The 242nd Coast Artillery Regiment was a

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 ...

regiment in the

Connecticut National Guard The Connecticut Military Department is a state agency of the government of Connecticut. Its primary components are the Connecticut Army National Guard, the Connecticut Air National Guard, and four companies of the state militia. The Military Dep ...

. It garrisoned the

Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound The Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Long Island Sound and Connecticut from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These ...

(HD Long Island Sound), New York 1924–1944.

History

The 242nd Coast Artillery was organized 29 May 1924 as the Connecticut National Guard component of the

(HD Long Island Sound), New York. The 11th Coast Artillery was 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 ...

component of those defenses. The 242nd's primary armory was in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

. In October 1944 the regiment was broken up into two battalions as part of an Army-wide reorganization.

Lineage

The regiment's lineage originated with the organization of the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and

4th Connecticut Regiment The 4th Connecticut Regiment was raised on April 27, 1775, at Hartford, Connecticut. The regiment saw action in the Invasion of Canada. After which the regiment was disbanded on December 20, 1775, and reformed on September 16, 1776, to fight i ...

s in 1739. With some reorganization, these units went on to serve in the Revolutionary War and 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 ...

, the 4th Connecticut becoming the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment during the latter war. By 1907 they had merged and were redesignated as the Coast Artillery Corps,

. Following the

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

in April 1917, the companies were called into federal service by 25 July and redesignated as companies of the

Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound The Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Long Island Sound and Connecticut from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. Thes ...

. Five companies were used to form the 56th Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps) on the Western Front in France. On 14 September 1923 the units were reorganized as the 242nd Artillery, Coast Artillery Corps. On 16 September 1940 the regiment was inducted into federal service in

and moved to

Fort H.G. Wright Fort H. G. Wright was a United States military installation on Fishers Island in the town of Southold, New York, just two miles off the coast of southeastern Connecticut, but technically in New York. It was part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Isla ...

in HD Long Island Sound 23 September 1940. On 7 November 1940 the regiment moved to

Fort Terry Fort Terry was a coastal fortification on Plum Island, a small island just off Orient Point, New York, United States. This strategic position afforded it a commanding view over the Atlantic entrance to the commercially vital Long Island Sound. ...

. On 13 September 1943 the 3rd Battalion of the 242nd transferred to the

Harbor Defenses of New Bedford The Harbor Defenses of New Bedford was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of New Bedford, Massachusetts and the nearby Cape Cod Canal from 1900 to 1950, beginning with the ...

, Massachusetts and was redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Coast Artillery. On 7 October 1944 the regiment was broken up into the 190th and 242nd Coast Artillery Battalions (at

and

Fort Michie Fort Michie was a United States Army coastal defense site on Great Gull Island, New York. Along with Fort H. G. Wright, Fort Terry, and Camp Hero, it defended the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound as part of the Harbor Defenses of Long ...

, respectively), which were deactivated 1 April 1945. As of 2014 the 242nd's lineage was carried by the 242nd Engineer Detachment, Connecticut Army National Guard, in Niantic, Connecticut.242nd Engineer Detachment deployment in 2014 at CTNG Facebook page
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History

Lineage

See also

References

Further reading