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15th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 15th United States Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment in the United States Army. It has a lineage tracing back to the American Civil War, having participated in many battles.

Previous 15th Regiments
The official Army history and lineage does not credit the current 15th Infantry with the honors or lineage of these earlier regiments.

The first 15th Infantry in the U.S. Army was organized on 16 July 1798 for the "Quasi-War" with France. The regiment saw no war service and was inactivated in 1800. A second 15th Infantry was activated in 1812 in New Jersey for service in Canada during the War of 1812. The 15th fought in the capture of Toronto and Fort George in April and May 1813, and covered the retreat of militia troops from Fort George in December 1813. A portion of the 15th were the last American troops to abandon Cornwall during the St. Lawrence Campaign of 1813. In this retreat, no member of the 15th was captured, despite taking heavy casualties. The 15th fought in the Champlain Valley campaign in autumn 1814 at Plattsburgh, and participated in General Dearborn's offensive in Ontario in October, and took part in many smaller battles that same year. The regiment was eliminated in the Army reorganization of 1815.

On 11 February 1847, a new 15th Infantry was activated for service in Mexico. As companies of the 15th arrived at Vera Cruz, they moved inland to join General Winfield Scott's army advancing on Mexico City. The regiment fought in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, as well as smaller engagements before storming the walls of Chapultepec in Mexico City. Following garrison duty in Mexico City and Cuernavaca, the regiment returned to the United States for inactivation in August 1848.

American Civil War
The current 15th Infantry was activated during the Civil War on 3 May 1861 by General Order No. 33. It was one of nine new Regular Army regiments, numbered 11 through 19, which were organized into three 8 company battalions. The battalions often operated independently of each other.

Its headquarters first in Wheeling, West Virginia then Cleveland, Ohio, then on to Newport Barracks, Kentucky and finally ending up in Fort Adams, Rhode Island in September 1862. Fort Adams served as the regiment's training depot were new recruits were trained and organized into companies before being sent to the front lines.

At the Battle of Shiloh on 7 April 1862, the 15th Infantry was the first new infantry regiment to engage in battle in the Civil War. In April–May 1862, the regiment marched toward and fought in the First Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. By the end of the Civil War, the regiment had fought in 22 major engagements, including Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Atlanta as a part of Brigadier General John H. King's Brigade under Gen. Richard Johnson's Division, XIV Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. The regiment was a key element of the only regular brigade in Sherman's Army. The regiment's crest includes the acorn, the symbol of the Major General George Thomas's XIV Corps, and the mountains of stone to symbolize the corps' firm stand as the "Rock of Chickamauga". The four acorns represent the four major engagements.

During the Civil War, the regiment was commanded by Colonel Fitz John Porter from May 1861 to January 1863. Porter spent little time in actual command of the regiment after its original organization, as he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in August 1861. Porter served as a division and corps commander in the Army of the Potomac until he was dismissed from service in January 1863. During Porter's absence, the regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James P. Sanderson. Porter was succeed as regimental commander by Colonel Oliver L. Shepherd who served as such from January 1863 to December 1870.

Reorganization
In September 1866 the regiment was reorganized. The first battalion continued as the 15th Infantry and was expanded from 8 to 10 companies. The 2nd Battalion became the 24th Infantry Regiment (consolidated with the 29th Infantry in 1869 to form the 11th Infantry) and the 3rd Battalion became the 33rd Infantry Regiment (consolidated in 1869 with the 8th Infantry). In 1869 the 35th Infantry Regiment was consolidated with the 15th Infantry. (Note that the 24th Infantry Regiment mentioned above should not be confused with the African-American 24th Infantry Regiment which was formed in 1869 by the consolidation of the 38th and 41st Infantry Regiments.)

Reconstruction to Spanish–American War
Following the Civil War, the 15th Infantry served on occupation duty in Alabama until 1869. The regiment redeployed to the West, serving in Missouri, New Mexico, the Dakotas, and Colorado. The regiment remained in New Mexico for a little over 12 years. At the end of that time, the headquarters and six companies were sent to Ft. Lewis, Colorado; three companies to Fort Lyon, Colorado; with one company remaining in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1879 and 1880 the regiment was deeply involved in operations against the Mimbres Apaches under the warrior Victorio in New Mexico and received a campaign streamer for those operations.

In October and November 1882, the regiment was transferred to the Department of Dakota: Headquarters, A, C, D, and H Companies took station at Fort Randall, South Dakota; B and I Companies at Pembina, North Dakota; G and K Companies at Fort Lincoln, North Dakota; E and F Companies at Fort Stevenson, North Dakota.

Indian Wars
The 15th participated in campaigns against the Ute Tribe of Colorado and against the Mescalero Apaches. In May 1890, four companies proceeded to new posts in the Department of the East: A and G Companies moved to Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama; D Company to Fort Barrancas, Florida; and K Company to Jackson Barracks, Louisiana. In July 1890 Companies I and K were skeletonized. Also in July, the headquarters and the five companies remaining in the Department of Dakota were assigned to Fort Sheridan, Illinois. In August, Companies E and H proceeded to Fort Sheridan. The regimental headquarters moved to Fort Sheridan in January 1891. The remaining companies from Dakota and the companies serving in the South completed their moves in May 1891. The final reconsolidation of all 15th Infantry companies after 12 years of being scattered throughout the West and South was concluded on 29 May 1891. While at Fort Sheridan the regiment played a vital role in containing the Chicago Railway Riots in July 1894.

The regiment remained as part of the Department of the Missouri until 15 October 1896, then served in the Department of Colorado from 19 October 1896 to 6 October 1898.

Spanish–American War
With the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898, the regiment moved to Huntsville, Alabama, on 12 October for intensive training. On 27 November 1898, it sailed from Savannah, Georgia for Nuevitas, Cuba, for occupation duty. On 5 January 1900, the regiment sailed home to be posted throughout upper New York State and Vermont.

Service in East Asia
The regimental headquarters, band, and First Battalion arrived in San Francisco on 16 July 1900. They immediately boarded the Transport Sumner and sailed for Nagasaki, Japan on 17 July. Later in July, Companies I, K, and L left their stations for San Francisco and went into camp at the Presidio. M Company also came from Fort McPherson at the same time. The First Battalion arrived at Nagasaki on 10 August. There they transferred to the Transport Indiana, and sailed for Tientsin via Taku on 13 August. The battalion arrived off of the Taku forts (already captured by the allies) on 16 August. During the latter part of the month, the Battalion reconnoitered and skirmished continuously over the same terrain where the 9th Infantry had lost 100 men killed in action (including their regimental commander, Colonel Liscum). Despite the fact that the Boxers had been dispersed several months before, numerous small bands of them were still operating in the country.

About 1 September, Companies A, B, and D were assigned the duty of escorting junks carrying supplies up the Pei Ho River to Peking. After completing this mission, Company C took station at Tientsin Arsenal on 6 September, while A Company occupied Tongku on 22 September. Through the latter part of November the battalion was engaged in almost daily expeditions against small bands of Boxers in nearby villages. On 25 November the First Battalion was relieved from duty with the China Relief Expedition and on 28 November arrived at Tongku. There it boarded the Transport Rosecrans and arrived at Nagasaki on 4 December, then continuing on to Manila, arriving on 13 December.

After lying at anchor in Manila Bay for eight days, the regiment sailed for Legaspi in the Province of Albay. On 24 December, Headquarters, the Band, and C and D Companies disembarked and took station at Legaspi. The transport continued to Tobacco, Albay, where B Company disembarked. Company A continued on to arrive at Mauban on 29 December. From then until 7 November 1901, the company conducted patrols to track the movement of the insurgent General Cailles. On 7 November, A Company moved to Bulan, Sorsogon and remained there until 28 December. It then moved on to the town of Sorsogon, in Sorsogon Province. It departed there on 5 March 1902 and arrived at Santa Elena, Samar on 11 March.

Company B remained at Tobacco until 30 July 1901, conducting patrols throughout that period. On 30 July B Company proceeded to the Island of Catanduanes. After five months of heavy scout work the company left for San Jose de Lagamoy, where it was engaged in tracking down bands of headhunters. On 31 July 1902 B Company returned to the regiment. C Company remained at Legaspi until 28 January 1902, when it left for the Island of Catanduanes. During the period 18 April to 31 July the company successively garrisoned Tabaco, Gubat, Santa Rita, Tones Island, Quentigean Island, and Balangigo. On 31 July it proceeded to Catbalogan and joined the regiment which was preparing to return to the United States. D Company remained on duty at Legaspi. Between 14 April and 31 July 1902 the company occupied Nueva Cacera (now Naga), Sorsogon, Bulan, and Point Binatao. On 31 July it left for the regimental assembly point at Catbalogan.

By April 1902, the balance of the regiment joined the 3rd Battalion in the Philippines and saw considerable action against the insurgents. The 2nd Battalion, which had remained in New York, did not appear in the Philippines until February 1902, just in time to turn around and return with its outfit in September to the United States. In September 1902 the regiment sailed for Monterey, California, where it built the current Presidio.

The next three years were uneventful. The unit placing seven men on the team of ten men from the Pacific Division in the Army's annual rifle competition in 1905.

In November 1905, the regiment was posted to Mindanao in the Philippines. When the 15th returned to the U.S. in 1907, it was assigned to Fort Douglas, Utah. After 1907 the next change of station did not come for four years, but when it did come the 15th Infantry left the United States for twenty-six years. Before this removal, the regiment's entrants won first, second and fourth honors in the individual competition, and five of its six contestants made the ten-man Army Rifle Team. The enlistments of 500 men had expired during 1908, and green recruits had filled the regiment at its home station in Utah and took part in a banquet given in their honor by the officers.

Elements of the regiment began to move to the Far East in November 1911. By mid-1912, Headquarters, the Band, and the 1st and 3rd Battalions were established at Tientsin in China as part of a multinational colonial effort designed to protect Western civilians during the Boxer Rebellion; the 2nd in the Philippines. The latter never joined the rest, for the men were transferred from it to the 1st Battalion of the 31st Infantry in August 1916. The 2nd Battalion was reorganized in Tientsin by transfer of personnel from the other two battalions. The mission of the regiment became difficult to define, and in the course of time the unit itself was transferred to the control of the State Department.

In line with new doctrine on organization, three provisional companies, Headquarters, Supply, and Machine Gun, were formed during August 1914, and in 1916 they were made permanent. That same year, World War I broke out in Europe, and most of the European nations withdrew their troops from China. The old "China Regiment" took over their patrolling. As a result, the regiment missed the fight in Europe, but it was often close to conflict in China. Armies of warlords roamed the land and sometimes threatened the American quarter. Christmas Day, 1925 was very tense, for 5,000 troops belonging to Feng Yuxiang, a warlord from the north, entered the area. Captain William "Wild Bill" Tuttle with nine men went out to warn off this force. As Tuttle's detachment approached, the advanced guard of the mass deployed and came on with fixed bayonets. The nine Americans blocked the road while Tuttle proceeded alone toward the Chinese and ordered them to make a detour, which they did. This incident is described in great detail in The Old China Hands (Doubleday 1961, chap. 8) by Charles G. Finney, who served in the 15th Infantry from 1925 to 1929.

The 1st Battalion went to the Philippines in August 1921, where eight years later, it was deactivated. In 1932, Companies G and L were also deactivated. This left six companies at their stations in Tientsin. George C. Marshall, later General of the Army, commanded it from 1924 to 1927.

Much of the 15th Infantry's tradition comes from the 26 years in China. The regiment's activities and way of life in Tsientsin are described very colorfully in The Old China Hands. The dragon on the regimental crest and the pidgin English motto "Can Do" symbolize its China service. Also many of the ceremonial properties of the 15th are from China, for example, the grand silver punch bowl with 50 silver cups and a silver tray & ladle. These items are currently stored in two Regimental rooms, the Audie Murphy Room and General Marshall's Office at Fort Stewart 3rd Battalion 15th Regiment. As Finney mentions, The Chinese Memorial Gate now at Fort Benning was presented to the regiment in 1925 by local villagers in gratitude for being protected against the troops of warlord Feng's army.

World War II, Korea and Cold War

After the USS Panay incident, the 15th Infantry left China for Fort Lewis, Washington, on 2 March 1938. On 12 January 1940, the regiment was assigned to the 3d Infantry Division. LTC Dwight D. Eisenhower served in the 15th from March to November 1940, as commander of 1st Battalion. On 24 October 1942, the 15th Infantry and the 3d Infantry Division sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, bound for French Morocco. For the next 31 months, the regiment fought through French North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. On 10 July the 15th Infantry starting in Sicily at Licata at h.2.57, the Allied invasion of Sicily, called Operation Husky, at Mollarella and Poliscia beaches. By the end of the war in Europe, the 15th Infantry had 16 Medal of Honor recipients including Audie Murphy, the most decorated combat soldier of World War II. The 15th Infantry Regiment's casualties during World War II included 1,633 killed, 5,812 wounded, and 419 missing in action.

On 1 December 1948, the 15th Infantry was transferred from occupation duty in Germany to Fort Benning, Georgia. As part of the 3d Infantry Division, the regiment sailed for Korea on 31 August 1950. The 15th Infantry covered the withdrawal of X Corps from Chosin Reservoir in 1950, fought north to the 38th parallel in 1951, and fought in the Kumsong sector until the armistice was signed in 1953. At the time of the truce, the regiment had seen action in eight major campaigns and added three more Medal of Honor recipients, Emory L. Bennett (24 June 1951), Ola L. Mize (10 June and 11 June 1953) and Charles F. Pendleton (16 July and 17 July 1953). The Belgian Contingent that served alongside the 15th Infantry at the "Iron Triangle", borrowed its motto ("Can Do"), changing it to "Belgians Can Do Too!" for its own use.
 * Korean War

On 3 December 1954, the 15th infantry returned to Fort Benning. In 1957, the Army reorganized combat forces from regiments and battalions to battle groups. 1st and 2nd Battle Groups, 15th Infantry (bearing the lineages of the former Companies A and B) were assigned to Bamberg, West Germany as part of the 3d Infantry Division. These units maintained their "battle skills" by several deployments to Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training centers as well as several REFORGER exercises. Another Army-wide force reorganization in 1963 eliminated battle groups in favor of brigades and battalions and the units were relocated to Kitzingen and Wildflicken, In December 1965, the 3rd and 4th Battalions were inactivated.
 * Cold War

The 15th Infantry regimental headquarters and the 3rd Battalion were reactivated at Fort Stewart, Georgia, on 25 August 1989, as part of the 24th Infantry Division. The 4th battalion was reactivated in May 1987 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, as part of the 194th Armored Brigade. The "Can Do" battalion, formerly the 4th Battalion, 54th Infantry, was the only infantry battalion at Fort Knox. The battalion served not only as a mechanized infantry battalion (equipped with M113A1/A2 armored personnel carriers, APCs), but also in support of the United States Army Armor School during various training missions.

Post-Cold War
From 20 August 1990 through 22 March 1991, the 3rd Battalion participated in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, to free Kuwait from Iraqi oppression. In 1993, the 3rd Battalion deployed three companies to Mogadishu, Somalia, to conduct combat operations in Operations Restore and Continue Hope. In 1994, the 2nd Battalion deployed to Macedonia to deter Serbian aggression. In 1994 the 3rd Battalion deployed one company to Haiti to support Operation Uphold Democracy. In 1995 1st Battalion deployed to Macedonia to deter Serbian aggression.

The 1st Battalion colors were returned from Germany in 1996. The 1-18 IN was reflagged as 1-15 IN on 15 February 1996. The actual reflagging ceremony was held at Fort Stewart on 25 April 1996. The 2nd Battalion was inactivated in 1996.

From 2000 to 2001, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry deployed to Camp McGovern in Bosnia as an element of Task Force Eagle in support of Operation Joint Forge.

War on Terrorism
The 1st and 3rd Battalions deployed to Iraq with the 3d Infantry Division in 2003 and again in 2005–06, with one battalion falling under the 42nd Infantry Division. The 1st Battalion deployed to Iraq for the third time in March 2007. The 3rd Battalion was inactivated and reflagged the same year at Fort Stewart, Georgia. In 2009 the 3rd Battalion was reactivated at Fort Stewart. The 1st Battalion deployed to Iraq in 2009 assuming responsibility for operations in ad-Diwaniyah and an-Najaf for Operation Iraqi Freedom VII and Operation New Dawn.

In early 2013, nearly all of 3rd Battalion deployed to Wardak Province, Afghanistan operating from Combat Outpost Soltan Kheyl and FOB Airborne. The unit suffered five casualties.

On 15 December 2015, the 1st Battalion at Fort Benning was inactivated.

The last remaining unit is the 3rd Battalion located at Fort Stewart in 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. 3rd Battalion was the home of one of a small number of Special Reconnaissance Platoons created to better bridge the gap between conventional forces and Special Forces.

Insignia
The shield is of white and blue, the old and the new colors of the Infantry. The Red Acorn was the badge of XIV Army Corps under which the 15th Infantry fought during the Civil war. The acorn is repeated four times to commemorate the four major engagements in which the regiment participated: Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Atlanta. The rock denotes the fact that the regiment was under the Command of General George Henry Thomas for the battle in which he earned his famous sobriquet: "The Rock of Chickamauga". The Chinese dragon, in gold metal, is indicative of the regiment's service in China during the Boxer Rebellion from 1900 to 1938, of which the period after 1912 was continuous. The sunburst, triangle, and devices atop the coat of arms is symbolic of the Katipunan flag of the Philippine Insurrection.

The coat of arms was approved on 30 April 1923. It was amended to correct the blazon of the shield and crest on 14 July 1924.

Campaign streamers

 * Civil War

 * Shiloh
 * Murfreesborough
 * Chickamauga
 * Chattanooga
 * Atlanta
 * Mississippi 1862
 * Alabama 1862
 * Tennessee 1862
 * Tennessee 1863
 * Kentucky 1862
 * Georgia 1864

 * Indian Wars
 * Utes
 * New Mexico 1880

 * Philippine Insurrection
 * Luzon 1900, 1901

Without inscription
 * China Relief Expedition
 * World War II

 * Algeria-French Morocco (with arrowhead)
 * Tunisia
 * Sicily (with arrowhead)
 * Naples-Foggia
 * Anzio (with arrowhead)
 * Rome-Arno
 * Southern France (with arrowhead)
 * Rhineland
 * Ardennes-Alsace
 * Central Europe

 * Korean War

 * CCF Intervention
 * First UN Counteroffensive
 * CCF Spring Offensive
 * UN Summer–Fall Offensive
 * Second Korean Winter
 * Korea, Summer–Fall 1952
 * Third Korean Winter
 * Korea, Summer 1953

 * Southwest Asia

 * Defense of Saudi Arabia
 * Liberation and Defense of Kuwait

 * Defense of Kosovo

 * War on Terrorism

 * Iraq 2003
 * Iraq 2005
 * Iraq 2007
 * Iraq 2010
 * Afghanistan 2013

Unit awards
The 15th Infantry didn't receive any separate Presidential Unit Citation for World War II.

Medal of Honor recipients

 * Civil War
 * PVT William J. Carson – E Company

 * World War II

 * SGT Sylvester Antolak – B Company
 * 1LT Francis Xavier Burke – D Company
 * PFC Herbert F. Christian – E Company
 * 2LT Robert J. Craig – L Company
 * 1LT Michael Joseph Daly – A Company
 * PVT Elden Harvey Johnson – H Company
 * 1LT Victor Leonard Kandle – I Company
 * SSG Gus J. Kefurt – K Company
 * PVT Joseph Frederick Merrell – I Company
 * 2LT Audie Leon Murphy – B Company
 * CPT Arlo L. Olson – Regiment
 * PFC Henry Schauer – F Company
 * 1LT John Joseph Tominac – I Company
 * LTC Keith Lincoln Ware – 1st Battalion
 * 1LT Eli Lamar Whiteley – L Company
 * 1LT Donald K. Schwab – E Company

 * Korea

 * PFC Emory Lawrence Bennett – B Company
 * SGT Ola Lee Mize – K Company
 * CPL Charles F. Pendleton – D Company

 * Iraq

 * SFC Alwyn Cashe - A Company

Notable former members
• Major General John Batiste (Commander, 3rd Battalion)

• General Charles L. Bolte

• General Gary L. Brito (Commander, 1st Battalion, 2004-2006)

• Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe

• Specialist Richard T. Davis

• President Dwight D. Eisenhower (Commander, 1st Battalion)

• General Paul L. Freeman Jr.

• General of the Army George C. Marshall (Regimental executive officer)

• Colonel George K. McGunnegle (Regimental quartermaster and adjutant, commander of Companies G and I)

• Lieutenant General Benjamin R. Mixon (Commander, Company B)

• Major General John Frank Morrison (Regimental Commander)

• Major General Fitz John Porter (Regimental Commander)

• General Matthew B. Ridgeway (Regimental Commander)

• General William B. Rosson

• General Joseph Stilwell

• General Richard G. Stilwell (Regimental Commander)

• Brigadier General Asher Clayton Taylor

• Lieutenant General James L. Terry (XO, Company A)

• Lieutenant General Stephen Twitty (Commander, 3rd Battalion)

• General Walton H. Walker

• General Earle G. Wheeler

title: 15th Infantry Regiment (United States)


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Undecane

Undecane (also known as hendecane) is a liquid alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH3(CH2)9CH3. It is used as a mild sex attractant for various types of moths and cockroaches, and an alert signal for a variety of ants. It has 159 isomers.

Undecane may also be used as an internal standard in gas chromatography when working with other hydrocarbons. Since the boiling point of undecane (196 °C) is well known, it may be used as a comparison for retention times in a gas chromatograph for molecules whose structure has been freshly elucidated. For example, if one is working with a 50 m crosslinked methyl silicone capillary column with an oven temperature increasing slowly, beginning around 60 °C, an 11-carbon molecule like undecane may be used as an internal standard to be compared with the retention times of other 10-, 11-, or 12- carbon molecules, depending on their structures.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Undecane


text:
Peter and the Wolf

Peter and the Wolf (Петя и волк) Op. 67 a "symphonic tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's story, which the orchestra illustrates by using different instruments to play a "theme" that represents each character in the story.

Background
In 1936, Prokofiev was commissioned by Natalya Sats, the director of the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow, to write a musical symphony for children. Sats and Prokofiev had become acquainted after he visited her theatre with his sons several times. The intent was to introduce children to the individual instruments of the orchestra to enjoy music and learn to recognize musical keys.

The first draft of the libretto was about a Young Pioneer (the compulsory, Soviet version of a Boy Scout) called Peter who rights a wrong by challenging an adult. However, Prokofiev was dissatisfied with the rhyming text produced by Nina Sakonskaya (real name Antonia Pavlovna Sokolovskaya, 1896–1951), a then-popular children's author. Prokofiev wrote a libretto in which Peter captures a wolf. As well as promoting desired Pioneer virtues such as vigilance, bravery, and resourcefulness, the plot illustrates Soviet themes such as the stubbornness of the un-Bolshevik older generation (the grandfather) and the triumph of Man (Peter) taming Nature (the wolf).

Prokofiev produced a version for the piano in under a week, finishing it on April 15. The orchestration was finished on April 24. The work premiered at a children's concert in the main hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic Society on 2 May 1936. However, Sats was ill, the substitute narrator was inexperienced, and the performance attracted little attention. Later that month, a more successful performance with Sats narrating was given at the Moscow Pioneers Palace. The American premiere took place in March 1938, with Prokofiev conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Boston, and with Richard Hale narrating. By that time, Sats was serving a sentence in the gulag, where she was sent after her lover, Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky, was shot in June 1937.

Synopsis
Peter, a Young Soviet Pioneer, lives at his grandfather's home in a forest clearing. One day, Peter goes out into the clearing, leaving the garden gate open, and a duck that lives in the yard takes the opportunity to swim in a pond nearby. The duck and a bird argue over whether a bird should be able to swim or fly. A local cat stalks them quietly, and the bird—warned by Peter—flies to safety in a tall tree while the duck swims to safety in the middle of the pond.

Peter's grandfather scolds him for staying outside and playing in the meadow alone, because a wolf might attack him. When Peter shows defiance, believing he has nothing to fear from wolves, his grandfather takes him back into the house and locks the gate. Soon afterwards, a ferocious grey wolf comes out of the forest. The cat quickly climbs into the tree with the bird, but the duck, who has jumped out of the pond, is chased, overtaken, and swallowed by the beast.

Seeing all of this from inside, Peter fetches a rope and climbs over the garden wall into the tree. He asks the bird to fly around the beast's head to distract him, while he lowers a noose and catches the wolf by his tail. The beast struggles to get free, but Peter ties the rope to the tree and the noose only gets tighter.

Hunters who have been tracking the wolf come out of the forest with their guns readied, but Peter gets them to instead help him take it to a zoo in a victory parade (the piece was first performed for an audience of Young Pioneers during May Day celebrations) that includes himself, the bird, the hunters leading the wolf, the cat, and lastly his grumbling Grandfather, still disappointed that Peter ignored his warnings, but proud that his grandson caught the beast.

At the end, the narrator states that careful listeners could hear the duck still quacking inside the wolf's belly, because he was swallowed whole.

Performance directions
Prokofiev produced detailed performance notes in English and Russian. According to the English version:

"Each character of this tale is represented by a corresponding instrument in the orchestra: the bird by a flute, the duck by an oboe, the cat by a clarinet playing staccato in a low register, the grandfather by a bassoon, the wolf by three horns, Peter by the string quartet, the shooting of the hunters by the kettle drums and bass drum. Before an orchestral performance it is desirable to show these instruments to the children and to play on them the corresponding leitmotivs. Thereby, the children learn to distinguish the sounds of the instruments during the performance of this tale."

Instrumentation
Peter and the Wolf is scored for an orchestra:
 * Woodwinds: a flute, an oboe, a clarinet in A, and a bassoon
 * Brass: 3 horns in F, a trumpet in B♭ and a trombone
 * Percussion: timpani, a triangle, a tambourine, cymbals, castanets, a snare drum, and a bass drum
 * Strings: first and second violins, violas, violoncellos, and double basses

Each character in the story has a particular instrument and musical theme:
 * Bird: Flute

 * Duck: Oboe

 * Cat: Clarinet

 * Grandfather: Bassoon

 * Wolf: French horns

 * Hunters: woodwind and trumpet theme, with gunshots on timpani and bass drum

 * Peter: string instruments (including violin, viola, cello, and double bass)

A performance lasts about 25 minutes.

Recordings
Jeremy Nicholas wrote for classical music magazine Gramophone in 2015, claiming that the best overall recording of Peter and the Wolf was by the New Philharmonia Orchestra, narrated by Richard Baker and conducted by Raymond Leppard in 1971. Gramophone's best DVD version is the 2006 film by Suzie Templeton; its music is performed, without narrator, by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Mark Stephenson.

Walt Disney, 1946
Prokofiev, while touring the West in 1938, visited Los Angeles and met Walt Disney. Prokofiev performed the piano version for "le papa de Mickey Mouse" (French for "Mickey Mouse's dad"), as Prokofiev described him in a letter to his sons. Disney was impressed, and considered adding an animated version of Peter and the Wolf to Fantasia, which was to be released in 1940. Due to World War II, these plans fell through, and it was not until 1946 that Disney released his adaptation, narrated by Sterling Holloway. It is not known whether Prokofiev, who was by that point behind the Iron Curtain, was aware of this. It was released theatrically as a segment of Make Mine Music, then reissued the next year, accompanying a reissue of Fantasia (as a short subject), then separately on home video in the 1990s. This version made several changes to the original, including:
 * During the character introduction, the pets are given names: Sasha the songbird, Sonia the duck, and Ivan the cat.
 * As the production begins, Peter and his friends already know that a wolf is nearby and are preparing to catch him.
 * The hunters get names later in the story: Misha, Yasha, and Vladimir.
 * Peter daydreams of hunting and catching the wolf, and for that purpose exits the garden carrying a wooden pop gun.
 * At the end, in a reversal of the original (and to make the story more child-friendly), the narrator reveals that Sonia had been eaten by the wolf. Earlier in the film, the wolf is shown chasing Sonia, who hides in a tree's hollow trunk. The wolf attacks out of view and returns in view with feathers in his mouth, licking his jaws. Peter, Ivan, and Sasha assume Sonia has been eaten. After the wolf is caught, Sasha is shown mourning Sonia. She comes out of the tree trunk at that point, and they are happily reunited.

In 1957, for one of his television programs, Disney recalled how Prokofiev had visited, inspiring Disney's animated version. Disney used pianist Ingolf Dahl, who resembled Prokofiev, to re-create how the composer had played the themes from the score.

British–Polish co-production, 2006
In 2006, Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman directed and produced, respectively, a stop-motion animated adaptation. It is unusual in its lack of dialogue or narration. The story was told only via images and music and interrupted by sustained periods of silence. The soundtrack was performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, The film premiered with a live accompaniment in the Royal Albert Hall. The film won the Annecy Cristal and the Audience Award at the 2007 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and the 2007 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. This version makes some changes to the original Prokofiev story, including:
 * Peter bumps into one of the "hunters" (teenage bullies in this telling), who throws him in a rubbish bin and aims at him with his rifle to scare him; the second hunter watches without interfering (thus, a dislike towards the hunter/bullies is immediately created).
 * Because of a broken wing, the bird has trouble flying and takes Peter's balloon to help it get aloft.
 * Peter captures the wolf in a net and then the hunter gets him in his rifle's sight coincidentally, but just before shooting, the second hunter stumbles, falls on him and makes him miss the shot.
 * The caged wolf is brought into the village on a cart, where Peter's grandfather tries to sell it. The hunter comes to the container and sticks his rifle in to intimidate the animal (as he did with Peter earlier on). At that time Peter throws the net on the hunter, entangling the hunter.
 * Before the grandfather has made a deal, Peter unlocks the cart after looking into the eyes of the wolf. They walk side by side through the awestruck crowd and then the freed wolf runs away in the direction of the silver moon shining over the forest.

Up to 1959

 * In 1958, a videotaped television special entitled Art Carney Meets Peter and the Wolf, starring Carney, along with the Bil Baird Marionettes, was presented by the American Broadcasting Company, and was successful enough to be twice rebroadcast. The show had an original storyline in which Carney interacted with talking marionette animals, notably the troublemaking wolf. This first half was presented as a musical, with adapted music from Lieutenant Kijé and other Prokofiev works that had English lyrics fitted to them. The program then segued into a complete performance of Peter and the Wolf, performed as written by the composer, and "mimed" by both "human" and "animal" marionettes. The conclusion featured Carney interacting with the animal marionettes. The show was nominated for three Emmy Awards.

1960s

 * c. 1960, Hans Conried recorded the narration with a Dixieland musical band. Because a Dixieland band uses different instruments from an orchestra, Peter was represented by the trumpets, the Bird by a clarinet, the Duck by a banjo, the Cat by a "cool cat" tenor saxophone, the Wolf by a tuba, the Hunters by the percussive ensemble, and Grandfather by a slide trombone. The characters of the Bee and the Flea are briefly introduced to demonstrate the "versatility of our chief percussionist" (played by a xylophone and glockenspiel, respectively).
 * The Clyde Valley Stompers recorded a jazz version in 1962, which registered on the popular music charts.
 * Allan Sherman parodied the work in the album Peter and the Commissar (1964), made with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra.
 * In 1966, Hammond organ player Jimmy Smith performed for a jazz album arranged by Oliver Nelson without the narration, but based on the original themes.
 * In 1969, American-Canadian filmmaker Caroline Leaf used sand animation to adapt the work in Sand or Peter and the Wolf, her first film.

1980s

 * Ray Bolger served as the narrator for a 1981 live-action version with live animals, directed by Dan Bessie and produced by Pyramid Media. The music was performed by the Santa Cruz Chamber Orchestra conducted by Dr. Lewis Keizer.
 * The 1983 film A Christmas Story features music from Peter and the Wolf during scenes of the character Scut Farkus bullying other characters. The surname Farkus is a variation of farkas, which is Hungarian for "wolf".
 * In 1985, Arnie Zane choreographed a punk music ballet version.
 * In 1988, "Weird Al" Yankovic and Wendy Carlos produced a comedic version, using a synthesized orchestra and many additions to the story and music (e.g., Peter captures the wolf using his grandfather's dental floss, leading to the moral of the story: "Oral hygiene is very important").
 * In 1989, in an episode of the Muppet Babies entitled "Skeeter and the Wolf", Skeeter fills in for Peter, Gonzo is the bird, Scooter is the cat, Fozzie is the duck, Nanny is the grandparent, and Kermit and Piggy are the hunters.

1990s

 * A 1990 episode of Tiny Toon Adventures titled "Buster and the Wolverine" featured Elmyra Duff providing narration for a story wherein Buster Bunny and his friends, represented with musical instruments, combat an evil "wolverine". In this episode, the characters' instruments are: Buster Bunny, a trumpet; Babs Bunny, a harp; Furrball, a violin; Sweetie, a flute; Hamton J. Pig, a tuba; Plucky Duck, a bike horn (later, bagpipes, then an organ, and finally a synthesizer); and the wolverine, drums.
 * Peter Schickele (a.k.a. P. D. Q. Bach) wrote an alternate, comedic libretto entitled Sneaky Pete and the Wolf, converting the story into a Western, including a showdown between Sneaky Pete and the gunslinger El Lobo (which never happens due to some local boys' giving El Lobo a hotfoot and sticking a paper airplane in his eye, and Sneaky Pete's girlfriend Laura rendering El Lobo unconscious with a vacuum cleaner). It was recorded with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yoel Levi, in 1993.
 * In the 1993 Simpsons episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled", guest star Hugh Hefner plays a portion of Peter and the Wolf on wine glasses.
 * In 1995, a 45-minute television special was made with a mix of live-action, animation, and characters from the story, designed by Chuck Jones. The film featured Kirstie Alley (as the narrator), Lloyd Bridges (as the grandfather), and Ross Malinger (as Peter), in a live-action "wraparound" segment. The version debuted on ABC on 8 December 1995. This version keeps the duck-friendly ending by having the swallowed duck pop out of the wolf's mouth alive, well, and dancing as the wolf is captured. The wolf, described as "not a ballet fan", grabs the duck again before the hunters force him to drop her. As the story ends, Peter finds the duck crouching at the pond's edge, shivering and frightened because of her terrible experience, and Peter reassures her that he will always protect her. This version places the bird as a mother, with six eggs that hatch near the ending. The music was performed by the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, conducted by George Daugherty. The version received a 1996 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program and received a second Emmy nomination for Daugherty, for Outstanding Music Direction. Daugherty (also one of the writers) and Janis Diamond received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for the script. The production received a Gold Hugo and Silver Hugo at Chicago International Film Festival.
 * During September 1996, Coldcut (a duo of scratch/mix DJs from south London) released a scratch version of the main theme, included on the track "More Beats + Pieces", from their album Let Us Play!.
 * Matthew Hart choreographed Peter and the Wolf for television in 1997, performed by the dancers of the Royal Ballet School and narrated by Sir Anthony Dowell (who also danced the role of "The Grandfather").

2000s

 * In 2001, National Public Radio produced Peter and the Wolf: A Special Report, which treated the plot as if it were a developing news story. Robert Siegel, Linda Wertheimer, Ann Taylor, and Steve Inskeep of NPR's All Things Considered report on the event against a performance of the score by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta.
 * Sesame Workshop produced a version with Sesame Street characters in 2000, as told by way of a trip to a Boston Pops Orchestra concert. Dubbed "Elmo's Musical Adventure", the story unfolds inside Baby Bear's imagination as he attends a performance with Papa Bear, conducted by Keith Lockhart. In the story, Peter was represented by Elmo, the cat by Oscar the Grouch, the duck by Telly Monster, the bird by Zoe, the grandfather by Big Bird, and the hunters by the Two-Headed Monster. Each character is followed around by a soloist playing that character's instrument, but Telly Monster's "Duck" quits the story after learning the wolf eats the duck. (He later returns as one of the hunters.)
 * In February 2004, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Sophia Loren won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for narrating the album Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks. The music was performed by the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano and included Loren narrating Peter and the Wolf and Clinton narrating The Wolf and Peter by Jean-Pascal Beintus, which is another narrated orchestral piece, but the story is told from the perspective of the wolf and has the theme of letting animals live in peace.
 * In 2004, Russian model Tatiana Sorokko narrated an arrangement of Beintus' Wolf Tracks with musicians from the Russian National Orchestra while on a US tour.
 * In 2004, the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra recorded a klezmer version, called Pincus and the Pig: A Klezmer Tale. The recording was narrated by Maurice Sendak and featured his illustrations.
 * In 2006, Neil Tobin produced a Halloween-themed narrative called Peter and the Werewolf with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, John Lanchbery conducting.
 * In 2009, musical group Project Trio released their second studio album, Brooklyn, on which a modernized version of the story was recorded. All three members narrate.

2010s

 * In 2010, Denver musicians Munly and the Lupercalians released Petr & the Wulf, an alternative take told from the perspectives of each character: Grandfater, Petr, Scarewulf, Cat, Bird, The Three Hunters, Duk, and Wulf. Released on the Alternative Tentacles label.
 * In 2012, ITV used a version of the main theme as the title music for their coverage of the European Football Championships, because Prokofiev was born in present-day Ukraine, one of the host countries.
 * In 2019, composer Lior Navok released Brave Little Timmy for narrator and orchestra (same instrumentation as Peter and the Wolf). The libretto, written by the composer, tells the story of Timmy, whose distant friendship with a wolf saved the latter from the hunters.

2020s

 * In 2023, Gavin Friday, with directors Elliot Dear and Stephen McNally released an animated version based on Bono's drawings on Max. This adaptation, narrated by Friday, alters the story slightly: Peter had lost his mother to an unspecified illness, implied to be cancer. The Wolf has puppies, one of whom reminds Peter of himself, and thus the Wolf reminds him of his late mother. Peter and his grandfather deceive the hunters and release the Wolf. The black and white short film and its theme song by Friday, "There's Nothing To Be Afraid Of", support the Irish Hospice Foundation.

In copyright law
In 2012, the US Supreme Court's decision in Golan v. Holder restored copyright protection in the United States to numerous foreign works that had entered the public domain. Peter and the Wolf was frequently cited by the parties and amici, as well as by the Court's opinion and by the press, as an example of a well-known work that would be removed from the public domain by the decision. The restored copyright per current law is 95 years after publication. Therefore the piece is expected to enter the public domain on December 31, 2031.

title: Peter and the Wolf