The unit in question ("Regulars, by God!") could be any battalion descending from the elements of Winfield Scott's brigade at the Battle of Chippawa (5 July 1814), where it had been said - perhaps not accurately - that the enemy commander, British Brigadier General Phineas Riall, having mistaken the force for a detachment of militia owing to their grey uniform jackets, was surprised by the brigade's advance in a frontal assault that resulted in the British being defeated and forced to withdraw.
Finding that he was under attack by troops other than the contemptible and easily broken militia he expected to quickly repulse, Brigadier Riall was reputed to have exclaimed in chagrin: "Those are regulars, by God!" as Scott's brigade closed ranks and came in with the bayonet.
The title antedates the Mexican-American War. One of the regiments descending from a unit in Scott's brigade is the 22nd Infantry, which was a part of the 4th Infantry Division through World War II. One of the 4th ID (Mechanized) battalions presently serving in Iraq is the 1st of the 22nd Infantry, and is therefore entitled to be called "Regulars, by God!"
------------------
Richard Bartucci, D.O.
Williamstown, NJ 08094
™ Version 4.2
