The 1st Air Defense Artillery is an

air defense artillery The Air Defense Artillery Branch is the branch of the United States Army that specializes in anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface to air missiles). In the U.S. Army, these groups are composed of mainly air defense systems such as the Patriot ...

regiment in 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 ...

first formed as a

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

unit in 1821.1st Air Defense Artillery Lineage And Honors Information (29 November 1996)
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Lineage

Constituted 1 June 1821 in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

as the 1st Regiment of Artillery, and organized from existing units with headquarters at

Fort Independence (Massachusetts) Fort Independence is a granite bastion fort that provided harbor defenses for Boston, Massachusetts. Located on Castle Island, Fort Independence is one of the oldest continuously fortified sites of English origin in the United States.Wilson, 312 ...

. The lineages of some of the units that initially made up the 1st U.S. Artillery include campaign credit for the War of 1812. Twelve batteries of the regiment served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Battery E and Battery H were the garrison of

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...

under Major Robert Anderson during the bombardment of the fort in April 1861. Battery E of the 1st Artillery participated in the Battle of Wounded Knee on 29 December 1890. Order of battle information shows that batteries of the regiment deployed outside the U.S. in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

of 1898. However, no battle honors for this war are on the official lineage and honors certificate dated 29 November 1996. Batteries E and K deployed to Cuba. Regiment broken up 13 February 1901 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as separate numbered companies and batteries of the

Artillery Corps Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications dur ...

. Reconstituted 1 July 1924 in the Regular Army as the 1st

Coast Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

and partially organized with headquarters at

Fort De Lesseps Fort De Lesseps was a small U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps fort located at the northern tip of Colón, Panama. It was named after Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps (; 19 November 1805 – 7 December 1894) was a Fren ...

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

in the Harbor Defenses of Cristobal on the Caribbean side of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. The regiment was organized by redesignating the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th companies of the

Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an Corps#Administrative corps, administrative corps responsible for coastal defence and fortification, coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft Seacoast defense in the United States, defense of the United S ...

(CAC). Batteries B, C, and D carried the lineage and designations of the corresponding batteries in the old 1st Artillery.Gaines, p. 5Berhow, pp. 439-440 On 1 July 1924, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB) & Band activated at Fort De Lesseps and 3rd Battalion with Batteries E and G at Fort Randolph. Batteries A, B, C, D, & F were inactive. Battery G inactivated 31 May 1926; 1st Battalion activated 1 June 1926 at Fort Randolph, Canal Zone; inactivated 31 July 1926 at Fort Randolph, Canal Zone. Batteries A, B, C, D, F, & H activated 17 March 1932 (or 15 April 1932) with personnel from 2nd Coast Artillery (Harbor Defense) (HD) and 65th Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) (AA). 1st and 2nd Battalions activated 15 April 1932 at Forts Randolph and Sherman, Canal Zone, respectively. 3rd Battalion inactivated same date. 1st Battalion served as AA and 2nd Battalion as HD under special tables of organization. HHB changed station to Fort Sherman 15 February 1940. Battery G activated 1 November 1938 at

Fort Sherman Fort Sherman is a former United States Army base in Panama, located on Toro Point at the Caribbean (northern) end of the Panama Canal, on the western bank of the Canal directly opposite Colón (which is on the eastern bank). It was the primary d ...

. Regiment reorganized as HD 26 October 1939. 1st Battalion provided cadre for organization of 72nd Coast Artillery (AA) Regiment at Fort Randolph 1 November 1939. 3d Battalion activated 15 March 1940 at Fort Randolph, Canal Zone. 1st and 2nd Battalions and Batteries E and F inactivated 30 March 1941; 1st and 2nd Battalions activated 17 April 1942 at Fort Sherman, Canal Zone. Regiment broken up 1 November 1944 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as follows: Headquarters and Headquarters Battery as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Coast Artillery Group.Stanton, pp. 435, 455 Remainder of regiment as the 1st Coast Artillery Battalion.Stanton, p. 483 After 1 November 1944 the above units underwent changes as follows: Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Coast Artillery Group, reorganized and redesignated 2 January 1945 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Harbor Defenses of Cristobal. Inactivated 15 January 1947 at Fort Sherman, Canal Zone. Redesignated 21 June 1950 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Antiaircraft Artillery Group. Consolidated 18 November 1952 with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Antiaircraft Artillery Group (see ANNEX), and consolidated unit designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Antiaircraft Artillery Group. Activated 15 April 1953 in Germany. Inactivated 26 December 1957 in Germany. 1st Coast Artillery Battalion disbanded 1 February 1946 at Fort Sherman, Canal Zone. Reconstituted 21 June 1950 in the Regular Army as the 1st Coast Artillery to consist of the 1st and 2nd Battalions; 1st and 2nd Battalions concurrently redesignated as the 1st and 54th Antiaircraft Battalions, respectively. 1st Antiaircraft Battalion redesignated 17 March 1955 as the 1st Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalion Activated 15 April 1955 at Irwin, Pennsylvania. Inactivated 1 September 1958 at Irwin, Pennsylvania. 54th Antiaircraft Battalion redesignated 15 December 1954 as the 54th Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalion and activated at the United States Army Chemical Center, Maryland. Inactivated 1 September 1958 at the United States Army Chemical Center, Maryland. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Antiaircraft Artillery Group, and the 1st and 54th Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalions consolidated 19 March 1959 with the 1st Field Artillery Battalion (organized in 1907) and consolidated unit reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Artillery, a parent regiment under the

Combat Arms Regimental System The Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the United States Army, including Infantry, Special Forces, Field Artillery, and Armor, from 1957 to 1981. A ...

. 1st Artillery (less former 1st Field Artillery Battalion) reorganized and redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 1st Air Defense Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System (former 1st Field Artillery Battalion concurrently reorganized and redesignated as the 1st Field Artillery - hereafter separate lineage). 1st Air Defense Artillery withdrawn 16 June 1987 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the

United States Army Regimental System The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with continu ...

Annex (1st AAA Group)

Constituted 5 August 1942 in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive si ...

as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Group (or 1st Coast Artillery Group (Antiaircraft)).Stanton, p. 435 Activated 17 August 1942 at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

, Texas. Departed the United States 1 March 1943; arrived in North Africa 9 March 1943 and landed in Sicily on 9 August 1943. Transferred to Sardinia 4 December 1943. Redesignated 31 December 1943 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Antiaircraft Artillery Group at Sassari, Sardinia. Moved to Corsica 25 July 1944; landed in France 2 November 1944. Disbanded 13 February 1945 at Marseille, France. Reconstituted 18 February 1952 in the Regular Army.

Campaign participation credit

War of 1812 *Canada Indian Wars *Seminoles *Texas 1859 Mexican War *Palo Alto *Resaca de la Palma *Monterey *Vera Cruz *Cerro Gordo *Contreras *Churubusco *Chapultepec *Tamaulipas 1846 *Vera Cruz 1847 *Mexico 1847 Civil War *Sumter *Bull Run *Mississippi River *Peninsula *Manassas *Antietam *Fredericksburg *Chancellorsville *Gettysburg *Wilderness *Spotsylvania *Cold Harbor *Petersburg *Shenandoah *Appomattox *Florida 1861 *Florida 1862 *Florida 1864 *South Carolina 1862 *South Carolina 1863 *Virginia 1863 *Virginia 1864 *West Virginia 1863 * Louisiana 1864 World War II *American Theater, Streamer without inscription *Tunisia *Sicily *Rome-Arno *Rhineland Southwest Asia *Defense of Saudi Arabia *Liberation and Defense of Kuwait *Cease-Fire *Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003

Decorations

The 1st Air Defense Artillery has received the following decorations: *Army Superior Unit Award for 1984–1985 *Valorous Unit Award for SAUDI ARABIA AND BAHRAIN

Active components

* 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment1-1 ADA Facebook page
/ref> * 2nd Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment2-1 ADA Facebook page
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Coat of arms

Shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

Gules, two pallets argent, overall a cubit arm habited in the artillery uniform of 1861 erased holding aloft a burning torch or, between two of a snake vert, lipped and eyed of the third above and behind a prickly pear cactus all proper, fesswise. * Crest On a wreath of the colors, argent and gules, a palmetto tree vert behind an arm embowed habited in the artillery uniform of 1861 issuing from the upper portion of an embattled tower and grasping a rammer staff fessways all or. * Motto Primus Inter Pares (First Among Equals).

Symbolism

* Shield The shield is scarlet for artillery. With two white stripes, alluding to the campaign streamer of the War of 1812, the age of some of the units of the regiment is depicted. The snake and cactus, from the State Seal of Mexico, represent the Mexican War. The hand holding the torch of loyalty commemorates the defense of

Fort Pickens Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and was one of the few ...

, the only fort south of Fort Monroe that remained loyal to the federal government throughout the Civil War. * Crest The arm and rammer staff rising out of a tower in front of a palmetto tree indicate participation in the Civil War at Fort Sumter. The palmetto tree is taken from the State Seal of South Carolina.

Distinctive unit insignia

The distinctive insignia is an adaptation of the crest and motto of the coat of arms.

References

* *
Gaines, William C., Coast Artillery Organizational History, 1917-1950, ''Coast Defense Journal'', vol. 23, issue 2
*

External links

1st Air Defense Artillery at The Institute of Heraldry
* {{DEFAULTSORT:001 001 Military units and formations established in 1971 Military units and formations established in 1821 1821 establishments in Massachusetts