On the Border in 1916 and 2025: The 277th Support Maintenance Company

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Soldiers of the 277th Support Maintenance Company mobilized to the Mexican Border in 1916 and 2024. Right photo courtesy of the Wisconsin National Guard.

In October 2024, the Georgia National Guard’s 277^th Support Maintenance Company mobilized to the southern border nearly 108 years to the day after its predecessor unit mobilized to El Paso, Texas with the Georgia Brigade. In addition to its two mobilizations to the border, the company mobilized Soldiers for the Spanish American War, both world wars, and supported overseas combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Captain James Hollis.

Organization and Early Years

The 277^th Support Maintenance Company perpetuates the lineage of the Atlanta Zouaves, which was organized July 14, 1887, under the command of Capt. J. B. Hollis.[1] With an initial strength of 34 Soldiers, the company assembled for drill at their armory at 24 ½ North Broads Street. Within a year of their organization, the Zouaves had established themselves as a quality unit winning first prize in competitions in Opelika, Ala. In August 1888 and Selma, Ala. In December 1888.[2]

 

On Memorial Day, 1889, the Atlanta Zouaves made their first public appearance in their new uniform. The Zouaves wore dark blue jackets trimmed with gold silk braid with red trousers with gold silk ornaments. Buff sashes, white leggings, and a light buff vest with blue silk braid accented the uniforms which were completed by red silk plush fezzes.[3]

 

The Zouaves were designated Company A of the 4^th Battalion of Infantry, Georgia Volunteers. April 16, 1890. On November 8, 1893, the company was redesignated Company A of the Atlanta-based 5^th Infantry Regiment.

 

Captain Asa Baker

The Spanish American Border

During the Spanish American War, the Atlanta Zouaves and other units of the 5^th
Infantry Regiment volunteered for federal service. Captain Amos Baker, commander of the Zouaves, was appointed to command Company E, 3^rd Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment which was the only regiment of Georgia National Guard troops to see overseas service during the war. Baker was accompanied by several Soldiers of the Atlanta Zouaves; however, the Zouaves did not mobilize overseas as a unit.

 

The Mexican Border

In July 1916, units of the Georgia National Guard were activated for federal service and mobilized to the Mexican Border in October. The Atlanta Zouaves, under the command of Capt. John Glover Crane Bloodworth Jr., was stationed at Camp Cotton near El Paso Texas where they manned outposts and conducted patrols along the border.

 

Markings on a haversack carried by a Soldier of the Atlanta Zouaves to the Mexican Border in 1916. Private collection.

World War I

Captain John Bloodworth Jr. in 1939.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

Returning to Georgia in March 1917, the Zouaves remained on active duty due to the U.S. declaration of war on Germany. In October, the 5^th Infantry Regiment was redesignated the 122^nd Infantry Regiment, with the Zouaves continuing to serve as Company A. The 122^nd trained at Camp Wheeler near Macon, Ga. with other units of the 31^st Division until mobilized to France in October 1918. The 245 Soldiers of Company A, under Capt. Bloodworth, departed for France from Hoboken, N. J. October 7, 1918, aboard the SS Kroonland. The Soldiers of the 31st Division arrived too late to take an active part in combat operations. Returning to Georgia in 1919, the Zouaves and 122^nd Infantry Regiment were mustered out of federal service.

 

Interwar and World War II

Nearly five years would pass before the post reorganization of the Georgia National Guard was complete. The Atlanta Zouaves was organized and federally recognized in Atlanta March 5, 1924, in the Georgia National Guard as Companies A and B, 200th Infantry.[4] The companies were redesignated June 9, 1924 as Companies A and B of the Atlanta-based 122nd Infantry Regiment.[5] On July 1, 1939, the companies were converted and redesignated as Batteries A and B of the 179th Field Artillery Regiment.[6]

 

A Howitzer assigned to Battery A, 179th Field Artillery Regiment. Photo by Pfc. Matthew Starnes.

The 179^th FA was inducted into federal service February 24, 1941, in Atlanta and mobilized to Camp Blanding Florida for initial training.[7] The 179^th conducted training during maneuvers in North Carolina and Mississippi before reaching Fort Sill in March 1943 where the 179^th was reorganized with Company A and B continuing in service with the 179^th Field Artillery Battalion. The 179^th mobilized to the European Theater of the war, landing at Utah Beach August 12, 1944. The 179^th FA provided fire support from the Normandy campaign to Germany. Returning home following World War II, the 179^th was inactivated December 9, 1945, at Camp Patrick Henry, Va.[8]

 

Post-WWII Reorganization and Service

On July 5, 1946, the 179^th was reorganized and assigned to the division artillery of the 48^th Infantry Division.[9] The unit was federally recognized in Atlanta May 2, 1947.

FORT STEWART, Ga.  1959 - Two M55 self-propelled howitzers of the 1st Rocket/Howitzer Battalion, 179th Field Artillery during annual training
of the 48th Armored Division at Fort Stewart, Ga.  .National Guard Educational Foundation, Washington D.C.

In 1955, the 48^th Infantry Division was reorganized as an armor division, though the organization of the 179^th was unchanged.[10] On July 1, 1959, the 179^th was reorganized and redesignated the 1^st Rocket Howitzer Battalion.[11] The 179^th FA served until January 1, 1968, when it was converted to form the 177^th Engineer Company.[12] The unit was reorganized and redesignated July 1, 1971 as Company B, 878th Engineer Battalion,[13] and on December 1, 1971, received its current designation as the 277^th Support Maintenance Company.[14]

 

Mobilizations and Missions of the 277^th SMC

On September 1, 1997, the 277^th moved to its present location in Kennesaw.[15]

The 277^th was ordered into active federal service February 10, 2003, at Kennesaw for service during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit returned to state control June 19, 2004.

 

May 2, 2010: Soldiers of the 277th Support Maintenance Company stand in formation during a departure ceremony before deploying to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The 277^th was again ordered into active federal service April 29, 2010, for Operation Enduring Freedom and was released from active federal service June 2, 2011. For its efforts in Afghanistan, the 277^th was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation.

 

In addition to overseas service, the 277^th SMC has supported numerous emergency response operations including multiple hurricane response missions and the state’s COVID-19 response effort. The capabilities of the 277^th have also been called upon to support Army mobilizations and training. In April 2019, the 277^th sent a platoon to the Joint Readiness Center at Fort Polk, La. From February 10 to March 14, 2022, the 277^th mobilized 30 personnel to Camp Shelby, Miss. in support of the premobilization training of an Army Reserve unit. The unit conducted annual training at Camp Dodge, Iowa in August 2023.

 

In October 2024, the 277^th SMC mobilized to the U.S. border with Mexico, nearly 108 years after its predecessor unit, the Atlanta Zouaves, boarded a train in Macon bound for border security duty. Under the direction of U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force North, the 277^th SMC supported U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations through fiscal year 2025.

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[1] “Officers Commissioned,” Columbus Enquirer Sun, July 19, 1887, 1.

 

[2] “They Got There,” Atlanta Constitution, December 28, 1888, 88.

 

[3] “The Atlanta Zouaves,” Atlanta Constitution, March 25, 1889, 4.

 

[4] U.S. Army Center of Military History, MB 325.4-Georgia-Feb. 27, 1924, Washington DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, NP.

 

[5] U.S. Army Center of Military History, MB 325.4-Georgia-June 2, 1924, Washington DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, NP.

 

[6] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Lineage and Honors, 122^nd Infantry Regiment, Washington DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, August 1955.

 

[7] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Lineage and Honors, 277^th Maintenance Company, Washington DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, ND.

 

[8] William Carraway. Historic Georgia Guard Units Join the Fight in France: The 179th and 945th FA Battalions Enter the ETO August 12, 1944. http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2019/08/historic-georgia-guard-units-join-fight.html

 

[9] Military Department, State of Georgia, General Orders No. 17, Atlanta, December 31, 1946.

 

[10] National Guard Bureau, NG AROTO 325.4 (30 Sept 55) -Ga., Washington DC, October 17, 1955.

[11] National Guard Bureau, Reorganizational Authority 73-59, Washington DC: June 10, 1959.

 

[12] National Guard Bureau, Reorganizational Authority 71-67, Washington DC: December 14, 1967.

 

[13] National Guard Bureau, Reorganizational Authority 135-71, Washington DC, July 1, 1971.

 

[14] National Guard Bureau, Reorganizational Authority 190-71, Washington DC, December 1, 1971.

 

[15] National Guard Bureau, Organizational Authority 199-97, Washington DC, August 22, 1997.