141st Field Artillery Regiment

141st Field Artillery Regiment
Coat of arms
Active	1838–present
Country	United States
Allegiance	United States Confederate States (1861–1865)
Branch	Louisiana Army National Guard
Nickname(s)	Washington Artillery (special designation)
Motto	"TRY US!"
Mascot	Tiger
Engagements	Mexican–American War US Civil War{CSA} Spanish–American War Mexican Expedition World War II Operation Iraqi Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	LTC Kenneth Baillie
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 141st Field Artillery Regiment (Washington Artillery) is a United States field artillery regiment.

History

The 141st Field Artillery is an historic American military unit that is currently part of the Louisiana Army National Guard headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. It traces its lineage to a militia artillery battery back to 1838, and its heritage includes substantial combat service in several major wars. It earned the Presidential Unit Citation (US) for its service in World War II.

The Washington Artillery was founded on September 7, 1838, as the Washington Artillery Company. It received its regimental flag in August 1846 after serving under Zachary Taylor in the Mexican–American War.

26 May 1861 the Unit was mustered into the American Civil War; four companies served in the Army of Northern Virginia and a fifth was in the Army of Tennessee. Elements of the Washington Artillery participated in over sixty major actions. A few notable engagements include: Battle of Antietam, Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of Shiloh, Battle of Chickamauga, Battle of Fredericksburg, First Battle of Manassas, and the Battle of Cold Harbor.

After the Civil War, it was reorganized as an independent unit called the "Louisiana Volunteer Field Artillery" where it served the United States in the occupation of Cuba. It later was called into service to protect the Mexican border in 1916. A year later it received the designation 141st Artillery. In early 1941, the 141st Field Artillery was mobilized for World War II where it earned the Presidential Unit Citation; a duplicate unit was formed, the 935th Field Artillery Battalion, with both serving in Europe and North Africa. The anti-tank batteries of the battalion were separated in mid-1941, and formed the 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion.

Between 1959 and 1967, several sister units were combined to form the 141st Field Artillery Battalion. In 2004 through 2005 and again in 2010, the 141st FA as part of the 256th Infantry Brigade mobilized to Baghdad, Iraq, in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.

On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast of Louisiana and Mississippi while most members of the Washington Artillery were still serving their final weeks of deployment in Iraq. Following the return of the Battalion to Louisiana, a detachment immediately mobilized to New Orleans to aid law enforcement with rescue efforts. With the help of the Louisiana State Police, those efforts transitioned into a support mission for the New Orleans Police Department. Joint Task Force Gator was created to help combat the rise of looting and other crimes resulting from the loss of law enforcement officers in the New Orleans area. After three-and-a-half years of assisting local police and patrolling the city, the task force was released from duty on 28 February 2009.

Regimental colors and streamers

Regimental colors of the Washington Artillery
400 px

280px Presidential Unit Citation Meritorious Unit Commendation

These are the Campaign streamers awarded to the Regiment:

Mexican–American War

• 280px Streamer without inscription

American Civil War

First Manassas Mississippi River Peninsula 1862 Shiloh 1862 Second Manassas Sharpsburg Fredericksburg Murfreesborough Chancellorsville

Gettysburg Chickamauga Chattanooga Atlanta Cold Harbor Petersburg Franklin Nashville Appomattox

World War I

• Streamer without inscription

World War II

280px Algeria-French Morocco Anzio Ardennes-Alsace Central Europe 1945 Naples-Foggia Normandy North Apennines

Northern France 1944 Po Valley Rhineland Rome-Arno Sicily Southern France 1944 Tunisia

Operation Iraqi Freedom

• Iraqi Governance

File:File-Washington Artillery Colours Unfurl.png LTC Brian P. Champagne unfurling the battalion colors, Baghdad, Iraq 2010

File:Washington Artillery Change of Command 2011.png MAJ Steven M. Finney(left of center) accepts the battalion colors from the Louisiana Adjutant General, MG Bennett C. Landreneau (right of center) becoming the battalion commander in June 2011

Current

File:Jackson Barracks October 2011.JPG

The Washington Artillery on the Parade Field at Jackson Barracks

The 141st Field Artillery currently consists of the 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery. It is assigned as the fires battalion for the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Louisiana Army National Guard headquartered in the famed Jackson Barracks.

Commanders

CPT Elisha L. Tracy (Washington Artillery Company) CPT Henry Forno (1st Company Native American Artillery) CPT Isaac F. Stocton (Company "A" Washington Infantry) CPT Joseph E. Ealer (Washington Artillery Company) CPT R.O. Smith LT Rinaldo Banister, Sr. CPT Augustus A. Soria CPT H.I. Hunting CPT James B. Walton (Washington Artillery BN – CSA) COL Benjamin F. Eshleman COL John B. Walton (Post-Reconstruction) COL William M. Owen COL John B. Richardson MAJ William D. Gardiner COL Thomas McCabe-Hyman MAJ Allison Owen CPT Luther E. Hall (141 Field Artillery) MAJ Guy Molony MAJ Raymond H. Fleming (2nd BN Field Artillery) LTC Henry Curtis (141 Sep BN Field Artillery – Motorized) LTC Edward P. Benezech, Sr. (1st BN, 141 FA Regiment) LTC Thurber G. Rickey (2nd BN, 141 FA Regiment) LTC Bernard Rausch (141 FA – WWII) LTC Duncan Gillis (141 FA – HQ and SVC Battery) LTC Numa P. Avendano (935th and 2nd BN 141 FA) LTC Ragnvald B. Rordam (141 Artillery BN) LTC Louis O. D'Amico (935th and 2nd BN 141 FA)

LTC Armand J. Duplantier, Jr. (1st and 2nd BN 141 FA), descendant of Armand Duplantier (1753-1827), aide-de-camp to General Lafayette LTC Pierre J. Bouis (1st and 3rd BN 141 FA) LTC William B. Cox (4th BN 141 FA) LTC Cecil A Haskins (4th BN 141 FA) LTC Edward P. Benezech, Jr. (2nd BN 141 FA) LTC Vincent Beninate (4th BN 141 FA) LTC Douglas Ruello (2nd BN 141 FA) LTC Thomas P. Breslin (1st BN 141 FA – 105mm Towed) LTC Emile J. St. Pierre LTC Charles A. Bourgeois, Jr. LTC Richard J. Gregory MAJ Silton J. Constance (155mm SP) LTC Harry M Bonnet LTC Russel A Mayeur, Sr. LTC Urban B. Martinez, Jr. LTC Rene' C. Jacques LTC Urban B. Martinez, Jr. LTC Ronald A. Waller LTC Glenn M. Appe LTC Ivan M. Jones, Jr. LTC Thomas W. Acosta, Jr. LTC John R. Hennigan, Jr. MAJ Russell L. Hooper (155mm "Paladin") LTC Jonathan T. Ball LTC Jordan T. Jones LTC Brian P. Champagne (105mmT Infantry UA) LTC Steven M. Finney LTC Kenneth Baillie (current commander)

File:Washington Artillery Change of Command 2013.png MAJ Kenneth Baillie (left of center) accepts the battalion colors from the Louisiana Adjutant General, MG Glenn H. Curtis (right of center) becoming the battalion commander in January 2013

External links

• Louisiana National Guard 1/141 Official Home Page (No Longer Updated)
• 1/141st Field Artillery (Washington Artillery) Unofficial Home Page
• Washington Artillery of New Orleans
• Washington Artillery Veterans Association
• 141st Field Artillery Insignia ←dead link 19 Apr 2015
• Washington Artillery History Page (Unofficial)
• Washington Artillery Early Uniforms (Unofficial)
• Washington Artillery Service Record / History (Archived 2009-10-19)*"The Washington Artillery, 5th Company, at the Battle of Perryville" – Article by Civil War historian/author Bryan S. Bush