19th century The regiment was originally constituted on 8 February 1879 in the Colorado National Guard as the 1st Infantry Battalion. It was organized on 29 December 1881, with headquarters in Denver. It was expanded and redesignated on 22 March 1883 as the 1st Regiment, Infantry, and was reduced and redesignated on 2 April 1889 as the 1st Infantry Battalion. On 15 April 1893, it was expanded and redesignated as the 1st Infantry Regiment, Colorado National Guard. The regiment was consolidated with the 2nd Infantry Regiment (organized 27 May 1887) and mustered into federal service from 1–8 May 1898 at Denver as the 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out of federal service on 8 September 1899 at
San Francisco,
California, reverting to state status as the 1st Infantry Regiment.
20th century The 1st Colorado was expanded in 1900 as the 1st and 2nd Infantry. The 1st and 2nd Infantry were consolidated on 5 June 1916 and designated as the 1st Infantry.
Mexican Expedition and World War I Two battalions were mustered into federal service from 26 June to 29 July 1916 for
service on the Mexican border as the 1st and 2nd Separate Battalions, Colorado Infantry. The entire regiment was drafted into Federal service for World War I on 5 August 1917, being reorganized and redesignated on 24 September 1917 as the 157th Infantry Regiment, an element of the
40th Division. On 13 October 1917, the 1st Colorado Cavalry (organized in 1880) was consolidated with the 157th Infantry.
Interwar period "Thunderbirds" throughout WWII The 157th Infantry arrived at the port of New York on 11 April 1919 on the troopship
USS Julia Luckenbach and was demobilized on 29 April 1919 at
Fort D.A. Russell,
Wyoming. The regiment was reorganized as the 177th Infantry on 28 February 1921, with headquarters organized on 26 October 1921 and federally recognized at
Denver, Colorado, and assigned to the newly-constituted 45th Division. On 16 November 1921, per the
National Defense Act of 1920, the regiment reassumed its World War I designation of the 157th Infantry. The regiment, or elements thereof, was called up to perform the following state duties: flood relief at
Pueblo, Colorado, in June 1921; 1st Battalion performed riot control during a coal miners’ strike at Pueblo in July 1922; regimental headquarters and three companies performed riot control during a coal miners’ strike at the Columbine Mine, near
Boulder, Colorado, from 21 November 1927–6 April 1928; regiment, less the 2nd Battalion, performed duties dubbed the "Great Grasshopper War" in connection with
grasshopper infestations in eastern Colorado, from 28 June–26 August 1937; performed riot control during a coal miners’ strike at the Green Mountain Mine, from 3–31 August 1939. The regiment conducted annual summer training most years at Camp George West, near Colorado Springs, from 1921–39, and in at least two years (1932–33), the regiment also trained some 17 company-grade infantry officers of the
103rd Division at Camp George West. The 157th Infantry was inducted into active federal service on 16 September 1940 and moved to
Fort Sill, near
Lawton,
Oklahoma, where it arrived on 26 September 1940. It was subsequently transferred on 28 February 1941 to
Camp Barkeley, near,
Abilene,
Texas. The regiment was inactivated on 3 December 1945 at Camp Bowie.
Cold War The 157th Infantry was relieved 10 May 1946 from assignment to the 45th infantry Division. It was reorganized and federally recognized 8 January 1947 with headquarters at
Buckley Field; the location of headquarters was changed 3 September 1947 to Denver. The regiment was broken up on 1 August 1955, and elements were converted and redesignated as follows; • Headquarters and the 1st Battalion as the
144th Field Artillery Battalion. • Headquarters Company as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 169th Field Artillery Group; • Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, and Companies E, K, and L as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Service Battery, and Batteries A and B,
142nd Field Artillery Battalion; • Companies F and H as Batteries A and B,
137th Field Artillery Battalion; • Company G as Battery B, 168th Field Artillery Battalion; • Headquarters and Headquarters Company 3rd Battalion, Company M, Medical Company, and Tank Company as Service Battery, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, and Batteries C and B, 183rd Field Artillery Battalion; • Company I and Service Company as Service Battery and Battery B,
169th Field Artillery Battalion; • Heavy Mortar Company as Battery A,
188th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion The 144th Field Artillery Battalion was consolidated on 1 February 1959 with the 168th Field Artillery Battalion, the
183rd Field Artillery Battalion, and the 188th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, and the consolidated unit was reorganized and redesignated as the 157th Artillery, a parent Regiment under the U.S. Army
Combat Arms Regimental System, to consist of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Howitzer Battalions. Reorganized 1 January 1968 to consist of the 1st and 2nd Battalions. Redesignated 1 March 1972 as the 157th Field Artillery. Withdrawn 1 June 1989 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System. ==Distinctive unit insignia==