The 9th 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 ca ...

regiment in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

History

The 9th Coast Artillery was constituted 27 February 1924 and organized 1 July 1924 as 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 standi ...

component of the Harbor Defenses of Boston (HD Boston), Massachusetts until early 1944; the 241st Coast Artillery was the

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is t ...

component of those defenses. On 23 February 1944 the 9th was relieved of this duty and soon deactivated as part of an Army-wide reorganization.Stanton, p. 456

Lineage

Constituted 27 February 1924 in the Regular Army as the 9th Coast Artillery (Harbor Defense) (HD) and organized as a Type B regimentBerhow, pp. 488-495 at Fort Banks in HD Boston on 1 July 1924 from the following companies of the

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 d ...

: 172nd, 59th, 113th, 120th, 136th, 137th, 177th, 178th, and 9th Coast Artillery band; only regimental headquarters and headquarters battery (HHB) and Batteries A and C activated.Gaines, pp. 8-9 * Batteries A and C inactivated 20 February 1930; HHB reduced to caretaking detachment. * Battery A reactivated 1 July 1939 at Fort Banks and assigned to

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

. * Battery B activated 1 July 1940 at Fort Banks. * HHBs of 1st and 2nd Battalions activated 10 February 1941 at Fort Warren and Fort Strong. * Battery C activated at Fort Banks on 1 July 1940, assigned to

Great Brewster Island Great Brewster Island is one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, situated some offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of , plus an intertidal zone of a further . Unlike the other ou ...

on 19 July 1943. * Batteries D and E activated at Fort Warren 1 July 1940. (Battery D assigned to Fort Dawes until redesignated Battery F and moved to Fort Warren on 2 October 1941, then redesignated HHB 3rd Battalion on 1 July 1942 and reassigned to Fort Ruckman). * Battery F activated at Fort Strong 1 July 1940. On 2 October 1941 reassigned to a 155 mm battery at Salisbury Beach; redesignated Battery C 10 October 1941. * On 1 June 1941 the regiment was reorganized as Type A and 3rd Battalion was activated as follows: ** HHB 3rd Battalion activated 1 June 1941 at

Fort Heath Fort Heath was a US seacoast military installation for defense of the Boston and Winthrop Harbors with an early 20th-century Coast Artillery fort, a 1930s USCG radio station, prewar naval research facilities, World War II batteries, and a C ...

until 27 August 1941. ** Batteries G and I activated at Fort Andrews 1 June 1941. ** Battery H activated at Fort Banks 1 June 1941. ** Battery K (searchlight) activated 1 June 1941, and assigned to various posts around Boston Harbor; on 8 March 1943 redesignated as an AA searchlight battalion and seacoast searchlights operated by regimental HHB. * On 10 October 1941: ** HHB 2nd Battalion redesignated HHB 1st Battalion on 10 October 1941 ** HHB regimental redesignated HHB 2nd Battalion ** Battery C redesignated Battery D. ** Battery D redesignated Battery F. ** Battery F redesignated Battery C. * On 8 March 1943 HHB 3rd Battalion and Batteries H, I, and K transferred to Fort Ruckman; also Battery G to East Point Military Reservation, Nahant, MA. * On 23 February 1944 regimental assets absorbed by HD Boston and HHB reassigned to XXIII Corps at

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquar ...

, Texas; departed 14 March 1944. * disbanded 26 June 1944; personnel reassigned to five

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20 ...

battalions.

Distinctive unit insignia

* Description A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 inch (2.54 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Gules bordered Or, the ship Mayflower, under full sail Proper.Berhow, p. 581 * Symbolism The shield is red for the Artillery. The Mayflower tells of the historic background of the Boston district. * Background The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 9th Coast Artillery Regiment on 14 May 1924. It was redesignated for the 9th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion on 6 December 1950.

Coat of arms

*Blazon **Shield: Gules, the ship Mayflower under full sail Proper. **Crest: On a wreath Argent and Gules, a dexter arm embowed habited gray with white ruff grasping a staff with the flag of Bunker Hill attached all Proper. **Motto: PRIMA LIBERTATIS ACIE (In the First Line of Battle for Liberty). *Symbolism: The shield is red for the Artillery. The Mayflower, the crest and the motto all tell of the historic background of the Boston district. * Background: The coat of arms was originally approved for the 9th Coast Artillery Regiment on 6 May 1924. It was redesignated for the 9th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion on 6 December 1950.

Campaign streamers

none

Decorations

none

References

*
Gaines, William C., Coast Artillery Organizational History, 1917-1950, ''Coast Defense Journal'', vol. 23, issue 2
*
Coats of Arms and Badges of the Coast Artillery Corps, ''Coast Artillery Journal'', August 1923, vol. 59 no. 2, pp. 123-142
* (dead link 12 September 2017)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:009 009 Military units and formations in Massachusetts History of Boston Military in Boston Military units and formations established in 1924 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944