The First Corps of Cadets of Massachusetts formed in 1741. Its motto is Monstrat Viam - "It Points the Way." While it has served in several wars, the sub-unit's primary contribution to Massachusetts and to the United States was as an officer-producing institution for new regiments from the Revolutionary War through World War II.Leonid Kondratiuk, Monstrat Viam: A History of the 211th Military Police Battalion (First Corps of Cadets). Washington, Historical Services Branch, National Guard Bureau, April 1997, 10pp. (Revised and corrected October 2009 for publication here by C. Brown, First Corps of Cadets Museum Boston)
History
Early period
Unlike the oldest regiments of the Massachusetts National Guard, which began as standing militia made up of all able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60, the First Corps of Cadets, the Commonwealth's and the National Guard's oldest volunteer militia unit, has always consisted of young men, and now women, who volunteered to serve.
The origin of the Corps can be traced to July 1726 when an organization called the "Company of Young Gentlemen Cadets" escorted the new royal governor of Massachusetts upon his arrival in Boston. Commanded by Benjamin Pollard, this predecessor organization of 24 young men provided their own weapons and uniforms. The "Young Gentlemen Cadets" had no formal military status and went out of existence within several years.
Benjamin Pollard apparently was keen on organizing a volunteer militia company made up of young Boston gentlemen who had the time and the money to devote to ceremonial duties. However, it was not until 1741 that such a company was chartered as the Independent Cadets.. The mission of the Independent Cadets was to serve as the ceremonial bodyguard for the royal governors of Massachusetts. On 16 October 1741 Governor William Shirley commissioned Pollard as Captain and Commander of the Independent Company of Cadets to consist of "sixty-four young Gentlemen." The Company was organized on 19 October.
Pollard was given dual rank; he was captain of the Cadets but was also accorded the rank of lieutenant colonel of militia. His two lieutenants were ranked as major and captain of militia respectively. The privilege of dual rank was a custom adopted from the three Guards regiments of the British Army. Guard officers held regimental rank and Army rank, which was two grades higher. As the personal bodyguard of the Massachusetts royal governor, Cadet officers were accorded the privilege of dual rank until 1874. Benjamin Pollard was one of the leading citizens of Boston; he had served in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, and was sheriff of Suffolk County. Under Lieutenant Colonel Pollard's leadership the Cadets immediately became the elite unit of the Massachusetts Militia.
In order to join prospective Cadets had to be nominated by a member and had to be able to afford to purchase their uniform as well as pay dues for the upkeep of the Company. Unit dues were collected until 1940. These requirements limited membership to a select few.
The Cadets escorted the governor at parades and ceremonies. Once a year the governor reviewed the Cadets, usually at the parade honoring the king's birthday. In 1766, John Hancock, the Cadet's most famous alumnus, joined. Hancock later served as President of the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence and governor of Massachusetts.
By 1772 Hancock was Commander and had a role in selecting a new uniform which consisted of a red coat with buff facings. The uniform was similar to that worn by British Guards regiments. The uniform indicated the Cadets' special status in the militia. Since Hancock was one of the richest men in Boston, he could afford to purchase new uniforms, drums and other accouterments. Hancock, one of the leaders of the revolt against British import duties, did not get along with the new royal governor, Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Gage, who came to Boston with orders to impose harsh measures in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party. Shortly after arriving in Boston in May 1774, as was the custom, Gage presented new colors to the Cadets. As relations grew worse between patriot leaders and British officials, so did relations between Hancock and Gage.
On 1 August 1774, Lieutenant Colonel Hancock was dismissed as commander of the Cadets by Lieutenant General Gage. Since it was the custom of the Cadets to elect their own officers, the Cadets were outraged by the governor's action. The Cadets, several of whom had participated in the Boston Tea Party, met on 15 August and voted to disband and to return their colors to the governor in protest against the dismissal of their popular commander. The Cadets turned in their uniforms and musical instruments to Hancock for safekeeping.
As a result of their disbandment, the Cadets saw no action in the Lexington and Boston campaigns of 1775. While a few slipped out of Boston to join the American forces, most former Cadets could not join the American cause until the British evacuated Boston in March 1776. Sometime in the late spring or early summer of 1776 the Cadets reorganized as the Independent Company of Cadets. Since red uniforms were no longer appropriate, a black coat with red facings was adopted.
The first parade was held on Boston Common on 9 September. Hancock, now President of the Continental Congress, was elected honorary colonel while Henry Jackson was elected captain. The strength of the company stood at 78. The Cadets wanted to take an active part in the Revolutionary War and petitioned the General Court for authority to raise a battalion for the Continental Army. Shortly thereafter, Capt. Jackson was commissioned as colonel and commander of Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment on 12 January 1777.
The Cadets provided the officer cadre for the new regiment, which organized in the spring of 1777. Jackson's Regiment fought at the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778 and later took part in campaigns in New Jersey and Rhode Island. The regiment was disbanded near West Point, New York on 31 December 1780. Because the Cadets were always made up of young men of officer material, the First Corps of Cadets began its tradition and secondary mission of providing officers for wartime regiments in 1777. This secondary mission continued through World War II (1941–1945). In the 1920s the War Department awarded the Corps three campaign streamers earned by Jackson's Regiment. In 1976 the Department of the Army awarded two additional Revolutionary War streamers.
While many of its members were serving on active duty, the Cadets were mobilized for active service in April 1777 and marched to Rhode Island The Cadets entered active duty again in the spring of 1778 serving as a garrison at Dorchester Heights. The Cadets served under their former commander in July and August 1778, when Maj. Gen. Hancock commanded the Massachusetts Militia in a brief campaign against the British in Rhode Island Serving in the same campaign was the Cadets' offspring Jackson's Regiment. After their third tour of active duty, the Cadets were inactive unit 1785. In August 1786, the Cadets reorganized with 36 members. A white uniform was adopted in honor of a French Army regiment with which the Cadets served in Rhode Island in 1778.
On 19 October 1786, the Cadets were formally reorganized as the Independent Company of Cadets and were given special privileges by the General Court of Massachusetts. The Cadets were accorded the honor of continuing to serve as the governor's official bodyguard; the Cadets were to be assigned to a headquarters commanded by a major general; and were to be commanded by a lieutenant colonel. These special privileges were recognized by the federal government under the Militia Acts of 1792 and 1903 and by the National Defense Acts of 1916 and 1920 and today by Title 32 of the US Code. At their reorganization parade on 19 October Governor James Bowdoin presented the Cadets with new colors. The color consisted of a sunburst star and the motto Monstrat Viam. The sunburst star was designed as a variation of the insignia of the Coldstream Guards of the British Army, and, with the motto, has been worn on the uniforms, accouterments, drums and colors of the Cadets to the present day.
Within days of reorganization, the Cadets mobilized for state service during Shays' Rebellion. The Cadets marched to Groton to assist the sheriff in enforcing state law.
Because the Cadets were originally organized on 19 October 1741 and reorganized on 19 October 1786, in addition to being its Organization Day, for many years it was the custom to present the officers with their commissions on October 19. The Cadets attracted young Boston gentlemen with the time and means to join. While they drilled on a regular basis and participated in parades and ceremonies, the Cadets social side was just as important.
Throughout its history, the Cadets have provided honor guards for distinguished visitors to Boston. In October 1789, the Cadets escorted President George Washington during his first visit to Boston as president. The Cadets escorted President Washington again in 1793 and President John Adams in 1797.
Quasi-War with France
During the Quasi- War with France in 1797, the Cadets voted to offer their services as part of the Volunteer Army. As the standing militia, which under the Militia Act of 1792, required all males from 17-45 to belong to the militia waned as its value as a military force became less effective the volunteer militia took its place. Volunteer militia units were uniformed, equipped, and drilled on a regular basis. In 1840 Massachusetts abolished the standing militia and replaced it with regiments of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. From 1842 to 1844 the core was commanded by Colonel William P. Winchester.
During the early 19th century, a number of volunteer units were organized in Boston. The National Lancers, organized in 1836, was designated as the governor's mounted bodyguard. Other elite units such as the Boston Fusilers and the New England Guards were organized as well. The Cadets began a friendly competition with these units. In 1786, the Cadets sister unit, the Second Corps of Cadets of Salem was organized. The First and Second Corps of Cadets were both accorded special privileges as the leading units of the volunteer militia.
The period between 1815 and 1860 was the heyday of the volunteer militia movement. Every town and city had several companies that proudly paraded in their often ornate uniforms. The Cadets frequently changed their uniforms in order to be the most splendidly clad unit in Boston. Between 1810 and 1860, the uniform changed from white with red facings to black with red facings, back to white and then grey in several variations and hues. Because of the heavy expense associated with purchasing new uniforms only wealthy young men could afford to join the Cadets.
As often as the uniforms changed so did the designation of the Cadets. Between 1801 and 1861 the Cadets alternately designated themselves the Boston Independent Cadets, Company of Independent Cadets, Divisionary Company of Cadets and Independent Company of Cadets and some six other variations of these designations.
The Cadets, like other volunteer militia units, began attending summer training sessions lasting several days. The Cadets also observed their organization day with a parade on Boston Common in addition to parades on Independence Day, Patriot's Day and other civic holidays. The Cadets often escorted the governor to Harvard commencements. This was appropriate since the Cadets always had a large number of Harvard graduates in their ranks from the colonial days up to World War II. Since the Cadets were organized as an infantry company, a state law passed in February 1861 restricted their strength to 100.
The Civil War