The 51st Coast Artillery Regiment was a

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 ...

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 ...

History

Lineage

Constituted in July 1917 under the designation of the 6th Provisional Regiment, Coast Artillery Corps at

Fort Adams Fort Adams is a former United States Army post in Newport, Rhode Island that was established on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification, named for President John Adams who was in office at the time. Its first commander was Capt ...

, RI from the following companies- * Headquarters Company 2nd Co. at Fort Mott, NJ formed in June 1917 * Supply Company 2nd Co. at Fort Mott, NJ formed in June 1917 * Battery A 1st Co. at Fort McKinley, ME originally organized in 1808 * Battery B 2nd Co. at

Fort Greble Fort Greble was an American Civil War-era Union fortification constructed as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during that war. Named for First Lieutenant John Trout Greble, the first West Point graduate killed in the U.S. Civil War, it p ...

, RI originally organized in 1901 * Battery C 3rd Co. at

Fort Strong Fort Strong is a former U.S. Army Coast Artillery fort that occupied the northern third of Long Island in Boston Harbor. The island had a training camp during the American Civil War, and a gun battery was built there in the 1870s. The fort was ...

, MA originally organized in 1847 * Battery D 5th Co. at Fort McKinley, ME organized in April 1917 * Battery E 1st Co. at

Fort Preble Fort Preble was a military fort in South Portland, Maine, United States, built in 1808 and progressively added to through 1906. The fort was active during all major wars from the War of 1812 through World War II. The fort was deactivated in 1950. ...

, ME originally organized in 1901 * Battery F 4th Co. at Fort Williams, ME originally organized in 1901 * Battery G 3rd Co. at Fort Williams, ME originally organized in 1861 * Battery H 2nd Co. at Fort Williams, ME originally organized in 1812 * Battery I 2nd Co. at Fort Andrews, MA originally organized in 1907 * Battery K 1st Co. Fort Banks, MA originally organized in 1813 * Battery L 3rd Co. at

Fort Andrews Fort Andrews was created in 1897 as part of the Coast (later Harbor) Defenses of Boston, Massachusetts. Construction began in 1898 and the fort was substantially complete by 1904. The fort was named after Major General George Leonard And ...

, MA originally organized in 1907 * Battery M 4th Co. at Fort Andrews, MA originally organized in 1916 arrived in France 11 September 1917 and redesignated 51st Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps) on 5 February 1918. (In August 1918 the Railway Artillery Reserve was reconstructed and Coast Artillery Regiments reorganized to conform to standardized Field Artillery configurations) * HHB as HHB * Battery A as Battery A 51st Artillery * Battery B as Battery B 51st Artillery * Battery C redesignated as Battery C 43rd artillery * Battery D redesignated as Battery D 43rd artillery * Battery E redesignated as Battery E 43rd artillery * Battery F redesignated as Battery C 57th Artillery * Battery G redesignated as Battery D 57th Artillery * Battery H redesignated as Battery F 43rd Artillery * Battery I redesignated as Battery C 44th Artillery * Battery K redesignated as Battery D 44th Artillery * Battery L redesignated as Battery C 51st Artillery * Battery M redesignated as Battery D 51st Artillery * Batteries E and G 53rd Artillery transferred to 51st as Batteries E and F. The 51st had a mixed armament in France: the 1st Battalion with six French-made tractor-drawn 240 mm howitzers, the 2nd Battalion with eight French-made 270 mm mortars (on fixed mounts, moved on narrow-gauge railways), and the 3rd Battalion with eight British-made tractor-drawn 8-inch howitzers. After the Armistice the regiment turned in its heavy equipment and was moved back to the United States, where it was rearmed with 24 8-inch howitzers.History of the 51st Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps) in World War I
/ref> 51st Coast Artillery arrived New York City 3 February 1919 and moved to

Camp Mills Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September 1 ...

then reassigned to

Fort Hamilton Fort Hamilton is a United States Army installation in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. It is one of several posts that are part of the region which is ...

, then reassigned on 15 October 1919 to Camp Jackson, SC. * on 31 July 1921 2nd and 3rd Battalions HHB inactivated at Camp Jackson. * Battery C 56th Artillery redesignated as 2nd Battalion HHD&CT 51st Artillery on 1 August 1921. On 22 October 1921 51st Artillery reassigned to

Camp Eustis Fort Eustis is a United States Army installation in Newport News, Virginia. In 2010, it was combined with nearby Langley Air Force Base to form Joint Base Langley–Eustis. The post is the home to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Co ...

, VA. * On 1 July 1924 51st Artillery, CAC, redesignated as 51st Coast Artillery (TD) Regiment, armed with 24 155 mm guns. 51st Coast Artillery reassigned to

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

on 8 May 1931. * 1st Battalion reassigned to Camp Buchanan, San Juan, PR. on 20 October 1939. 51st Coast Artillery Regiment Redesignated 51st Coast artillery (155mm Gun)(Semi-Mobile) Regiment on 8 March 1942, and 2nd Battalion authorized. * 2nd Battalion HHB, Battery C, and 3rd platoon Battery G (SL) activated at

Borinquen Army Airfield Ramey Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. It was named after United States Army Air Forces Brigadier General Howard Knox Ramey. Following its closure, it was redeveloped into Rafael Hernandez Ai ...

on 16 March 1942 * Battery D 2nd Battalion activated at Borinquen Airfield 1 May 1942. HHB 1st Battalion, Battery B and Battery G reassigned to

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

on 8 December 1943 followed by 2nd Battalion HHB, and Batteries A, C, and D. :On 1 June 1944 the regiment is broken up into Battalions as Follows- * 1st Battalion reorganized and redesignated as 51st Coast Artillery (155mm Gun)(Semi Mobile) Battalion. * 2nd Battalion reorganized and redesignated as 52nd Coast Artillery (155mm Gun)(Semi Mobile) Battalion. * HHB 51st CA redesignated as the 145th Coast Artillery Group. * Battery G inactivated and disbanded. 12 June 1944. On 28 February 1946 51st and 52nd Coast artillery Battalions deactivated and disbanded.

Distinctive unit insignia

* Description A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/4 inches (3.18 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Gules on a bend Or a caterpillar passant Vert. * Symbolism The field of the shield is red, the Artillery color. Service in Lorraine is shown by the bend, a distinctive feature of the Lorraine arms, “Or, a bend Gules,” reversing the tinctures. The caterpillar on the bend symbolizes the tractor. * Background The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 16 March 1922.

Coat of arms

Blazon

* Shield Gules, on a bend Or a caterpillar passant Vert. * Crest On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules, a lion’s face Gules jessant-de-lis Or. Motto "En Avant" (Forward).

Symbolism

* Shield The field of the shield is red, the Artillery color. Service in Lorraine is shown by the bend, a distinctive feature of the Lorraine arms, “Or, a bend Gules,” reversing the tinctures. The caterpillar on the bend symbolizes the tractor. * Crest The lion’s face of the crest commemorates the initial war service of Battery “A” (formerly Battery “A,” 1st Artillery) which took part in the War of 1812, and the fleur-de-lis symbolizes the organization of the Regiment for service in France.

Background

The coat of arms was approved on 5 February 1920.

Campaign streamers

unknown

Decorations