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HISTORY

Artillery

We tend to think of artillery troops as fielding cannon, and although that was true, companies of artillery troops also regularly fought as light infantry. This may be related to the fact that artillery units tended to be preexisting (before the war) and had far more training than even regular infantry. Thus for the War of 1812, it was common to see artillery troops fight as infantry in the vanguard . . . leading the way.

Artillery troops for this reason were considered elite forces. The US 2nd Artillery Regiment was specifically know for this . . . fighting as elite infantry.