The 209th Field Artillery Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch, was approved on 18 September 1978 and was also worn by members of the 1st Battalion, 209th Field Artillery Regiment a subordinate unit of the Brigade that was famously nicknamed “Rochester Redlegs” in homage to the area in which its troops were raised (“Redlegs” is also a common nickname for Artillery personnel and units).
The griffin is a symbol frequently used in the heraldry of units hailing from around the Great Lakes as a reference to René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, the French explorer whose expeditions took him throughout much of the Midwest of America. In 1679, La Salle built a ship to haul men and equipment through the Great Lakes and chose a griffin for the figurehead on its prow. The mythical griffin is renowned for its vigilance as a guardian because it combines the keen vision and swift flight of an eagle with the strength and ferocity of a lion.
A crescent superimposed on the griffin is adapted from the coat of arms of the city of Rochester.
Neither the 209th Field Artillery Brigade nor the 209th Field Artillery Regiment are active at this time (Fall 2022), but unfortunately there are no readily available public records indicating when they were inactivated or disestablished.
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209th Field Artillery Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)