103rd Field Artillery Regiment (United States)

103rd Field Artillery Regiment
103rd FA Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia
Active	1801/1917 to Present
Country	United States
Branch	Field Artillery Branch (United States)
Type	Field Artillery
Nickname(s)	Providence Marine Corps of Artillery (Special Designation)
Patron	Saint Barbara
Equipment	M777 155mm Howitzers

The 103rd Field Artillery Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. Its only currently existing component is the 1st Battalion, 103d Field Artillery (1st/103d), a unit of the Rhode Island National Guard. The regiment was originally constituted in 1917, but it descends from predecessor units dating back to 1801.

The 103d Field Artillery Regiment traces its origins to the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery (PMCA). (Despite the similarity of their names, the PMCA has no connection with the United States Marine Corps.) The PMCA was originally organized in 1801 by the Providence Marine Society (founded in 1798). The PMCA's original purpose was to provide trained gun crews to merchant ships based in Providence, Rhode Island, which had been threatened by the French during the Quasi War (1798–1800) as well as the increasing menace of the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. The PMCA's first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Commandant Seth Wheaton (1759–1827), who had served as an lieutenant in the Rhode Island Militia during the American Revolution.

With the pacification of the Barbary states, the PMCA continued as a chartered command of the Rhode Island Militia. As a chartered command, it had the privilege of electing its own officers and was subject only to the authority of the Governor of Rhode Island – as it was not part of the "regular" militia structure of the state – rather than the senior officers of the state militia. Its membership consisted of leading citizens of Providence and was, thereby, considered an "elite" military unit.

About 1850, the PMCA acquired use of a castle style armory, which is known as the Benefit Street Arsenal, from the Providence Light Infantry. The Arsenal, completed in 1839, still serves as the headquarters of the PMCA and holds a large collection of military artifacts ranging from the Civil War to the Second World War. The Arsenal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.