76th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
Encyclopedia
The 76th Field Artillery Regiment is an Field Artillery
regiment
of the United States Army
. first Constituted 1916 in the Regular Army.
Organized 13 June 1917 at Fort Ethan Allen
, Vermont
Converted and redesignated 1 November 1917 as the 76th Field Artillery
Assigned 12 November 1917 to the 3d Division
Relieved 16 October 1939 from assignment to the 3d Division
Assigned 1 July 1940 to the 7th Division
Reorganized and redesignated 22 January 1941 as the 76th Field Artillery Battalion
Relieved 1 June 1941 from assignment to the 7th Division
Inactivated 27 November 1945 at Camp Kilmer
, New Jersey
Redesignated 1 August 1946 as the 76th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and activated at Fort Knox, Kentucky
Inactivated (less Battery A) 24 August 1948 at Fort Knox
, Kentucky
(Battery A reorganized and redesignated 28 August 1953 as the 576th Armored Field Artillery Battery; inactivated 4 October 1954 at Fort Knox, Kentucky)
Redesignated 8 October 1954 as the 76th Field Artillery Battalion and activated at Fort Devens
, Massachusetts (576th Armored Field Artillery Battery concurrently redesignated as Battery A, 76th Field Artillery Battalion)
Inactivated (less Battery B) 15 February 1958 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts (Battery B concurrently inactivated in Iceland)
Reorganized and redesignated 31 July 1959 as the 76th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System
Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 76th Field Artillery
Withdrawn 16 February 1987 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System
Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 76th Field Artillery Regiment
A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure, three bendlets sinister Argent, a round shot Proper. On a canton Tenné, the headdress of the dragoons of 1836 Proper (for the 2nd Cavalry). Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Red scroll inscribed “DUTY THE SPIRIT OF ‘76” in Gold letters.
The regiment was organized in 1917 from the 2nd Cavalry as the 18th Cavalry, changed to the 76th Field Artillery in the same year and served in France in the 3rd Division, the insignia of which forms the basis of the 2nd Cavalry shield, and the charges thereon is the crest of that regiment. The round shot symbolizes the motto.
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment on 19 February 1924. It was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 3 December 1942. It was redesignated for the 76th Armored Field Artillery Battalion on 10 July 1947. The insignia was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 13 October 1954. It was redesignated for the 76th Artillery Regiment on 10 June 1958. Effective 1 September 1971, it was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment.
Azure, three bendlets sinister Argent, a round shot Proper. On a canton Tenné, the headdress of the dragoons of 1836 Proper (for the 2nd Cavalry).
On a wreath of the colors Argent and Azure a Cavalry saber Or and a 75 mm fixed ammunition Proper in saltire.
Motto
DUTY, THE SPIRIT OF ’76.
The regiment was organized in 1917 from the 2nd Cavalry as the 18th Cavalry, changed to the 76th Field Artillery in the same year and served in France in the 3rd Division, the insignia of which forms the basis of the 2nd Cavalry shield, and the charges thereon is the crest of that regiment. The round shot symbolizes the motto.
The crest shows the dual Cavalry-Artillery character of the Regiment.
The coat of arms was originally approved for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment on 19 January 1921. It was amended to correct the blazon of the shield on 1 October 1923. It was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 3 December 1942. It was redesignated for the 76th Armored Field Artillery Battalion on 10 July 1947. The insignia was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 13 October 1954. It was redesignated for the 76th Artillery Regiment on 10 June 1958. Effective 1 September 1971, it was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment.
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, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. first Constituted 1916 in the Regular Army.
Lineage
Constituted 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 18th CavalryOrganized 13 June 1917 at Fort Ethan Allen
Fort Ethan Allen
Fort Ethan Allen was a U.S. army installation in Vermont, named for American Revolutionary War figure Ethan Allen. First serving as a cavalry post in 1894, today it is the center of a designated national historic district straddling the town line between Colchester and Essex...
, Vermont
Converted and redesignated 1 November 1917 as the 76th Field Artillery
Assigned 12 November 1917 to the 3d Division
Relieved 16 October 1939 from assignment to the 3d Division
Assigned 1 July 1940 to the 7th Division
Reorganized and redesignated 22 January 1941 as the 76th Field Artillery Battalion
Relieved 1 June 1941 from assignment to the 7th Division
Inactivated 27 November 1945 at Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New Jersey
Redesignated 1 August 1946 as the 76th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and activated at Fort Knox, Kentucky
Inactivated (less Battery A) 24 August 1948 at Fort Knox
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
, Kentucky
(Battery A reorganized and redesignated 28 August 1953 as the 576th Armored Field Artillery Battery; inactivated 4 October 1954 at Fort Knox, Kentucky)
Redesignated 8 October 1954 as the 76th Field Artillery Battalion and activated at Fort Devens
Fort Devens
Fort Devens is an active United States military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It was named after jurist and Civil War general Charles Devens. The nearby Devens Reserve Forces Training Area is...
, Massachusetts (576th Armored Field Artillery Battery concurrently redesignated as Battery A, 76th Field Artillery Battalion)
Inactivated (less Battery B) 15 February 1958 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts (Battery B concurrently inactivated in Iceland)
Reorganized and redesignated 31 July 1959 as the 76th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System
Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 76th Field Artillery
Withdrawn 16 February 1987 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System
Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 76th Field Artillery Regiment
Distinctive Unit Insignia
- Description
A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure, three bendlets sinister Argent, a round shot Proper. On a canton Tenné, the headdress of the dragoons of 1836 Proper (for the 2nd Cavalry). Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Red scroll inscribed “DUTY THE SPIRIT OF ‘76” in Gold letters.
- Symbolism
The regiment was organized in 1917 from the 2nd Cavalry as the 18th Cavalry, changed to the 76th Field Artillery in the same year and served in France in the 3rd Division, the insignia of which forms the basis of the 2nd Cavalry shield, and the charges thereon is the crest of that regiment. The round shot symbolizes the motto.
- Background
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment on 19 February 1924. It was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 3 December 1942. It was redesignated for the 76th Armored Field Artillery Battalion on 10 July 1947. The insignia was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 13 October 1954. It was redesignated for the 76th Artillery Regiment on 10 June 1958. Effective 1 September 1971, it was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment.
Blazon
- Shield
Azure, three bendlets sinister Argent, a round shot Proper. On a canton Tenné, the headdress of the dragoons of 1836 Proper (for the 2nd Cavalry).
- Crest
On a wreath of the colors Argent and Azure a Cavalry saber Or and a 75 mm fixed ammunition Proper in saltire.
Motto
DUTY, THE SPIRIT OF ’76.
- Symbolism
- Shield
The regiment was organized in 1917 from the 2nd Cavalry as the 18th Cavalry, changed to the 76th Field Artillery in the same year and served in France in the 3rd Division, the insignia of which forms the basis of the 2nd Cavalry shield, and the charges thereon is the crest of that regiment. The round shot symbolizes the motto.
- Crest
The crest shows the dual Cavalry-Artillery character of the Regiment.
- Background
The coat of arms was originally approved for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment on 19 January 1921. It was amended to correct the blazon of the shield on 1 October 1923. It was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 3 December 1942. It was redesignated for the 76th Armored Field Artillery Battalion on 10 July 1947. The insignia was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Battalion on 13 October 1954. It was redesignated for the 76th Artillery Regiment on 10 June 1958. Effective 1 September 1971, it was redesignated for the 76th Field Artillery Regiment.
Current configuration
- 1st Battalion 76th Field Artillery Regiment (United States) http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/fa/0076fa01bn.htm
- 2nd Battalion 76th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gregkrenzelok/veterinary%20corp%20in%20ww1/76thfieldartillerypictures.html
- 3rd Battalion 76th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
- 4th Battalion 76th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
- 5th Battalion 76th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
- 6th Battalion 76th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
Campaign Participation Credit
- World War I: Champagne-Marne; Aisne-Marne; St. Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne; Champagne 1918
- World War II: Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe
- War on Terrorism: Iraq
Decorations
- French Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star, World War I for CHAMPAGNE-MARNE and AISNE-MARNE
- Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes
See also
- Field Artillery Branch (United States)
- U.S. Army Coast Artillery CorpsU.S. Army Coast Artillery CorpsThe U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps was a Corps level organization responsible for coastal and harbor defense of the United States between 1901 and 1950.-History:...
- Coats of arms of U.S. Artillery RegimentsCoats of arms of U.S. Artillery RegimentsCoats of arms of US Artillery Regiments are heraldic emblems associated with field artillery, air defense artillery, and coast artillery regiments in the US Army...