The 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA () is a Canadian Army Reserve artillery regiment based in Saint John, New Brunswick. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. The Loyal Company of Artillery of the City of Saint John was formed on May 4, 1793 after passed its first Militia Act in 1792 in response to the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. Since that historic founding The Loyal Company of Artillery formed the core of a body of militia artillery that has existed in the province right up to the present day in the form of 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. For much of the 20th century the Regiment proudly carried "The Loyal Company" designation as part of its title, perpetuating the connection to Canada's oldest artillery unit. The Loyal Company was the first of several militia artillery companies, renamed batteries in the later nineteenth century, formed in for the defence of the colony's main port and border towns from outside threat. History War of 1812 The threat of war with the United States proved real enough in 1812 that New Brunswick militia artillery detachments were activated as part of the 1st and 2nd Battalions to man newly built shore batteries in overlooking the Passamaquoddy Bay and the coast of disputed territory in what is now the State of Maine. Throughout the War of 1812 other detachments of militia artillerymen built and manned defences alongside British regular gunners. The New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery Saint John's importance as the key all-season port of entry into British North America then meant that the city garrison was always armed and provisioned for defense from the sea. Artillery was central to that defense, making the garrison a logical focal point for the training and equipping of militia artillery from across the province. In 1838 militia artillery companies throughout the province were unified as the New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery. The core and headquarters of this force was the original Loyal Company and the gun batteries defending the harbour. Indeed, the NB Regiment of Artillery was formed to man those vital defenses when the British regular artillery garrison marched west in response to the Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 in Upper Canada. That same year, the Regiment was called on to dispatch a troop of artillery to during the border dispute known as the War of 1838-39.