The 240th Coast Artillery Regiment was a Coast Artillery Corps regiment in the Maine National Guard. It garrisoned the Harbor Defenses of Portland (HD Portland), Maine 1924–1944.

History

The 240th Coast Artillery was organized 16 April 1924 as the Maine National Guard component of the Harbor Defenses of Portland (HD Portland), Maine. The 8th Coast Artillery was the Regular Army component of those defenses. The 240th's primary armory was in Portland, Maine. Colonel George E. Fogg, a World War I veteran, commanded the regiment from its organization in 1924 through at least 1941. In October 1944 the regiment was broken up into two battalions as part of an Army-wide reorganization.

Lineage

Organized at Portland, Maine 16 April 1924 by redesignating the 240th Artillery, Coast Artillery Corps (previously the 1st Coast Defense Command), Maine National Guard. On 16 September 1940 the regiment was inducted into federal service at Portland, Maine and HQ moved to Fort McKinley 23 September 1940. On 2 January 1942 the HQ moved to

Fort Williams Fort Williams Park is a 90-acre park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, encompassing numerous historical sites. Perhaps most famous for having Portland Head Light on its grounds, the park also encompasses the decommissioned and largely demolished Unite ...

.Stanton, pp. 470, 489 From December 1941 to 12 February 1943 Battery F manned two towed 155 mm guns at the

Biddeford Pool Military Reservation Biddeford Pool is a large tidal pool, located off Saco Bay south of the mouth of the Saco River on the south coast of Maine. It is approximately 6 miles southeast of downtown Biddeford, to which it is connected via State Route 208. The town of K ...

, then was relieved by Battery E of the 22nd Coast Artillery. HHB 3rd Battalion and Battery I inactivated 18 April 1944; as new batteries were built (particularly a 16-inch gun battery at the

Peaks Island Military Reservation Battery Steele (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Battery Construction #102) is a United States military fortification on Peaks Island, Portland, Maine in Casco Bay. Completed in 1942 as part of World War II, it is located on on the oceanside area of ...

) and older weapons scrapped manpower needs were greatly reduced. On 5 October 1944 the regiment moved to

Fort Levett Fort Levett was a former U.S. Army fort built on Cushing Island, Maine, beginning in 1898. Located in Cumberland County, Maine, in Casco Bay near Portland, Maine, the fort was heavily fortified with guns for coastal defense. Conceived under t ...

; on 7 October 1944 the regiment was broken up into the 185th and 186th Coast Artillery Battalions (at

Peaks Island Peaks Island is the most populous island in Casco Bay, Maine, Casco Bay, Maine. It is part of the city of Portland, Maine, Portland and is approximately from downtown. The island is served by Casco Bay Lines and is home to its own elementary s ...

and Jewell Island, respectively), which were deactivated 1 April 1945. The 240th Coast Artillery's lineage traces back to the

1st Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 1st Maine Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was later re-activated in 1898 for the Spanish–American War, but did not serve overseas. Service Pre-Civil War In 1 ...

, originally formed in state service in 1854 and thus older than any other Maine regimental organization. An historian of the 240th AAA (

Anti-Aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

Artillery) Group, a former Maine Army National Guard unit, has concluded that numerous subsequent Volunteer Maine Militia and Maine National Guard units (including the 240th Coast Artillery) inherited the lineage of the 1st Maine via the Portland Light Infantry company. As of 2018 this lineage is carried by the 240th Regional Training Institute, Maine Army National Guard, in Bangor. The 240th Coast Artillery is also one of the "ancestor" units, along with the famed

20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment was a volunteer regiment of the United States Army (Union Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), most famous for its defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, ...

, of the modern day

133rd Engineer Battalion The 133rd Engineer Battalion is a component of the Maine Army National Guard and the United States Army. The organisations is the oldest in the Maine Guard and is one of the largest organisations in the state. The battalion has responded to nat ...

of the Maine Army National Guard.Lineage and Honors of the 133rd Engineer Battalion
/ref>

Coat of Arms

MOTTO: Semper Primus et Fidelis, meaning "Always First and Faithful."United States Army, Harbor Defenses of Portland, p. 42 Insignia on Shield: Portcullis is upper right. In ancient fortress warfare the portcullis barred the gateway to the hostile invader. Its color (red) symbolizes the artillery. The phoenix in the lower left is the crest of the City of Portland, the seaport and chief gateway of Maine. It represents the city (formerly named Falmouth) rising from its ashes after being destroyed by fire three times; by the Indians in 1676, by the French in 1690, and by the English fleet in 1775.27th AAA AW Bn lineage It is also the crest of the Harbor Defenses of Portland to which the regiment was assigned for service. It further denotes the successive rebirths of the regiment following the civil, Spanish, and World wars. The ten stars running from upper left to lower right represent the ten major battles engaged in by the Regiment. The blue band serving as background for the stars signifies the intermittent existence of the regiment as infantry, especially during the Civil War. CREST: Pine tree. Maine is the Pine Tree State.

References

Gaines, William C., Historical Sketches Coast Artillery Regiments 1917-1950, National Guard Army Regiments 197-265

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

External links

Coats of Arms and Badges of the Coast Artillery Corps, ''Coast Artillery Journal'', August 1923, vol. 59 no. 2, pp. 123-142
*

{{Artillery Regiments (United States) Military units and formations in Maine

240 __NOTOC__ Year 240 ( CCXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Venustus (or, less frequently, year 993 ''Ab u ...

History of Portland, Maine Military units and formations established in 1924 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944

History

Lineage

Coat of Arms

See also

References

Further reading

External links