The 249th Coast Artillery Regiment was a
Coast Artillery Corps
The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...
regiment in the
Oregon National Guard. It garrisoned the
Harbor Defenses of the Columbia (HD Columbia), Oregon and Washington 1924–1944.
[
]
History
The 249th Coast Artillery continued the history of the Coast Artillery Corps (Fixed Defenses) of the Oregon National Guard, organized in 1911. The Coast Artillery Corps included companies that manned harbor defenses during 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 ...
and was reorganized between 1919 and 1921 with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Companies.
The 249th Coast Artillery was organized on 18 April 1924 as the Oregon National Guard component of the Harbor Defenses of the Columbia (HD Columbia), Oregon and Washington. Part of the 3rd Coast Artillery was the Regular Army
A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following:
* a standin ...
component of those defenses 1924–1940, redesignated as the 18th Coast Artillery in 1940.[Gaines Regular Army, pp. 5-6, 12-13] The 249th's primary armory was in Salem, Oregon. In October 1944 the regiment was broken up into two battalions as part of an Army-wide reorganization.[
]
World War II
On 16 September 1940 the regiment was inducted into federal service at Salem, Oregon and moved to Camp Clatsop 23 September 1940. Moved to Fort Stevens, Oregon in HD Columbia 6 February 1941.[
On 21 June 1942 the ]bombardment of Fort Stevens
The Bombardment of Fort Stevens occurred in June 1942, in the American Theater and the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Imperial Japanese submarine ''I-25'' fired on Fort Stevens, which defended the Oregon side of the Columbia River's ...
by Japanese submarine ''I-25'' occurred with relatively minor damage.
Various exchanges of personnel occurred in HD of the Columbia between the 18th CA (HD) and the 249th CA (HD) in November 1942, August 1943, and January 1944.[
On 18 October 1944 the regiment was inactivated and broken up into the 171st and 249th Coast Artillery Battalions. The 171st was organized from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery of the 2nd Battalion of the 249th, which became Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the battalion, and Companies C and D, which became Batteries A and B, respectively. The 249th was organized from the 1st Battalion of the 249th Coast Artillery.
These battalions were inactivated on 15 September 1945, at Fort Canby and Fort Stevens, respectively.][Stanton, pp. 471, 489, 492] They were perpetuated postwar by the 722nd and 732nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions of the Oregon Army National Guard, which were consolidated into the 249th Artillery 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. ...
.
Campaign streamers
World War II
* Pacific theater without inscription[
]
Living history group
As of 2016 a living history
Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...
group representing Battery B, 249th Coast Artillery was active in the former HD Columbia area.
Lineage
As of 2016 the 249th's heraldry was continued by the 249th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) of the Oregon Army National Guard, based in Monmouth, Oregon
Monmouth () is a city in Polk County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for Monmouth, Illinois, the origin of its earliest settlers. The population is 11,110 at the 2020 Census and it is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.
H ...
.249th Regiment at CurrentOps.com
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See also
* Seacoast defense in the United States
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies o ...
* United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...
* Harbor Defense Command A Harbor Defense Command was a military organization of the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps designated in 1925 from predecessor organizations dating from circa 1895. It consisted of the forts, controlled underwater minefields, and other c ...
References
Bibliography
*
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)
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External links
Map of Harbor Defenses of the Columbia at FortWiki.com
Harbor Defenses of the Columbia at the Coast Defense Study Group website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:249
Coast artillery regiments of the United States Army
Military units and formations in Washington (state)
Military units and formations in Oregon
Military units and formations established in 1924
Military units and formations disestablished in 1944