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 warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
. 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
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
.
History
On 13 December 1636, the
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...
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 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 ...
’s Army after the
Battle of Long Island
The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yor ...
in August 1776. The same element helped the American cause to remain alive in December 1776 during the
Battle of Trenton. 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 sailed to
Annapolis, Maryland, in April 1861; boarded the ; and sailed her to
New York Harbor 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 Confede ...
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 valo ...
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 campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
.
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, 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 within ...
* 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