The 101st Engineer Battalion is a unit of the

Massachusetts Army National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is toda ...

and one of the oldest serving units of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots and campaign credit for the War of 1812. The 101st Engineer Battalion was originally established as the East Regiment. As the first muster was held on the green in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, Salem is seen as the birthplace of the National Guard.

History

On 13 December 1636, the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

ordered the organization of three militia regiments designated as the North, South, and East regiments. The East Regiment (later the Essex Regiment) provided protection and support to the Settlers of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

for 139 years. It also fought in the Pequot Indian Wars,

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

, and the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. The 101st played a key role in the Revolutionary War. Elements fought the British Army on 19 April 1775, the engagement that started the battle for independence and an active duty regiment saved General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

’s Army after the Battle of Long Island in August 1776. The same element helped the American cause to remain alive in December 1776 during the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American m ...

. They manned the boats for General Washington to cross the Delaware. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, three separate regiments were established in Essex County. The

8th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia The 8th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia was a peacetime regiment of infantry that was activated for federal service in the Union Army for three separate tours during the American Civil War. The regiment consisted almost entirely of compan ...

sailed to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, in April 1861; boarded the ; and sailed her to

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

so she would not fall into the hands of the Confederates. The 19th Massachusetts Infantry fought with the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

and had seven

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

Recipients. The 50th Massachusetts Infantry had port duty in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and had one Medal of Honor recipient. Although the battalion did not fight in the War with Spain, the headquarters company did. The battalion was mobilized for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. However, the Second and Eighth Massachusetts Militia were consolidated to form the 104th Infantry Regiment under the 26th Infantry Division. The remaining cadres were reorganized as the Fifth Pioneer Infantry, but was not deployed overseas. In 1920, the 5th Pioneer Infantry (Engineers) was re-designated the 101st Engineer Battalion and realigned under the 26th Yankee Division, where it would remain until the division was deactivated in 1993. The 101st Engineer Battalion fought with the 26th Infantry Division under Patton's Third Army, and provided the maps to the Third Army for the relief of the 101st Airborne Division during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

. From 1993 to 2006 the 101st Engineer Battalion was aligned under the 42nd Infantry Division. In 2006, HHC deployed to

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

as part of Task Force Semper Lex or "Task Force MP (Military Police)". In October 2008, the battalion was placed under the new 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, and placed the "YD" patch back on its left shoulder. In June 2009 the battalion mobilized for

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, providing construction and combat engineer support to the Multi-National Division Baghdad/United States Division-Central area. For this, the battalion earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon. In 2012, the 181 Engineer Company, 101st Engineer Battalion, was mobilized to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Engineers moved from Kandahar Air Field to forward operating bases in western Afghanistan. Missions included route clearance, battlefield circulation team (resupply) and air operations out of KAF. The unit was attached to the 20th Engineer Battalion, US Army. The unit returned to Ft. Bliss, Texas in 2013, and to the 101st Engineer Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard state area command in 2014.

Active units within the battalion

Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements with ...

* Forward Support Company * 181st Engineer Vertical Construction Company * 182nd Engineer Company (Sapper) * 189th Engineer Detachment (Asphalt) * 379th Engineer Construction Company

Campaign participation credit

Revolutionary War * Lexington * Boston * Long Island * Princeton * Saratoga * Monmouth * Trenton * New York 1776 * New York 1777 * Rhode Island 1777 * Rhode Island 1778 * Rhode Island, 1779 * New Jersey 1780 War of 1812 * Massachusetts 1814 Civil War * Peninsula * Manassas * Antietam * Mississippi River * Fredericksburg * Chancellorsville * Gettysburg * Wilderness * Spotsylvania * Cold Harbor * Petersburg * Appomattox * Virginia 1861 * North Carolina 1862 * North Carolina 1863 * Virginia 1863 * Virginia 1864 * Bull Run World War II * Guadalcanal * Northern Solomons * Leyte * Southern Philippines (with arrowhead) * Northern France * Rhineland * Ardennes-Alsace * Central Europe Global War on Terror * Iraq - Iraqi Sovereignty

References

{{reflist

External links

*http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/ohpam.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20110925235009/http://www.ng.mil/features/birthday/index.html Battalions of the United States Army National Guard Military units and formations in Massachusetts Engineer battalions of the United States Army Military units and formations established in 1920