

Originally an Infantry unit, it was reorganized as an Artillery unit in 1916. Army is the1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery, Massachusetts Army National Guard, which traces its origins to December 1636. The oldest Field Artillery unit in the U.S. For example, the 1st Battalion of the 5th Field Artillery traces its lineage to the Alexander Hamilton Battery, formed in 1776, which is the oldest Artillery unit in the active United States Army and is the only Regular Army unit which can trace its lineage to the American Revolution. In 1968 the Artillery branch divided into Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery branches with the newly formed 1st through 7th Air Defense Artillery regiments retaining the lineage of the seven 19th century artillery regiments.Īlthough the oldest Artillery regiments in the Army are in the Air Defense Artillery branch, this is not necessarily the case for individual units below the regimental level. The Coast Artillery Corps was disbanded in 1950 and its units were consolidated with the Field Artillery in the Artillery branch. The first seven regiments retained the lineage of the seven Artillery regiments which existed in the 19th century. In 1924 the Army organized the Coast Artillery Corps into regiments. During World War I numerous other Field Artillery Regiments were organized in the National Guard and National Army, which were mobilized to supplement the Regular Army. In 1916, as the United States was preparing for its eventual entry into World War I, these six regiments were supplemented by 15 more Field Artillery regiments. In 1907, the Field Artillery companies of the Artillery Corps were organized into six Field Artillery regiments. Although presently Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery are separate branches, both inherit the traditions of the Artillery branch. In 1907 the Artillery Corps was reorganized into the Field Artillery and the Coast Artillery Corps. The Corps was split into 195 battery-sized units, called companies at the time, of Field Artillery and Coast Artillery. In the reorganization of the Army by the Act of 2 February 1901, the seven Artillery regiments were reorganized as the Artillery Corps. The seven artillery regiments were designated as regiments of artillery and were not distinguished as being either "coast" or "field" artillery as was the practice in the 20th century. The light artillery batteries took the role of field artillery although they did not use that designation.


During the 19th century a total of seven Artillery regiments were formed which contained a mixture of "heavy" artillery companies and "light" artillery batteries. The regiment formally entered service on 1 January 1776. Army Field Artillery branch traces its origins to 17 November 1775 when the Continental Congress, unanimously elected Henry Knox "Colonel of the Regiment of Artillery". The Field Artillery Branch is a combat arms branch of the United States Army that is responsible for field artillery.
