The 53rd 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. In World War I it was a

railway artillery A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are ...

regiment in France. In World War II it was reactivated with mobile 155 mm guns.Gaines Regular Army, pp. 27–28

History

* for WW.I. history with

Railway gun A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railroad car, railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the ...

s see Obusier_de_400_Modèle_1915/1916#United_States_service * for 1917 see Archibald_H._Sunderland#World_War_I * for 1941 see Naval_Station_Argentia#Fort_McAndrew * for 1942 see Pepperrell_Air_Force_Base#Wartime_operations * for 1942 see Bermuda_Base_Command#US_Army_ground_forces_in_Bermuda

Lineage

Constituted in July 1917, under the designation of the 8th 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 ...

from the following companies:53rd Artillery in WWI at Rootsweb.com
/ref> * Headquarters and Supply Companies were the 5th Company,

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 ...

, VA and

Fort Story Joint Expeditionary Base-Fort Story, commonly called simply Fort Story is a sub-installation of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, which is operated by the United States Navy. Located in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Vir ...

, VA. (Originally the 118th Co.) * Battery A was the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Company Fort Howard, Md. and 1st Company from

Fort Smallwood Fort Smallwood Park is a county park in northeastern Anne Arundel County near Riviera Beach and Pasadena, Maryland, United States. It is located on the outer Patapsco River as it meets the Chesapeake Bay. On April 1, 2006 it became a regional p ...

. * Battery B was the 10th Company at Fort Monroe, VA. * Battery C was the 12th Company at Fort Monroe, VA. * Battery D was the 11th Company at Fort Monroe, VA. * Battery E was the 3rd Company at

Fort Wadsworth Fort Wadsworth is a former Military of the United States, United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper New York Bay, Upper and Lower New York Bay, Lower halv ...

, NY. (Originally the 114th Co.) * Battery F was the 3rd Company

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 ...

, NY. (Originally the 84th Co.) * Battery G was the 3rd Company from

Fort Tilden Fort Tilden, also known as Fort Tilden Historic District, is a former United States Army installation on the coast in the New York City borough of Queens. Fort Tilden now forms part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is administered b ...

* Battery H was the 3rd Company

Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and n ...

, SC. (Originally the 78th Co.) * Battery I was the 1st and 2nd Companies from

Fort Hunt Fort Hunt is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The area is named after Fort Hunt, which was built on the bank of the Potomac River in 1897 to defend Washington, D.C. from naval attack and is now a public p ...

* Battery K was the 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Companies from Fort Washington * Battery L was the 2nd Company

Fort Caswell A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, NC. (Originally the 31st Co.) * Battery M was the 2nd Company at

Fort Screven Tybee Island is a city and a barrier island located in Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, 18 miles (29 km) east of Savannah, Georgia, Savannah, United States. Though the name "Tybee Island" is used for bo ...

, GA. Arrived in France 25 September 1917 and redesignated as the 53rd 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 53rd Artillery CAC * Battery B as Battery B 53rd Artillery CAC * Battery C as Battery C 53rd Artillery CAC * Battery D as Battery D 53rd Artillery CAC * Battery E transferred to Provisional Howitzer Regiment, then to 51st Artillery CAC as Battery E * Battery F transferred to 42nd Artillery CAC as Battery F * Battery G transferred to Provisional Howitzer Regiment, then to 51st Artillery CAC as Battery F * Battery H transferred to 42nd Artillery CAC as Battery E * Battery I transferred to 52nd Artillery CAC as Battery E * Battery K transferred to 52nd Artillery CAC as Battery F * Battery L as E Battery 53rd Artillery CAC * Battery M as F Battery 53rd Artillery CAC Arrived from France at

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

11 March 1919 proceeded to

Camp Stuart, Virginia Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

then 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 ...

17 and 18 March 1919. * Inactivated 1 August 1921 at Camp Eustis * Redesignated as 53rd Coast Artillery (RY) Regiment on 1 July 1924 (inactive) * Demobilized in 1930 * Constituted as 53rd Coast Artillery (155mm Gun) on 9 July 1941 Activated on 20 July 1942 with personnel from Batteries HHB and E of 13th Coast Artillery at

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...

, Virginia. * Battery A from A Battery 57th Coast artillery, at

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

* Battery B from B Battery 57th Coast artillery, at

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

* Battery C from ??, at Goat Island,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

** A, B and C Batteries transferred back to Camp Pendleton less personnel and equipment and reactivated * Battery D at Camp Pendleton * Battery E at Camp Pendleton * Battery F at Camp Pendleton * Battery G (SL) from Battery G 57th Coast Artillery at

Fort DuPont Fort DuPont, named in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont, is located between the original Delaware City and the modern Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on the original Reeden Point tract, which was granted to Henry Ward in 1675. Along w ...

* Battery H activated but 20 February 1942 inactivated and transferred to 27th Coast Artillery Battalion On 16 October 1942 assigned to

Eastern Defense Command The Eastern Defense Command was first established as the Northeast Defense Command on 17 March 1941 as one of four U.S. Army continental defense commands to plan and prepare for and execute defense against enemy attack in the months before Americ ...

. * On 3 August 1943 53rd Artillery CAC reconstituted and consolidated with 53rd Coast Artillery (155mm Gun). :Regiment deactivated and broken up on 27 May 1944 at Camp Pendleton as follows- * HHB as 153rd Coast Artillery Group * 1st Battalion redesignated 290th Coast Artillery Battalion * 2nd Battalion redesignated 291st Coast Artillery Battalion * 3rd Battalion redesignated 292nd Coast Artillery Battalion * Battery G inactivated and disbanded 5 June 1944

Coat of arms

Blazon

* Shield Or, on a pile Gules crusily fitchy of the field a fleur-de-lis of the like. * Crest On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules, an oozlefinch Vert, beaked, capped and collared on legs Or, in front of an epie of the last. Motto JE FRAPPE (I Strike).

Symbolism

* Shield The regiment had its baptism of fire at Royammeix, France, near Commercy and was in St. Mihiel (also near Commercy) and the Meuse-Argonne operations near Verdun, all being in the province of Lorraine. The shield is gold as in the arms of Lorraine. The red pile is for artillery, scattered with cross crosslets fitchy from the arms of Commercy and charged with one gold fleur-de-lis from the arms of Verdun. * Crest The

oozlefinch The Oozlefinch is the unofficial historic mascot of the Air Defense Artillery – and formerly of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps. The Oozlefinch is portrayed as a featherless bird that flies backwards (at supersonic speeds) and carrie ...

and epie in the crest are both taken from the shoulder sleeve insignia worn by Railway Artillery Reserve, of which this regiment was a unit.

Background

The coat of arms was approved on 5 March 1929. There was no distinctive unit insignia approved for this unit.

Campaign streamers

unknown

Decorations

unknown

References

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

CMH lineage

page 123 * Artillery Journa

External links

* http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lh.html * http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cacunithistories/53rd_Arty.html {{DEFAULTSORT:053 Coast artillery regiments of the United States Army, 053 Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1921 History of the United States Army in Bermuda Military units and formations in Bermuda in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944