Army artillery branch turns 247
Ohio National Guard lineage goes back to Civil War
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Mann, Ohio National Guard historian
On NOV. 17, 1775, the Continental Congress unanimously elected Henry Knox “Colonel of the Regiment of Artillery,” marking the birth of the artillery branch in the U.S. Army. Although field artillery and air defense artillery are separate branches, both inherit the traditions of the artillery branch.
The organization of independent artillery units in the early years of the Ohio Militia were sporadic and inconsistent. The state provided little support for procuring artillery equipment and the horses needed to pull them. Some communities — with the backing of the towns’ socioeconomic elite — were able to raise batteries in the early part of the 19th century. In 1839, the Cleveland Grays, an independent militia company, were able to organize a gun section under the command of Sgt. D. L. Wood. The nine-member section built its own carriage and caisson for a self-procured 6-pound cannon. In 1845, the section became a full-fledged battery and adopted the name of the Cleveland Light Artillery. The organization was the nucleus for the 1st Regiment, Ohio Light Artillery that answered the call during the Civil War and is the ancestor of today’s 134th Field Artillery Regiment.
The state maintained traditional field artillery units until after World War II. Antiaircraft artillery battalions were added starting in 1947 and have been part of the Ohio force structure since. In 1959, all artillery units were merged under the artillery branch. In 1972, the artillery branch was split into the field artillery and air defense artillery branches that we know today.
Ohio’s artillery units have earned campaign credit in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War and the War on Terrorism.
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Ohio Artillery Units (battalion and larger)
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1st Regiment, Ohio Light Artillery (1860-1865; 1886-1899)
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1st Battalion, Ohio Field Artillery (1911-17)
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1st Field Artillery Regiment (1917, 1919-1921)
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2nd Field Artillery Regiment (1917)
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3rd Field Artillery Regiment (1917)
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134th Field Artillery (1917-1919, 1921-1959, 1993-present)
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134th Artillery (1959-1968)
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135th Field Artillery (1917-1919, 1921-1959)
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135th Artillery (1959-1968)
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136th Field Artillery (1917-1919, 1936-1959, 1972-1993)
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136th Artillery (1959-1972)
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137th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (1949-1959)
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137th Artillery (1959-1971)
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140th Field Artillery Battalion (1942-1959)
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174th Air Defense Artillery (1972-Present)
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174th Artillery (1959-1972)
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174th Field Artillery (1942-1959)
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174th Field Artillery Group (1943-1945)
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177th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (1951-1959)
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179th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (1951-1958)
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179th Missile Battalion (1958-1959)
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180th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (1951-1959)
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182nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (1948-1959)
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183rd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (1947-1949)
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191st Antiaircraft Artillery Group (1955-1959)
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191st Artillery Group (1959-1963)
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371st Antiaircraft Artillery Group (1947-1959)
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371st Artillery Group (1959-1972)
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62nd Field Artillery Brigade (1917-1942)
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37th Division Artillery (1942-1968)
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987th Field Artillery Battalion (1943-1945)
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987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion (1947-1954)
Cleveland Light Artillery, 1857, taken near the Erie Street Cemetery in Cleveland on what is now East 9th Street and the center of the city.
1st Ohio Field Artillery Battalion hot air balloon, used for observation during Mexican Border Service in 1916-17.
A gun crew from the 135th Field Artillery, 37th Division takes a break while training in France during World War I.
Mounted artillery section from Battery C, 135th Field Artillery on the move during training at Fort Knox, Ky., circa1930.
Gun crew from Battery B, 140th Field Artillery Battalion load a 105 mm howitzer to fire on enemy positions beyond the ridge in the distance on Bougainville in April 1944.
Members of Battery D, 137th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, gaze at the target area in front of their quadruple .50-caliber machine guns during their advanced training at the Army’s Antiaircraft and Guided Missile Center, Fort Bliss, Texas in 1952.
Firing of a self-propelled howitzer from the 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion fires on enemy targets in Korea.
Members of the 2nd Battalion, 174th Air Defense Artillery are shown loading practice Hawk missiles during equipment fielding to the battalion, circa 1990.
A gun crew with Battery C, 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery Regiment loads a M777 howitzer in between volleys during a live-fire exercise June 24, 2018, during annual training at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center in Grayling, Mich.
