The Washington Artillery was founded on 7 September 1838, as the Washington Artillery Company.[4] It received its regimental flag in August 1846 after serving under Zachary Taylor in the Mexican–American War.
General Haupt and W. Wright, Superintendent of the Mlilitary Railroad survey a Confederate Artillery Battery caisson on Maryes Heights, Fredericksburg Va that was wrecked by Union artillery fire May 5, 1863. This was of the Washington Artillery[6] of eight artillery pieces, with six guns surrounded under command of Capt Squires and Lt Owen.[7][8]
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.
On 1 July 1959, the 141st and 935th Field Artillery Battalions were consolidated with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 204th Antiaircraft Artillery Group, 527th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, and the 219th Antiaircraft Artillery Detachment to form the 141st Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System to consist of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Howitzer Battalions, elements of the 39th Infantry Division, the 4th Automatic Weapons Battalion, and the 5th Detachment.[9] The 141st Artillery was redesignated on 1 May 1972 as the 141st Field Artillery to consist of the 1st Battalion, an element of the 256th infantry Brigade. It was withdrawn 30 June 1986 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System.[10]
On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi[11] 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.[12]
From November 2020 through October 2021 the 141st FA would be deployed to Iraq and Syria as a part of the 256th Infantry Brigade in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, where they would see combat against manned and unmmaned indirect fire attacks and drone strikes. The 141st FA would conduct artillery, base defense, and operations of several outposts and bases across the area of operations.[13]
LTC Brian P. Champagne unfurling the battalion colors, Baghdad, Iraq 2010
MAJ Steven M. Finney (left of center) accepts the battalion colors from the Louisiana Adjutant General, MGBennett C. Landreneau (right of center) becoming the battalion commander in June 2011
Current
The Washington Artillery on the Parade Field at Jackson Barracks
^Janice E. McKenney, ed. (2010) [1st. pub. 1985]. Field Artillery - Army Lineage Series. U.S. Army Center of Military History. pp. 1157–1163. OCLC275151269.
^[1]Archived 21 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Guard wraps up Joint Task Force Gator. Retrieved 24 November 2011
^Roark, Patrick (12 May 2022). We're Not Here to Win a War: A Perspective on the Post-ISIS War on Terror (1 ed.). Independently Published. p. 206. ISBN979-8802818879.
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