U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps 1901-1950

By the end of 1898, the U.S. Army artillery arm was organized into seven regiments, two of which had been created that year. In 1901, the regimental organization of the U.S. Army artillery was abolished and an Artillery Corps with 126 companies of coast artillery and 30 companies of field artillery was established. In 1907, the artillery was split into separate branches: field artillery with a regimental organization, and the Coast Artillery Corps, with a total of 170 companies. During the WWI years 1917-1919, several new coast artillery regiments were formed for artillery service in Europe. Most were demobilized in 1919. By 1922 there were 289 understaffed coast artillery companies. In 1924, a regimental organization of the Coast Artillery Corps was instituted, with 16 Regular Army harbor defense regiments, several tractor-drawn, railway, and antiaircraft regiments, along with National Guard and Organized Reserve harbor defense and antiaircraft artillery regiments. This organizational status lasted (with the number and type of active regiments changing frequently) until the coast artillery regiments were broken up into separate battalions in 1943. Nearly all seacoast artillery units were deactivated 1944-1946. The Coast Artillery Corps was officially abolished in 1950.

The CDSG frequently receives requests for unit rosters for coast artillery units in search for information on relatives and ancestors. Finding information on specific army units is one of the most difficult and time consuming research efforts. The army generally has not kept good unit records, and the ones that were kept are scattered around in the army record system, at the various posts the units were based and in many places in the National Archives and the Army historical archives. The problem is that the army artillery units were reorganized (and renumbered!!) so many times that there is no centralized system of unit histories.

Some unit records and other service record information may be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center (Military Personnel Records), St. Louis, MO. However, many records were destroyed by a fire in the 1970s, so many requests are unfulfilled. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) website has pages specifically designed for finding information on individuals.

While finding information on officers is relatively easy, finding information on enlisted men in units is difficult. The best sources are menus produced for special events like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners as well as special memory books (“year books”) that were produced sporadically. These show up from time to time at trade, memorabilia, and gun shows, and online.

We can provide overall information on most of the coast artillery companies (1901-1923), regiments and battalions (1924-1944). The references listed and the PDF articles that can be downloaded from this page cover Coast Artillery Corps organization, uniforms, insignia, lore, and housing.

For information on specific units, especially during WW I and WW II, consult these references:

• U.S.Army War College, Historical Section, Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, Zone of the Interior: Organization and Activities of the War Department, 3 Vols., GPO,Wash. DC, 1949.
• Barnes, Lieutenant Colonel H. C., C.A.C. “A Regimental Organization for the Coast Artillery Corps,” Originally published in the April 1924 of The Coast Artillery Journal (Vol. 60, No. 4). Click here for a digitized version of the Barnes article.
• Clay, Steven E. U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919-1942, Combat Studies Institute Press, US Combined Arms Center, Ft. Leavenworth, KS 2010. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Books/Browse-Books/Units-and-Organizations/#books-units-and-organizations
• Harris, Lt. Col. Edward M., “Coast Artillery Corps Regiments and Battalions 1924-1943” Two studies prepared in August 1949 summarize the organization and deployment of seacoast artillery units from World War I through World War I. The original version of this history was a typescript copy filed in the Office of the Center for Military History. Click here for a digitized version of the Harris publication.
• Sawicki, James P., Antiaircraft Battalions of the U.S. Army, Volumes 1 & 2, Wyvern Publications, Dumphries, VA, 1991.
• Stanton, Shelby L., Order of Battle, US Army in World War II, Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1984.
• Bean, P.W., Parisi, F.J., Puylara, J. and Littman, A.A., “Antiaircraft – Coast Artillery Corps, Distinctive Insignia Series 20,” American Society of Military Insignia Collectors, 526 Lafayette Avenue, Palmerton, PA 18071-1621.
• McKenney, Janice E., Air Defense Artillery, Army Lineage Series, Center of Military History, United States Army, Govt. Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1985.
• War Department, Official Army Register, January 1, 1934, GPO, Wash. DC.
• War Department, Army List and Directory, GPO, Wash. DC, various dates (1908-1936).

Jim Controvich has compiled a index to all the unit histories and some of the memoirs that mention units from the Coast Defense Study Group publications and a few other sources. Download the index from this link.

The following revised sections from American Seacoast Defenses: a Reference Guide and the Coast Defense Journal cover the organization of the coast artillery corps (with a list of company and regiments), uniforms, insignia, garrison buildings, and lore.

PDF Coast Artillery Corps Organization Overview (1901-1950) (CDJ and ASD articles)

PDF Coast Artillery Company Histories (1901-1923) (CDJ article)

PDF Coast Artillery Organization in WW I (1917-1919) (CDJ article)

PDF Coast Artillery Regiment List (ASD section)

PDF Coast Artillery Regimental Histories, Regular Army regiments 1-196 (1917 – 1944) (CDJ article)

PDF Coast Artillery Regimental Histories, National Guard regiments 197-265 (1922-1944)

PDF Coast Artillery Regimental Histories, Organized Reserve and Army US regiments 369-979 (1917 – 1944) (CDJ article)

Coast Artillery Separate Battalion Histories (1942-1950) these histories are covered in the Sawicki and Stanton references, both of which have some historical inaccuracies and are not fully comprehensive.

PDF Coast Artillery Uniforms (ASD section revised March 2012)

PDF Coast Artillery Insignia article by Mark Berhow to be eventually published in the Coast Artillery Journal. Revised Sept 2024

PDF Artillery Coat of Arms article derived from James P. Sawicki’s book AA Battalions of the US Army which covers the history of heraldry in the US Army including the development of coat of arms and distinctive unit insignia during the period 1919-1970. Includes sections on the campaign and decoration streamers attached to unit colors and a glossary of linage terms.

PDF Coast Artillery Regimental Distinctive Insignia (DUI) Guide (ASD section)

PDF Distinctive Unit Insignia Guide -CA/AAA/ADA (work in progress revised November 2, 2022)

PDF Coast Artillery Post Garrison Buildings (ASD section revised March 2012)

PDF Coast Artillery Lore (ASD section revised 2005)

for more information contact Mark Berhow (berhowma@comcast.net)

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