The Third Field Artillery Battalion

 

     This is a story of some eight or ten companies and batteries. Each has its own story to tell. Together they formed the present Third Field Artillery Battalion. Their deeds and the battles in which they fought do not belong to us alone—they are part of the history of the United States. In witness of the gallant actions of these soldiers of an earlier day, the battalion standard bears the names of twenty campaigns on its streamers. Individual batteries have participated in as many as 50 to 60 battles.

 

The graphical history on the last page illustrates the honorable heritage in which the battalion takes just pride. Although artillery records prior to 1794 are vague, well recognized traditions of  Revolutionary service exist in three batteries of the Third.

 

Just after the American Revolution in 1790, practically no American Army existed. At one time a small detachment at West Point (one day to become Battery D, 5th Field Artillery) constituted the entire army. The necessity for some semblance of a small, professional army to preserve security and peace on the frontiers forced the establishment of companies raised by individuals. These companies were designated by the name of the organizer. The artillery component of the Army was contained in regi­ments of “Artillerists and Engineers.”

 

In 1802, this organization was changed to a Corps of Engineers, a Corps of Artillery, and a Regiment of Artillerists. In 1815, all artillery was formed into a Corps of Artillery, and further sub-divided into a Northern Division and a Southern Division. All artillery units were lettered companies in this Corps of Artillery.

 

1821 saw the first organization of numbered Regiments of Artillery, containing lettered batteries. This organization was to last until 1901. It must be remembered that no differentiation was made at this time between “field” and “coast” artillery. Horse drawn artillery was used a little, horse and pack were practically unknown. Usually “field batteries” were drawn by the cannoneers. Guns were small, and all except higher officers walked. Artillery often trained and fought as infantry and sometimes cavalry in those days. Coastal defenses were also manned by artillery regiments. The term field artillery did not exist. There is a difference between regiments of Artillery and regiments of Field Artillery which were to come later.

 

In 1901 Regiments of Artillery were reformed into numbered batteries of Field Artillery. This was changed again in 1907 by the organization of two arms, the Field Artillery and the Coast Artillery Corps. Our present regiments of Field Artillery came into being at this time. The last change occurred in 1940 when regiments of light artillery in the Regular Army were reformed into separate artillery battalions. The achievements of these units, whose designation changed so often, are now the heritage of the Third Field Artillery Battalion, which these units formed. It is to them that we owe our glorious traditions. Let us follow them as separate companies and batteries until they were united to form the Third Regiment of United States Field Artillery in 1907.

 

I

 

     In 1812, records show Donoho’s Company of Artillery as being part of the Second Regiment. The company probably existed prior to that date as a unit of the Continental Army. It served valiantly during the War of 1812 against England. In 1815 this company became E Company, Southern Division of Artil­lery, as a result of the reduction in size of the Army, following the War of 1812. It was assigned as part of a geographical, not tactical, division. On March 21, 1821, this company became Company F, Third Regiment of United States Artillery. As F of the Third it was destined to write its name in the pages of American history. For fifteen years, F Company performed duties similar to the infantry regiments. Only minor differences existed between the two arms. The artillery uniforms were embellished with red, and they were allowed bugles instead of fifes for field music. The years were spent in garrisoning forts along the Central Atlantic seaboard.

 

     As a result of Indian uprisings the entire regiment went to the Seminole and Creek Indian lands in Florida and Alabama. Ceaseless patrols, small skirmishes, ambushes were routine. On December 31, 1837, the entire regi­ment was together at Fort Christmas, Florida, for the first and, it is be­lieved the last time.

   

     The first recorded battle of the company occurred in the battle at Indian Crossing of the Loch~ahatchie River, Florida, January 24, 1838. The regi­ment then marched to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Building roads, patrolling the Southern Indiana tribes, and garrisoning the Atlantic coast, filled the years until 1846.

     

     The battery, one of whose lieutenants was William Tecumseh Sherman, sailed around the Horn in 1846-47, narrowly missing disaster in a storm which sank another troop ship. In 1847, they landed at Monterey, then Upper California, and for the next ten years assisted in keeping a semblance of order among the Mexicans and Californians.

1858 and the Spring of 1859 found the battery quelling Indian uprisings in the desert near Fort Yuma, Arizona (present site of Yuma). On Sep­tember 28, 1859, they arrived at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, after 13 years in the West. They were just in time to assist in the destruction of John Brown’s gang during his famous raid on Harper’s Ferry, Maryland. The stage was set for the Civil War.

 

Now horse-drawn, on June 10, 1861, F Battery arrived in Washington, D. C. to assist in its defense engaging in a short affray at Big Bethel, Vir­ginia, on the way. It participated in the Peninsular campaign of 1862 against Richmond, engaging in: Siege of Yorktown, Virginia: April 5 to May 4; Malvern Hill: June 30, July 1-2. Upon the abandonment of the campaign, it operated with Berry’s Brigade in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Vir­ginia, engaging in the historical battles of Fredericksburg: November 11 to 15; and in the Spring of the following year at Chancellorsville, May 1-3,   1863.

 

At Gettysburg, July 1 to 4, 1863, this battery fired the opening artillery shot. Here its gallant battery commander Lieutenant Livingston was killed.

 

Following this critical battle the battery’s service was with Sheridan’s Army. Its battles read like a chronology of the campaign, November 26-December 2, 1863: Mine Run, Virginia; May 5-7, 1864: Wilderness; May 31: Hanover Court House; June 29, White House, Virginia; July 1-August 31: Petersburg; July 27-29, Deep Bottom; August 11, Winchester; August 16, Ceclarville; August 26-29, Shepherdstown; October 19, Cedar Creek; November 22, Mt. Jackson. Lieutenant Bardton, the battery commander, was breveted Major, for his skillful handling of the battery.

 

At the end of the war, from 1865-1868, the battery garrisoned Richmond, Virginia. The thirty years following saw the battery garrison at many of the posts along the Atlantic seaboard.

 

1898—another war and F Battery became a member of General Miles Porto Rican expedition landing on that island July 25, 1898. On August 9, it participated in an engagement at Coamo, and closed out the campaign on August 12 at Asomanto Mt. It returned to the States a year or so later and in 1901 it became the 6th Field Battery of United States Artillery.

In 1907, while stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, this famous battery became:

 

BATTERY A, THIRD FIELD ARTILLERY

*           *           *           *          *          *           *          *           *          *

 

II

The Spanish-American War brought forth a great increase in the American Army, particularly so in the artillery units. New regiments were formed.

 

      In the Spring of 1898, Light Battery M of the Seventh Regiment of United States Artillery was organized at Fort Slocum, New York, by Sec­ond Lieutenant Willard D. Newbill, who was later to command the Third Field Artillery in France. Fifteen old soldiers from Regular Army regi­ments and volunteers formed the nucleus of the battery.

   

     Shortly afterwards, it was transferred to Fort Myer, Virginia, where Captain Macomb, a distinguished artillery man assumed command. The battery was a contingent of General Miles’ Porto Rican expedition in July, 1898.

Until June 1900, it was located near Ponce, then marched across the island to San Juan, embarked, and was stationed at Washington Barracks upon its return to the States.

     

     In August 1900, the battery sailed for the Philippines, reaching Manila in October. It remained in the islands until 1903 and was then transferred to Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In 1901 it became redesignated as the 15th Field Battery of United States Artillery. In 1907, this battery became:

 

BATTERY B, THIRD FIELD ARTILLERY

*       *       *       *        *       *       *       *        *       *

 

III

     Pursuant to an Act of Congress, May 4, 1861, First Lieutenant Ayres organized Light Battery F, 5th Regiment of United States Artillery at Camp Greble, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The 5th Regiment was the first artillery regiment to be composed entirely of field batteries. Other regi­ments contained siege batteries as well as field batteries.

 

    The battery’s first assignment was to the defense of Washington, D. C. in the late Summer of 1861. Its record during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862 is outstanding. April 5 to May 4—Siege of Yorktown, Virginia; April 16—Lee’s Mill; May 5— Williamsburg; June 27—Cold Harbor; June 28—Gaines’ Mill. In the withdrawal following this last battle this battery held the post of honor as part of the rear guard covering the retreat. June 30 to July 2 —Malvern Hill; September 14—Crampton’s Pass. On September 16 and 17, it participated in the drawn battle of Antietam; on November 11 to 15 at Fredericksburg. The official report of General Irwin on the battle of Antietam states:

 

“The splendid service of the battery of Lieutenant Martin, 5th Artillery, posted near my right, attracted the attention of every one who saw it in action. For several hours it engaged the enemy at short range and with deadly effect. In action I felt a particular interest in Lieutenant Martin’s battery, for to his fire the safety of my brigade may be largely imputed.

Had he not checked the heavy fire from the batteries of the enemy they would have destroyed the greater part of my command.”

 

     F Battery participated at Chancellorsville, May 3 and 4, 1863; Bernards House, June 7; Gettysburg, July 1 to 4; Cavetown, July 10; Rappahan’nock Station, November 7. During the Summer of 1864 from July ito August 31, the battery helped besiege Petersburg. After the war it garrisoned Richmond, Virginia, and then for the next twenty years occupied various posts on the Atlantic seaboard.

 

     In 1890 it was transferred to the Presidio of San Francisco. In 1897 we find the battery at Fort Riley, Kansas, moving to Cuba upon the opening of the Spanish-American War. It landed on Cuba on June 10, 1898, in time to participate in the siege of Santiago, the battles of EL Caney, Aquadores, and famed San Juan Hill during the period June22 to August 17,1898.

After the cessation of hostilities in Cuba it was ordered to the Philip­pines to take part in suppressing the Insurrection. Here the battery split into platoons under Lieutenant Burgess, Captain Reilly, and Lieutenant Summerall (later Chief of Staff). An impressive list of engagements was added to the battery’s record.

 

September 9 to September 29, 1899—Innes: October 2—Bacoor; Octo­ber 6—Binacayan; October 8—Noveleta; October 3, 8, 20, 23—Calamba; October 10—San Francisco de Malabon; January 1, 1900—San Cristobal; January 2—Biuan; January 3—Lecheria; January 9, 11—Santo Tomas; January 13—Lipa; January 17—Rosario; January 21—San Pablo; January 7 to January 28—Barrio Putol. The platoons finally reassembled in Manila on March 9, 1900.

 

     Their return to the States was interrupted by the outbreak of the Boxers in China. To protect Europeans in China beseiged by the Boxers, relief expeditions were organized by America, England, Germany, France, Russia and Japan. General Chaffee commanded the United States forces which included F Battery of the 5th. The battery landed at Tongkin, China, August 2, 1900 and commenced the march to the Forbidden City of Pekin. It travelled by rail to Tein-Tsin, then on foot to Pekin, fighting a brisk battle at Yangstun August 6. The assault on Pekin was made August 14 and 15, 1900.

 

     The road to the forbidden City was attacked by this column, four large and strong fortified gates having to be assailed and captured, before reach­ing the final obstacle, the Wu Gate. While engaging in this attack on August 15th, the battery’s gallant commander, Captain Henry J. Reilly, was killed. The following day he was buried with military honors in the United States Legation Compound. Lieutenant Summerall was recommended for brevet Captain by the Expedition Commander for distinguished service here. The character of the battery may best be known by quoting the fol­lowing cablegram from the Expeditionary Commander.

 

“Adjutant General, Washington. Reply to your cablegram, our battery better than battery any other army in campaign. German battery recently arrived; some features superior to ours, powder charges in case, caliber gun not quite so large. Our battery highly praised. Battery seen by Gen­eral Linivitch, who said he felt like taking off his hat whenever he saw it. No battery so active as ours in attack on Pekin.—Chaffee.”

 

     The Battery remained at Pekin in the Army of Occupation until May, 1901, when it returned to Manila, from which place it shortly went back to the States. Also on duty with F Battery in the Philippines was E Battery of the 5th Artillery, one of whose lieutenants was E. L. Gruber. It was while watching the moving columns of these batteries of the 5th Artillery that Lieutenant Gruber was inspired to write the immortal “Caisson Song.”

 

     In 1901, the battery was redesignated 10th Field Battery of United States Artillery. In 1907, while on duty at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, this battery became:

 

BATTERY C THIRD FIELD ARTILLERY

*       *        *       *        *       *       *       *        *        *

 

IV

     In 1796, records show, an officer named McRae was given command of a company of the Second Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers. Wads­worth, in 1798, also formed a company in the same regiment.

     

     These two companies were combined in 1802 to form Bruff’s company of the Regiment of Artillerists, which was part of the Second Regiment of Artillery during the War of 1812. Winfield Scott was its Colonel during that war. This Second Artillery grew out of the Artillery Group of the Continental Army.

   

     On May 17, 1815, this company became Company M of the Northern Division, Corps of Artillery.

     

     A few years later at West Point this company absorbed the Detach­ment of Bombardiers, stationed at West Point continuously since pre­ Revolutionary Days. This detachment was probably one of the oldest military units on the continent. In 1821, these two units became Battery A of the Second Regiment of United States Artillery. It became one of the most famous batteries in the American Army.

 

     In 1832, the battery moved to Fort Mitchell, Alabama, to assist in quiet­ing unruly Indian tribes of the South. 1836 found it at Tampa Bay, Florida, building roads and fighting Indians. On February 27 to March 5, 1837 it engaged in the bloody swamp battle of the Withlacoochie River. After two more years of constant skirmishes with the Seminoles, swamps and disease, the battery was ordered to Trenton, New Jersey, and then to Buffalo, New York.

     

     In 1845 under Lieutenant Duncan it joined General Zachary Taylor’s force at Corpus Christi, Texas. On May 8, 1846, it opened the battle of Palo Alto, Texas; May 9—Resaca de la Palma; May l8—Matamoras, Mexico; and September 21 to 23-Monterey.

 

     After the siege of Vera Cruz, March 9-28, 1847, the battery fought at Cerro Gordo, April 17-18; Amazoque, May 17; Paso de Ovejas, August 10; National Bridge, August 12; Cerro Gordo, August 15; Plan del Rio, August 18-20; Las Animas, August 19; and Molino del Rey, September 8.

 

     At the battle of Molino del Rey, the oldest battery record reads: “Dur­ing this action it became necessary to advance a piece of Artillery along the causeway which was swept by the enemy’s fire. Lieutenant Hunt of Duncan’s Battery (undoubtedly the General Hunt, later Chief of Artil­lery of the Potomac, during the Civil War (W.D.N.)) was ordered to execute this duty. Advancing at full speed for a distance of 150 yards with a loss of more than one-half of his men, he accomplished his object and engaged the enemy, muzzle to muzzle. General Worth in his official report:

 

     ‘It has never been my good fortune to witness a more brilliant exhibition of courage and conduct.”’

 

     On September 12 to 14, it assisted in storming the heights of Chapultepec Castle, capture of which brought the war td a speedy conclusion. The battery returned to Fort McHenry, Maryland, in 1848. In 1857, how­ever, it was at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, having marched most of the dis­tance from McHenry.

   

     Upon the outbreak of the Civil War the battery went to Washington, D. C. and prepared to defend the city. This did not interfere with its relief of the garrison at Fort Pickens, Florida. On July 21, 1861, it fired the first shot at the first battle of Bull Run.

 

     The spring of 1862 found it a member of McClellan’s forces on the peninsula, participating in the battles of: Yorktown, April 5-May ~; Williamsburg, May 4-5; Slat ersville, May 9; New Bridge, May 23-24; Me­chanicsville, May 27; Cold Harbor, June 27; Maivern Hill, June 30-July 2; Harrison’s Landing, July 31.

 

     It was at Harrison’s Landing that the customary three volleys were not permitted to be fired over the grave of a corporal from this battery. As a substitute “Taps” was blown, thus inaugurating a custom continued ever since in our Army.

The Fall brought more battles—September 15—Sharpsburg Heights; September 16-17—Antietam; September 19—Shepherdstown; November 3—Piedmont Station; November 4—Markham’s Station; November 10— Hazel Run; November 11 to 15—Fredericksburg.

 

     Next Spring, 1863, came Culpeper, April 30-May 7; Fredericksburg— May 3-4; Aldie, June 17; Upperville, June 21-22; and Gettysburg, July 1-4.          Lieutenant Roder’s section of the battery, as a member of General Buford’s cavalry division, fired one of the first rounds of the engagement.

 

On July 6 came Williamsport; July 7-12; Boonsborough; July 9-11, Funks­town; September 12-15, Brandy Station; September 21-23, Madison Court House; November 26-December 2, Mine Run.

     

     Operating with Sheridan’s cavalry, the next year found the battery in a succession of engagements—May 30-June 12, Cold Harbor; June 11-13, Newark; June 16, 17, 24, St. Mary’s Church; June 27-29; Deep Bottom; July 30, Lee’s Hill; September 29-October 2, Poplar Spring; October 27, Hatcher’s Run; December 1, Stoney Creek; December 7, Hicksford.

 

     The last months of the war show: Hatcher’s Run, February 5-7, 1865; Dinwiddie and Five Forks, March 30-April 1; Lisbon Center, April 3; Farmville, April 7; Appomattox Court House, April 8-9.

 

     In August, 1865, the battery went to Fort McHenry, Maryland, but soon sailed for San Francisco via Panama. This entailed clisembarking on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus, then marching across to the Pacific side and re-embarking.

1869, Indian uprisings in the West were met by A Battery taking the field as cavalry to quiet the savages. In 1872, it returned to Fort McHenry. 1885 found it in Little Rock, Arkansas; but four years later it marched to Fort Riley, Kansas. Here it remained until the outbreak of the Spanish- American War.

 

     Known as Grimes’ Battery, it participated in the siege of Santingo, Cuba, June 22, 1898, and the engagements at El Caney, Aquadores, and San Juan HiLl, July 17. It is interesting to note that due to a cluster of cor­respondents and attaches, all in white, the third Spanish shot put the third piece out of action. The battery continued firing all day on the block house at the top of the hill. As part of the Army of Occupation, the battery re­mained in Cuba until 1902. In the meantime, in 1901, it was re-designated 3d Field Battery of United States Artillery.

 

     Under Captain C. P. Summerall, in 1903, the battery marched from Camp Thomas, Chickamauga Park to Fort Myer, Virginia, a distance of 696 miles without losing a man or animal. In 1907 this distinguished battery became:

 

BATTERY D THIRD FIELD ARTILLERY

*        *       *        *        *       *        *       *        *        *

     So far as historical records show in 1794, Thompson’s Company, Corps of Artillery, became Hite’s Company, Corps of Artillery. In all probability it was directly descended from Revolutionary artillery companies. It was redesignated Company Q of Northern Division, Corps of Artillery in 1815.

     

     During the War of 1812, it was one of Colonel Winfield Scott’s units of the old Second Artillery. At Fort McHenry, Maryland, in 1821, the company became Battery F of the Second Regiment of United States Artillery. The years until 1835 were spent in Atlantic seaboard garrisons. In 1835 the battery was ordered to Fort King, Florida, participating in the first battle of the Withlacoochie River on December 31, 1835. It was engaged at Welika Pond, July 19, 1836; and Wahoo Swamp, November 21, 1836. Following the cessation of the Seminole War it was ordered to Fort Adams, Rhode Island in 1839, where it remained until 1847.

 

     As part of General Scott’s expedition to Mexico, F Battery participated in the siege of Vera Cruz, Mexico, March 9-28, 1847; Cer’ro Gordo, April 17-18; Amazoque, May 14; Churubusco, August 18-20; Molino del Rey, September 8; and Chapultepec, September 12-14.

   

     After the war, the battery travelled extensively, going to Fort Moultrie, South Carolina in 1848, to Florida in 1849; to Fort Monroe, Virginia in 1857; then to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Little Rock, Arkansas in 1860, then finally moved to St. Louis in 1861 just before the outbreak of the war.

     

     It opened its Civil War record by assisting in the capture of Camp Jackson in 1861; it was at Booneville, Missouri on June 17; Forsyth, July 22; Dry Creek, August 2; Wilson’s Creek, August 10. It was of great assist­ance in the battle of New Madrid, March 3-14, 1862; Island No. 10, April 8; Corinth, April 29-May 5. The battery crossed the Mississippi during the engagement at Farmington, May 8-9. September 19, Tuka; October 3-4, Corinth again. The year 1863 was spent almost wholly in operations around Memphis and Town Creek.

 

     The battery became part of Sherman’s Army and commenced the his­toric campaign toward Atlanta. It played a conspicuous role at Resaca, May 13-15, 1864; Dallas, May 24-June 5; and fired with great accuracy at Kenesaw Mt., June 14, 22, July 3; and at Dow Station, July 4. During the siege of Atlanta, July 20-August 30, and the battle of the Chattahoochie River, August 30, the battery suffered heavy losses. During the latter battle, all guns were captured during a displacement. They were later recaptured.

 

     The battery was reorganized and sent to Nashville, where it partici­pated in its last engagement of the war, December 15-16, 1864. After the war it was sent to Fort McHenry, thence to Presidio of San Francisco by way of Panama. In 1868, this battery was sent to Alaska to help garrison the territory. Disaster overtook the party, and the entire bat­tery was shipwrecked on Cook’s Inlet. In 1872, it was returned to Fort McHenry, where it remained until 1877, then being ordered to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania and later San Antonio, Texas.

 

It formed part of General MacKenzie’s expedition into Mexico in 1878, being stationed at Fort Clark at the time. In 1880, the battery arrived at Fort Leavenworth, where it remained until moved to Fort Riley in 1891.

 

On June 20, 1898, F Battery arrived at Baquiri, Cuba, as part of Shafter’s expedition. From June 22 to August 17, it participated in the battles of Santiago, El Caney, Aquad ores, San Juan Hill. At San Juan Hill, the bat­tery commander was wounded, leaving command to Lieutenant Ernest Hinds (later Chief of Artillery, A. E. F.).

 

After its return to the States in 1901, the battery was redesignated as the 4th Field Battery of United States Artillery. In 1907, while at Fort Myer, Virginia, it became:

 

BATTERY E THIRD FIELD ARTILLERY

*       *        *        *        *       *       *       *        *        *

 

VI

On March 29, 1898, at Fort Slocum, New York, Captain Lemly organ­ized Light Battery C, 7th Regiment of United States Artillery. In five months it traveled to Fort Myer, Virginia, then to Porto Rico. Six months later it was back at Fort Adams, Rhode Island, where it stayed for a year.

 

On August 16, 1900, the battery embarked at San Francisco for the Philippines, arriving there in time to see action at Buiusan, November 21, 1900. In January 1901, a patrol from this battery captured one of the insurgent leaders with his staff. The battery was at Esperauza, February 17, 1901; and Mt. Misibis, February 26. In 1903 it returned to the States where it remained for three years. In 1901, the battery became 14th Field Battery of United States Artillery.

 

On October 3, 1906, the battery again started for Cuba, where it served for three years under Captain Gatley. While in Cuba it became:

 

BATTERY F THIRD FIELD ARTILLERY

*       *        *        *        *       *       *       *        *        *

 

VII

An Act of Congress, January 25, 1907, reformed the United States Ar­tillery into five regiments of Field Artillery, and the Coast Artillery Corps, a new arm of the service. Accordingly, in February 1907, the Third Regi­ment of Field Artillery was formed from the following numbered field batteries:

 

6th Battery at Fort Sam Houston, Texas—became A of 3d Field Artillery

15th Battery at Fort Sam Houston, Texas—became B of 3d Field Artillery

10th Battery at Fort Snelling, Minnesota —became C of 3d Field Artillery

3d Battery at Fort Myer, Virginia           —became D of 3d Field Artillery
4th Battery at Fort Myer, Virginia               —became E of 3d Field Artillery
14th Battery at Cuba                          —became F of 3d Field Artillery

 

The Regiment was completely horsed, and equipped with American 3” rapid fire field gun.

 

The Regimental Band was formed in May 1907 under Bandmaster Thomas King. He was later succeeded by Bandmaster Pentland, under whose guidance the band brought great credit to the Regiment. It was the acknowledged favorite of Generals Funston, Pershing, and Ruckman.

 

F Battery returned to Fort Myer from Cuba on February 11, 1910. A year later the 2d Batallion of the 3d Field Artillery (Batteries D, E, F) were ordered to the Mexican border as a security measure during one of the frequent Mexican revolutions. They returned to Fort Myer about a year later. B Battery was also called out on border duty, going to El Paso in 1912 when the Madero Revolution broke out

 

As more border incidents flared up, in 1916 the entire regiment was concentrated at Camp Shafter, Eagle Pass, Texas. It did not cross the border into Mexico as part of Pershing’s expedition, however.

 

This year marked the beginning of some 25 years of reorganization, cadres, and redesignations. On July 29, 1916, Headquarters and Supply Company were organized under command of Captain R. H. Lewis (later General). During the Summer of 1916, the regiment was subdivided and formed the 6th Field Artillery. The band formed the nucleus of the 7th Field Artillery band.

 

In 1917 the regiment returned to Myer but was not destined to be among the first units to sail to France. In the Spring of 1917, shortly after declara­tion of war, this regiment furnished cadres for the 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, the 19th Field Artillery Regiment, the 20th Field Artillery Regiment, the 21st Field Artillery Regiment, the replacement battalion of the 6th Field Artillery, the 6th Trench Mortar Battery, and smaller quotas of men to new draft regiments of artillery. The Band alone furnished the nucleus for the 19th, 20th, 343rd, and 350th Field Artillery Bands, including the bandmasters for their regiments. At one time the regiment was split into five different parts in widely separated parts of the country, due to the necessity to supply training batteries for cantonments and training camps.

 

     Eventually, in the Spring of 1918 it was brought together as a part of the 6th Field Artillery Brigade, under command of Brigadier General E. A. Miller at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma (now Fort Sill), and sailed from New York on H.M.S. “Caronia,” July 14, 1918, reaching Liverpool via St. George’s Channel on the 26th. The vessel had a fortunate escape from a school of submarines lying in wait in the Irish Channel; the convoy Com­mander changed his course accordingly toward the south and passed un­harmed through the St. George’s Channel. The next day the “Justicia” was attacked and sunk after eight hours battle with fourteen subs at the place our convoy would have been had the course not been changed. From Liverpool the regiment went to Le Havre by the way of Winchester and Southampton. Upon landing in France it went immediately to the Artillery Training Center near Valhadon, Doubs, reaching there the 1st of August. The record of this regiment at Valhadon was one of the finest made by any of the many regiments attending that school.

 

     On the 14th of October the Third Field Artillery left this station to join its own Division, the 6th Division, near St. Menehould; but due to a tragic lack of horses, it was held in reserve at Liffol-le-Grand, Vosges, within sound of the guns on the front until the Armistice was signed. The Armis­tice had come too soon for the Third Field Artillery. It was later sent to the center of France near Dijon, Cote d’Or, then stationed at Lucenay-le-Duc, Chanime, and Jours, where it remained until returning to the States on U.S.S. “Kaiserin Auguste Victoria” in late June, 1919.

 

     It was a bitter disappointment to an old regiment, having given so many of its men and trained so many new organizations, to be unable to give battle to an enemy of our country. For the first time the guns of the Third were silent.

 

     Upon the return to its homeland, the regiment was stationed at Camp Grant, Illinois. The Army was already being reduced to impotency follow­ing the victorious war. Orders were to be issued inactivating and disband­ing the Third Field Artillery. That they were eventually revoked is due entirely to the efforts of the Regimental Commander Colonel W. D. New-bill, who traveled to Washington, and personally requested the Chief of Staff to reconsider the abolishment of such an old and historical organization.

 

     Despite the reprieve the regiment was soon to be divided, not to re­assemble as a regiment for several years. In the Fall of 1921 the regiment marched to Camp Knox, Kentucky.

 

*       *       *       *        *        *       *        *        *       *

 

VIII

 

     At the outbreak of the World War, all regiments were subdivided and furnished cadres for new organizations. The 11th Cavalry formed the 22d and 23d Cavalry. It soon became evident that the battlefront needed tre­mendous quantities of artillery and very few cavalry troops. The majority of these new cavalry regiments were designated provisional Field Artillery Regiments, and received training as such. Shortly thereafter, their designa­tion was changed to Field Artillery regiments.

The 22d and 23d Cavalry regiments were among these organizations. Together they formed the 81st Field Artillery. Stationed at Camp Knox at the close of the war, the 81st was broken up into the 4th and 5th Field Artillery Training Batteries, which were used as school troops at the then Field Artillery School.

 

*       *       *       *        *       *        *       *        *        *

 

IX

     Shortly after the arrival of the Third Field Artillery at Camp Knox, War Department orders disbanded the training batteries and formed bat­talions of Artillery regiments.

     

     The 1st Battalion of the Third was transferred to Fort Benjamin Harri­son, Indiana, where it remained for the next thirteen years. On December 14, 1922, the 2d Battalion (less Battery F) was inactivated and re-desig­nated as the 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery, with station at Fort Sheri­dan, Illinois, where it remained for the following eighteen years. Battery F became F of the 14th Field Artillery, stationed at Fort Snelling.

     

     In October 1922, the 4th Training Battery, combined with many men from the Third Field Artillery Regiment and formed the 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery with station at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.

     

     The years to follow were much the same for all these three battalions of what was once the Third Field Artillery. Annual marches, service practice periods, two or three week Summer maneuvers with National Guard and civilian components of the Army. Various re-designations followed.

 

     On September 8, 1927, the 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery at Fort Sheridan (the old 2d Battalion, 3d Field Artillery) was re-designated as the 2d Battalion, 3d Field Artillery. On the same date, the 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery at Fort Des Moines was re-designated 2d Battalion, 18th Field Artillery. One battery of this battalion, A of the 14th, which became D of the 18th Field Artillery, was at Fort Riley, Kansas, having been left there as school troops following a Summer maneuver at Fort Riley in 1923. This battery was destined to remain at Fort Riley for the next twenty years.

 

     September 1927 found the 1st Battalion at Fort Knox. Later in the year, in November, the entire regiment was together again at Fort McIntosh, for a few months, again returning to their home stations, the 1st Battalion to Fort Benjamin Harrison, the 2d Battalion to Fort Sheridan.

 

     In December 1934 the 2d Battalion, 18th Field Artillery which was now at Fort Riley as a complete unit, was again re-designated as the 1st Bat­talion, 14th Field Artillery. The Third Field Artillery regiment, together at Fort Sheridan, in April 1935, soon lost the 1st Battalion. In this year, this latter battalion became inactive.

 

     On July 1, 1936, the 2d Battalion, 18th Field Artillery at Fort Riley, was again re-designated, this time becoming the 84th Field Artillery Battalion (Horse). On paper it was a component of the non-existent Third Cavalry Division. On October 1, 1939, the Third Field Artillery again became. a complete regiment. The 2d Battalion, it will be recalled, had been at Fort Sheridan, Illinois since 1922, even though it had been the 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery for five years (1922-1927). The 84th Field Artillery at Fort Riley was re-designated 1st Battalion, 3d Field Artillery, thus regaining the old regimental designation, to the delight of its old soldiers, some of whom had been with the old Third at Camp Knox just prior to the split in 1922.

 

     During December 1939 to January 1940, both battalions were together at Camp Robinson, Arkansas, for Winter maneuvers. It was to be the last time the Third was to be united as a regiment.

 

     Maneuvers in 1940 were made in Minnesota with National Guard divi­sions from that section.

 

     As a result of the abolishment of light artillery regiments in favor of separate battalion formations, on December 16, 1940, the 1st Battalion, 3d Field Artillery was re-designated the Third Field Artillery Battalion (Horse) with station remaining at Fort Riley. As this battalion now became the only component in the Army bearing the name Third Field Artillery, all existing battle honors, colors, and streamers became the cherished pos­session and heritage of this battalion. The 2d Battalion, 3d Field Artillery at Fort Sheridan became the 71st Field Artillery Battalion and was trans­ferred to Fort Benning, Georgia, and later to Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

 

     This reorganization also caused the rebirth of Service Battery, which since the war years had been absorbed in Battalion Headquarters Battery as the Combat Train Detachment. Under the new organization, this detach­ment expanded to Service Battery, leaving Headquarters as a separate battery.

 

     On April 1, 1941, the 2d Cavalry Division was activated at Fort Riley, Kansas. Combat units consisted of 9th Engineers (Fort Riley), 2d Cavalry (Fort Riley), 14th Cavalry (joined from Fort Des Moines), 9th Cavalry (from Fort Riley, Fort Myer), 10th Cavalry (from West Point, Fort Leav­enworth), the 16th Field Artillery Battalion (from Fort Myer) and the 3d Field Artillery Battalion (Fort Riley). For the first time in 20 years, the Third became an integral part of an existing division. Intensive training and exercises occupied the full time of the division, as inevitable participa­tion in the world conflict became more apparent.

 

     This ever-present threat of War wisely resulted in formation of new units. True to the traditions of a hundred years the 3d Field Artillery Battalion furnished a goodly share. In June 1940 a cadre of about 50 men was sent to Fort Hoyle, Maryland, to form the 99th Field Artillery Bat­talion, a pack unit. Two other cadres were sent to help form the Field Artillery Replacement Training Centers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Camp Ord, California. Another cadre was sent to the 6th Reconnaissance Troop in October 1940.

 

     At the outbreak of the war, the battalion had just completed the largest maneuvers ever held by the United States Army, was well trained, equipped, and officered. Despite rumors of immediate shipment to Austra­lia, the only movement was the assignment of the anti-tank platoon of Headquarters Battery to Fort Bliss, Texas. This group of some 35 men formed the nucleus of the 691st Tank Destroyer Battalion.

 

     In the Spring of 1942, more men were sent to New York City and formed the 392d Quartermaster Battalion (Port). In March 95 men from the 3d Field Artillery Battalion formed the 73d Field Artillery Battalion, the 105 Howitzer truck drawn Battalion, of the Division Artillery of the 2d Cavalry Division. In April 1942 more men were sent from the battalion as a cadre for the artillery of another new division, the 83d Infantry Divi­sion, then at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. Later some of these men were sent to form the 75th Infantry Division.

 

     As usual, smaller groups were sent to many varied units and details,— Air Corps, school personnel at the Field Artillery and Cavalry Schools, MP detachments, Service Commands, and others.

 

     Towards the end of January, 1942, the battalion moved from barracks at Fort Riley to the newly completed cantonment at Camp Funston, a few miles to the east. In July 1942, the 3d Field Artillery Battalion (Horse) became the 3d Armored Field Artillery Battalion, and with the 16th and 73d Field Artil­lery Battalions formed the artillery of the 9th Armored Division, which was organized at Camp Funston. About 80 men were sent to the 8th Armored Division at this time. It remained there until June 1943 when the division left for maneuvers in the desert of Southern California. Maneuvers being completed in October, the division’s next station for maneuvers became Camp Polk, Louisiana. At the latter station final intensive training and inspections were conducted prior to shipment overseas to a combat zone.

 

     No finer indication of the training, character, and stature of the en­listed men of the battalion can be given than the record of the number of soldiers of the battalion who were commissioned as officers and warrant officers during the first two years of the war. Commissions were obtained generally through Officer Candidate Schools in practically all arms, al­ though some fine non-commissioned officers were commissioned outright, or else held commissions in the Officer’s Reserve Corps. A few became fly­ing cadets and then officers in the Air Corps. 11 officers and 2 warrant officers came from A Battery; 14 officers from B Battery; 13 officers and 1 warrant officer from C Battery; 7 officers and 3 warrant officers from Service Battery; and Headquarters Battery furnished 30 officers and 5 warrant officers. Of a battalion of approximately 600 men, within the space of a year, 86 became officers and warrant officers in the Army of the United States—roughly 15% of the battalion. The high standards, integrity, and pride of service so long cherished by the Third Field Artillery enabled this small unit to give 86 officers to the new army at a time when they were sorely needed. This achievement can be regarded with just pride by all Third Field Artillerymen, of whom there are many in the Army and civil life. For an old saying, dating from the Mexican border days is as true today as then—”Once a Third Field Artilleryman,—always a Third Field Artilleryman.

 

APPENDIX: —REGIMENTAL COAT-OF-ARMS

 

(1)         BLAZONRY SHIELD: Gules (red); on a cheveonel (bearing like a chevron, but only half its width) argent   (silver), four stars azure (blue); in chief (on top), a lion’s face or (gold) and an Imperial Chinese Dragon affront (facing the front) of the like (a copy) scaled of the third (one-third of the shield); in base, a golden fleur-de-lis.

                      

                       CREST: (Above Shield): On a wreath of colors, a demi (half) sun or (gold) charged with an Aztec (Mexican                                      Indian Tribe) banner vert (green) garnished argent (silver).

 

                       MOTTO: (Below Shield): Celeritas et Accuratio (Speed and accu­racy).

 

DESCRIPTION

The shield is red for artillery. The Civil War is shown by the Chevron and four stars, one for each battery in that war. The lion’s face, dragon and fleur-de-lis are for the War of 1812, Chinese Expedition and World War respectively. The rising sun is indicative of the regiment’s early formation (at the dawn of the American Army). The Aztec banner, the Mexican War. The ladder below the banner is symbolical of the scaling of the walls of Chapultepec Castle, Mexico.