The 51st Military Police Battalion is a military police battalion of the

South Carolina Army National Guard The South Carolina Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the U.S. Army's available combat forces and approximat ...

. The battalion headquarters is in

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

with subordinate units in West Columbia and Timmonsville.

History

Coast artillery

The Florence unit whose lineage is continued by the 51st Military Police Battalion headquarters and headquarters detachment began on 6 December 1926 as Battery A of the 263rd Coast Artillery Battalion. The battalion was redesignated as a regiment, the 263rd Coast Artillery, on 10 June 1930. A second Florence coast artillery unit, Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 263rd Coast Artillery, was organized on 15 April 1940. The descendant of the 263rd Coast Artillery, the whole regiment, itself, rather than just Batteries A and HQ, is now the 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command. The 263rd Coast Artillery was called up for Federal service on 13 January 1941 and spent

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

manning the defenses of

Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km²) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston H ...

. The 263rd Coast Artillery was broken up at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

on 1 October 1944, with the Headquarters Battery of the 1st Battalion disbanded and Battery A being redesignated as the 248th Coast Artillery Battery. The 248th was itself inactivated on 10 November at Fort Bragg.

Antiaircraft artillery and infantry

The South Carolina National Guard was reformed postwar. Battery D of the 713th Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA) Gun Battalion, reorganized and Federally recognized on 21 March 1947, continued the lineage of both Florence coast artillery units. In the following years two new Florence units were organized: Company I of the 118th Infantry, part of the 51st Infantry Division, on 10 April 1947 and the Medical Detachment of the 713th AAA Gun Battalion on 3 January 1949. The 713th was called up for Federal service during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

on 15 August 1950 and released back to state control on 14 June 1952. The battalion was redesignated as the 713th AAA Battalion on 1 October 1953 and on 13 May 1958 the medical detachment was redesignated as the Medical Section of the battalion headquarters battery. Under the

Pentomic Pentomic (cf. ''Greek pent(e)-'' +''-tome'' "of five parts") was a structure for infantry and airborne divisions adopted by the US Army between 1957 and 1963, in response to the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons, on future battlefields. ...

reorganization of the South Carolina Army National Guard, the three Florence units were consolidated as the headquarters company of the 3rd Battle Group of the 118th Infantry on 1 April 1959. In the

ROAD A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

reorganization of 1 January 1963 the battle group was reorganized as the 3rd Battalion, 118th Infantry and the 51st Infantry Division eliminated.

Military police

51st MP Battalion radio operator during 1973 active training

The battalion headquarters company was converted into the headquarters and headquarters detachment of the new 51st Military Police Battalion on 1 January 1968 during a reorganization of the South Carolina Army National Guard. The battalion included the 132nd Military Police Company at Florence, the 133rd Military Police Company at Timmonsville, and the 132nd Medical Company (Clearing) at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. In May 1969 the 132nd and 133rd Military Police Companies were called up for state active duty in response to the

1969 Charleston hospital strike The Charleston hospital strike was a two-month movement in Charleston, South Carolina that protested the unfair and unequal treatment of African American hospital workers. Protests began after twelve black employees were fired for voicing their co ...

. They spent a week in Charleston confronting the strikers. In May 1973, two women who joined the 132nd Medical Company became the first women in the previously all-male South Carolina Army National Guard. The battalion headquarters participated in two-week annual training at

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. Th ...

during the summer of 1973 together with other South Carolina Army National Guard units of the 2nd Brigade, 30th Infantry Division. As of 2010 it also included the 131st Military Police Company at

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

, converted in 2008 from Troop B, 202nd Cavalry as a result of the elimination of the 218th Infantry Brigade.

Subordinate Units

* Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), Florence * 132nd Military Police Company (132nd MPC) (Combat Support), West Columbia * 133rd Military Police Company (133rd MPC) (Combat Support), Timmonsville

List of Commanders

Notes

References

* {{Cite book, last=Wfirst=Robert K., url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/060/60-9-1/cmhPub_60-9-1.pdf, title=Military Police (Army Lineage Series), publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military History, year=1992, location=Washington, D.C., lccn=91-22813 Military units and formations in South Carolina Military police battalions of the United States Army Military units and formations established in 1968