The 101st Engineer Battalion is a unit of the

Massachusetts Army National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeas ...

and one of the oldest serving units of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots and campaign credit for the War of 1812. The 101st Engineer Battalion was originally established as the East Regiment. As the first muster was held on the green in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

, Salem is seen as the birthplace of the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

History

On 13 December 1636, the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

ordered the organization of three militia regiments designated as the North, South, and East regiments. The East Regiment (later the Essex Regiment) provided protection and support to the Settlers of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

for 139 years. It also fought in the Pequot Indian Wars,

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

, and the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. The 101st played a key role in the Revolutionary War. Elements fought the British Army on 19 April 1775, the engagement that started the battle for independence and an active duty regiment saved General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's Army after the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...

in August 1776. The same element helped the American cause to remain alive in December 1776 during the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, crossing of the ...

. They manned the boats for General Washington to cross the Delaware. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, three separate regiments were established in Essex County. The 8th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia sailed to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, in April 1861; boarded the ; and sailed her to

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

so she would not fall into the hands of the Confederates. The 19th Massachusetts Infantry fought with the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

and had seven

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

Recipients. The 50th Massachusetts Infantry had port duty in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and had one Medal of Honor recipient. Although the battalion did not fight in the War with Spain, the headquarters company did. The battalion was mobilized for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. However, the Second and Eighth Massachusetts Militia were consolidated to form the 104th Infantry Regiment under the 26th Infantry Division. The remaining cadres were reorganized as the Fifth Pioneer Infantry, but was not deployed overseas. In 1920, the 5th Pioneer Infantry (Engineers) was re-designated the 101st Engineer Battalion and realigned under the 26th Yankee Division, where it would remain until the division was deactivated in 1993. The 101st Engineer Battalion fought with the 26th Infantry Division under Patton's Third Army, and provided the maps to the Third Army for the relief of the 101st Airborne Division during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

. From 1993 to 2006 the 101st Engineer Battalion was aligned under the 42nd Infantry Division. In 2006, HHC deployed to

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

as part of Task Force Semper Lex or "Task Force MP (Military Police)". In October 2008, the battalion was placed under the new 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, and placed the "YD" patch back on its left shoulder. In June 2009 the battalion mobilized for

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, providing construction and combat engineer support to the Multi-National Division Baghdad/United States Division-Central area. For this, the battalion earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon. In 2012, the 181 Engineer Company, 101st Engineer Battalion, was mobilized to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Engineers moved from Kandahar Air Field to forward operating bases in western Afghanistan. Missions included route clearance, battlefield circulation team (resupply) and air operations out of KAF. The unit was attached to the 20th Engineer Battalion, US Army. The unit returned to Ft. Bliss, Texas in 2013, and to the 101st Engineer Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard state area command in 2014.

Active units within the battalion

Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...

* Forward Support Company * 181st Engineer Vertical Construction Company * 182nd Engineer Company (Sapper) * 189th Engineer Detachment (Asphalt) * 379th Engineer Construction Company

Campaign participation credit

Revolutionary War * Lexington * Boston * Long Island * Princeton * Saratoga * Monmouth * Trenton * New York 1776 * New York 1777 * Rhode Island 1777 * Rhode Island 1778 * Rhode Island, 1779 * New Jersey 1780 War of 1812 * Massachusetts 1814 Civil War * Peninsula * Manassas * Antietam * Mississippi River * Fredericksburg * Chancellorsville * Gettysburg * Wilderness * Spotsylvania * Cold Harbor * Petersburg * Appomattox * Virginia 1861 * North Carolina 1862 * North Carolina 1863 * Virginia 1863 * Virginia 1864 * Bull Run World War II * Guadalcanal * Northern Solomons * Leyte * Southern Philippines (with arrowhead) * Northern France * Rhineland * Ardennes-Alsace * Central Europe Global War on Terror * Iraq - Iraqi Sovereignty

References

External links

army.mil
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602143339/https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/ohpam.html , date=2 June 2021 *https://web.archive.org/web/20110925235009/http://www.ng.mil/features/birthday/index.html Battalions of the United States Army National Guard Military units and formations in Massachusetts Engineer battalions of the United States Army Military units and formations established in 1920