The origins of the 1st Battalion, 126th Field Artillery of the Wisconsin National Guard date back to April 1880 when a Light Horse Squadron was established within the Guard and was to be stationed in Milwaukee. In 1894 the unit became Troop A, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry and twenty-two years later was expanded to include Troop B. Both units were mustered into service in 1916 during the Mexican Border War but only Troop A was sent to south. Upon the United States' entry into World War I the unit was again expanded, this time to include Troops C and D. On May 10, 1917 a group of Kenosha men formed Troop E, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry which is the direct predecessor of the 1st Battalion, 126th Field Artillery.
Troop E, along with the rest of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, trained at Camp Douglas, Wisconsin and Camp MacArthur in Waco, Texas during the summer of 1917. On September 28 of that year the regiment was converted into the 120th Field Artillery, with the Kenosha men now in Battery E of that unit. Newly reorganized, they continued training through February 1918 when they traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey for embarkation. The men saw action throughout France, including Chateau-Thierry and Meuse-Argonne. Following the war, the unit returned to the United States and mustered out of federal service in May 1919. The next year Battery E reorganized as Troop E, 105th Cavalry Regiment and set up headquarters in Kenosha.
When war broke out in Europe in 1939, the Wisconsin National Guard intensified the training of its units. When the Guard was called into federal service in 1940, the 105th Cavalry Regiment was again reorganized, this time into the 126th Field Artillery Regiment- Kenosha's Troop E became Battery E. The entire unit trained at Camp Livingston, Louisiana prior to the United States' entry into World War II. In early 1942 another reorganization took place and Battery E, 126th Field Artillery became Battery B, 173rd Field Artillery Battalion. The 173rd saw action in Europe while the rest of the Wisconsin National Guard went to the Pacific theater. It garnered battle honors for the Rome-Arno, North Appenines, Po Valley, and Naples-Foggia campaigns.
Following post-war deactivation, Kenosha became the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, 126th Field Artillery Regiment. As part of the Wisconsin National Guard, they were called into federal service in 1961 to train at Fort Lewis, Washington during the Berlin Crisis. The unit has also been called into service during several Milwaukee area civil disturbances.
