List of Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812

Twenty-three current units of the Army National Guard perpetuate the lineages of militia units mustered into federal service during the War of 1812. Militia units from nine states that were part of the Union by the end of the War of 1812 (Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia), plus the District of Columbia, are the predecessors of eighteen units that currently exist in the Army National Guard. Two of the four units derived from Virginia militias are in the West Virginia National Guard; at the time of the War of 1812, West Virginia was still part of Virginia. Only two current units, the 155th Infantry, a component of the Mississippi National Guard derived from militia units organized in the Mississippi Territory and the 130th Infantry, a component of the Illinois National Guard derived from militia units formed in the Illinois Territory, are from states or territories west of the Appalachians. Unfortunately, no militia units from the states of Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio or Tennessee, or from the Indiana, Michigan, Missouri or Louisiana Territories, where militia units played a major role in the fighting, have survived as units in the modern Army National Guard. There are also twenty-three active Regular Army battalions with campaign credit for the War of 1812.

198th Signal Battalion (ARNG DE)

Campaigns: Delaware 1812, Delaware 1813, Delaware 1814

The 198th Signal Battalion is derived from the Delaware Regiment, constituted on December 9, 1775, and organized in early 1776 as Colonel John Haslet's Regiment. During the Revolutionary War, the regiment participated in fifteen campaigns.

Three units created from the Delaware Regiment during the last decade of the eighteenth century saw service during the War of 1812: Light Infantry, 1st Infantry, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade (mustered into federal service May 23, 1813, and mustered out on July 31, 1813, and mustered in again on August 28, 1814, and out between January 3 and March 13, 1815); the Artillery Company, 2nd Brigade (served from May 23, 1814, to September 2, 1814); and the 1st Company, Light Infantry, 8th Regiment, 3rd Brigade (in federal service from March 2, 1813, to May 4, 1813, from May 6, 1813, to July 31, 1813, and from August 6, 1814, to January 11, 1815).Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors, 198th Signal Battalion (First Delaware).

The primary activity of the Delaware militia during the War of 1812 was defending coastal communities from raids by British landing parties during the blockade of the Delaware Bay and Delaware River beginning in early March 1813 and continuing into 1814.George 2000, p. 143. The militia units were continually shifted from one location to another in response to movements of the British ships. On March 6, 1813, the town of Lewes was threatened with destruction by the commander of the British flotilla if it failed to provide the British with supplies. The town refused the demand and was subjected to a twenty-two-hour bombardment beginning on April 6. A landing party was repulsed on April 7. The 1st Company, 8th Regiment, 3rd Brigade was present in Lewes from March 19, 1813, through March 24 and from May 3 through May 11, 1813, but not at the time of the British bombardment.;Peden 2003, pp. 1, 20, 39, 43, 47, 57, 63, 92, 131, 132, 219, 243, 337. the Artillery Company, 2nd Brigade was deployed to Lewes in early June.Peden 2003, pp. 7, 8, 30, 62, 63, 76, 92, 127, 240, 332.

HHD/372nd Military Police Battalion (ARNG DC)

Campaigns: Fort Washington 1813, Bladensburg

The HHD/372nd Military Police Battalion traces its formation to the First Legion, Columbian Brigade constituted in the District of Columbia on May 3, 1802, and organized during the summer of 1802 from existing volunteer militia companies north of the Potomac River.

The unit was expanded, reorganized and redesignated on April 17, 1813, as the 1st Brigade, Columbian Division, to comprise two regiments. It was mustered into federal service on July 15, 1813, and mustered out on July 31, 1813, then mustered in again on July 19, 1814, and out on October 8, 1814.Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors Certificate, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 372d Military Police Battalion.

During the Battle of Bladensburg, which culminated on August 24, 1814, the Columbian Division occupied the left portion of the second line of defense against the attacking British. When the first line of defense, which had been badly positioned by its commander, Brigadier General Tobias Stansbury, crumbled, the position of the Columbian Division became vulnerable. The division was able to resist the British advance for a while, but was forced to withdraw when its left flank came under attack.George 2000, pp. 99–102. In the absence of clear orders from the American commander of the Tenth Military District, Brigadier General William Winder, concerning what to do in the event that a retreat was necessary, the defenders fled the field.

118th Field Artillery (ARNG GA)

Campaigns: Streamer without inscription

The 118th Field Artillery traces its lineage back to four independent volunteer companies, three of foot and one of horse, organized in the Georgia Militia in the District to Savannah on April 18, 1751. The Georgia militia units in Savannah and surrounding Chatham County were reorganized in 1782 as the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Division.

The main role of the Savannah militia during the War of 1812 was as a local defense force that remained under local control. However, three companies from the 1st Battalion were mustered into federal service during the early stages of the war: the Savannah Volunteer Guards (organized in 1802) and the Republican Blues (organized in 1808), mustered into federal service in east Florida in June 1812 as elements of Colonel Daniel Newman's provisional battalion of Georgia Volunteers and mustered out in October 1812; and the Heavy Artillery Company (organized in 1812), mustered in on October 19, 1812, at Fort James Jackson, Georgia, a fort one mile from Savannah, and mustered out on November 23, 1812.Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors, 118th Field Artillery.

The City Battalion of Savannah was mustered into service on January 22, 1815, as the 1st Regiment, Georgia Volunteers, and mustered out on February 23, 1815. This service came after the signing on December 24, 1814, of the Treaty of Ghent, the peace treaty that ended the war. However, neither the Americans nor the commander of the British fleet operating off the Georgia coast were aware of this event, and so elements of the Georgia militia were federalized to counter the British Cumberland Island Campaign (January–March 1815), during which the British occupied Cumberland Island at the mouth of the St. Mary's River between Georgia and Florida.Malcomson 2000, pp. 131–133.

130th Infantry (ARNG IL)

Campaigns: Streamer without inscription

The 130th Infantry traces its history back to March 1, 1809, when the Volunteer Militias of the Illinois Territory were constituted and organized as independent companies.

The companies destined to become the 130th Infantry were mustered into federal service on February 18, 1813, as the Regiment of Illinois Territory Militia, and mustered out on June 16, 1813, following which elements reverted to independent status in the Illinois Territory Militia.

The federalization of the Illinois Militia in early 1813 was a response to the massacre of two families on the Cache River near present-day Mound City by Creeks returning from the Battle of Frenchtown on the Raison River in Michigan. The primary function of the Illinois Militia during the War of 1812 was providing security for isolated settlements in areas of the territory inhabited by hostile Native tribes, especially the Potawatomi and the Kickapoo.Ferguson 2012, pp. 119–120, 126–128.

The Illinois Militia was also mustered into federal service in 1831 as Duncan's Brigade, which included the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Illinois Mounted Volunteers, Major Bailey's Odd Battalion and Major Buckmaster's Battalion of Spies, all from central and southern Illinois, and again in 1832 for service in the Black Hawk War.

After numerous reorganizations during the nineteenth century, these elements became the 4th Infantry Regiment in 1890, and subsequently the 130th Infantry in 1917.Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors, 130th Infantry..

The black hawk and two red arrows in the Distinctive Unit Insignia commemorate service in the Black Hawk War. The horizontal belt of red, white and green, the saltire from the Confederate flag and the fleur-de-lis represent service in the Mexican War, the Civil War and for service in France during World War I, respectively.Stein 1993, pp. 172–173

175th Infantry (ARNG MD)

Campaigns: Bladensburg, Maryland 1814

The 175th Infantry traces its lineage all the way back to the Baltimore Independent Cadets, a company of sixty "gentlemen of honour, family, and fortune" organized in 1774. In 1776 the Cadets were absorbed into William Smallwood's Maryland Battalion, which was later expanded and reorganized into the 1st through the 7th Maryland Regiments. These seven regiments earned credit for fourteen campaigns during the Revolutionary War. In 1794 the volunteer militia companies of Baltimore were reorganized as elements of the 5th Regiment of Militia.

The 5th Regiment was in federal service from August 19, 1814, through November 18, 1814.Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors, 175th Infantry (Fifth Maryland). During the Battle of Bladensburg, which culminated on August 24, 1814, the "Dandy Fifth," along with other Maryland militia units, provided the first line of defense against the attacking British. As the British advanced, the 5th Maryland counterattacked, but when the 1st and 2nd Regiments on their left broke and fled, the 5th joined the rest of Maryland militia in a disorderly retreat from the field.George 2000, pp. 98–99.

The 5th gave a much better account of itself on September 12, 1814, at the Battle of North Point, which was part of the Battle of Baltimore. The 5th Regiment held its position against the attacking British, and then conducted a successful fighting retreat that significantly slowed the British advance on Baltimore.George 2000, pp. 141–143.

101st Engineer Battalion (ARNG MA)

Campaigns: Massachusetts 1814

The 101st Engineer Battalion is one of the four oldest units in the U.S. Army, the other three being the 101st Field Artillery, the 181st Infantry and the 182nd Infantry, all from Massachusetts and all with credit for participation in the War of 1812 (see below). The 101st Engineer Battalion traces its origins to the East Regiment, organized in the Massachusetts Militia from existing train bands on December 13, 1636. The East Regiment became the Essex Regiment in 1643, and was then expanded in 1680 to form the 1st (South) and 2nd (North) Essex Regiment, and expanded again in 1689 to form the 1st (Lower), 2nd (Upper) and 3rd (Middle) Essex Regiments, and yet again in 1774 to form the 1st-6th Essex Regiments.

During the American Revolution the six Essex Regiments were organized as the Essex County Brigade, to consist of eight regiments. The Essex County Brigade remained in state service during the Revolutionary War, but in addition formed five regiments that served in the Continental Army.