it. This book offers the reader never before published letters, diaries and other material about the regiment as well as a complete roster of all the men who served. A must read for those interested in Missouri Civil War history.

The 31st Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized at Talladega, 16 March 1862, with men from Calhoun, Cherokee, Montgomery, Randolph, Shelby, and Talladega counties. It reported to General Danville Leadbetter at Chattanooga shortly after. It then moved up to Knoxville, where it was brigaded under General Seth Barton, in Carter Stevenson's Division. After the Kentucky Campaign, the 31st was permanently brigaded with the 20th, 23rd, 30th, and 46th Alabama regiments, under General Edward D. Tracy of Madison, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. In December, the 31st accompanied Stevenson's Division to Vicksburg. There were 260 effectives in January, 1863, with 21 killed and 37 wounded at Vicksburg. Following parole at Vicksburg, the 31st continued throughout the remainder of the war with the Army of Tennessee. There were 23 casualties at Chattanooga, and in December, 1863, there were 452 present with 323 arms. Only 180 were fit for duty in January 1865, and less than 100 surrendered in April. Toward the close of the war, the 31st was consolidated with the 23rd and 46th Infantry and redesignated the 23rd Consolidated Infantry Regiment at Smithfield, 9 April 1865. Companies Of The AL 31st Infantry Regiment Co. "A" (Cherokee County; some of company paroled as of Co. "K," 23rd AL Infantry, Consolidated): Isaac P. Moragne (resigned, 13 Aug 62); Henry W. Pickens (resigned, 30 March 63); W. L. Hughes (wounded, Jonesboro) Co. "B" (Talladega County; also called Co. "A"; company paroled as part of Co. "K," 23rd AL Infantry, Consolidated): William S. Chapman (resigned, 26 Sept 62); Robert A. Hardie (resigned, 12 Dec 63); William H. Hancock (transferred); William J. Rhodes (wounded, Kinston, Bentonville) Co. "C" (Cherokee County; also called Co. "B"): Marshal J. Alexander (resigned, 28 Aug 62); Joseph J. Nix (wounded, Champion's Hill, Jonesboro; captured, Champion's Hill; resigned, 26 April 63 and March 65) Co. "D" (Calhoun County; evidently became Co. "G," 23rd AL Infantry): E. T. Thompson; (dropped from rolls, 2 June 64); John Rose (paroled as Capt., Co. "G," 23rd AL Infantry) Co. "E" (Talladega County; also called Co. "D"): Archibald Carter (resigned, 27 Aug 62); G. W. Watts (resigned, 19 Nov 63); Frank M. Shouse Co. "F" (Talladega County; also called Co. "E"): Robert M. McKibbin Co. "G" (Shelby County; also called Co. "K"; mustered 22 March 62 as Cobb's Co., Frazer's 23rd AL Infantry, and on 4 May 62 as Cobb's Co., Hundley's 31st AL Infantry): James Cobb (resigned, 2 Sept 62); William H. Shelby (resigned, 21 Nov 63); Robert B. Pruitt Co. "H" (Randolph County): Augustus A. West (resigned, 27 Aug 62); Andrew J. Reeves (resigned); James L. Williams (captured, Missionary Ridge) Co. "I" (Montgomery County): John M. Shields (resigned, 10 Sept 62); Thomas M. Arrington (promoted); L. W. Vick Co. "K" (Shelby County; some of the company finally paroled as Co. "H," 23rd AL Infantry, Consolidated): Norman P. Reeves (appointed, surgeon); John W. Pitts (resigned, 10 Nov 62); Samuel W. Morgan (dropped from rolls, 17 June 64); J. T. McClanahan