32 units of the United States Army have lineages which date back to the colonial history of the United States. Of those, 31 are Army National Guard units, including regiments, battalions, companies, batteries and troops, while one is a battalion of the Regular Army's Field Artillery Branch. 29 of the 31 Army National Guard units trace their lineage back to units formed in British America, while the other two trace their lineage back to militia units raised in Puerto Rico when it was still part of the Spanish Empire.

Army National Guard units with British colonial lineages were formed during three distinct periods. The first eight, whose lineages date to between 1636 and 1672, were formed in the New England and Southern Colonies for operations on the American frontier. The next eight, their lineages dating to between 1735 and 1756, were raised for a variety of functions, including frontier operations, colonial expansion, and service in the French and Indian Wars against the French colonial empire, which challenged the British Empire the control of North America. The last group of fourteen, whose lineages date to between 1774 and 1778, were raised during the American Revolution and went on to participate in the American Revolutionary War. The units are listed chronologically from oldest to newest.

181st Infantry, MA ARNG (Sixth Massachusetts)

Revolutionary War Campaigns: Lexington, Boston, Quebec, Long Island, Trenton, Princeton, Saratoga, Monmouth, New Jersey 1776, New York 1776, New York 1780, and Rhode Island 1778.

The 181st and 182nd Infantry Regiments both trace their origins to the North Regiment, organized on December 13, 1636, from militia units at Charlestown, New Town, Watertown, Dedham, and Concord. In 1643 the North Regiment was redesignated as the Middlesex Regiment.Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors, 181st Infantry. Reproduced in Sawicki 1981, pp. 354–355.

The first major military action of the Middlesex Regiment was in King Philip’s War (1675–1676), a conflict that had profound effects on the colonization of New England and the fate of the Native people there. King Philip, a Wampanoag chief whose Indian name was Metacom, organized a confederation of tribes to resist the expansion of white settlements in southern New England. King Philip was the son of Massasoit, the chief who had been the architect of the initial collaborative relationship between the colonists and the Indians. The war ended that relationship and replaced it with one in which the colonists were dominant and the Native people were marginalized. The conflict was precipitated when Wampanoag braves killed several cattle owned by a colonist, who retaliated by killing an Indian. The Indians then responded by attacking Swansea, Massachusetts, after which the conflict rapidly degenerated into a brutal cycle of raids, massacres and reprisals in an area that stretched from the Mount Hope peninsula in Rhode Island to central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

Personnel from the Middlesex Regiment participated in the Great Swamp Fight on December 19, 1675. This campaign, involving approximately a thousand militiamen from the Connecticut, Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies, was a pre-emptive strike on the fortified winter encampment of the Narragansetts, who had remained neutral in the conflict up to that time but whom the colonists feared might join forces with King Philip. Between five and six hundred Indians were killed in the attack. The surviving Narragansetts then joined King Philip and began attacking and burning settlements in southeastern New England. The war ended in 1676 when King Philip was hunted down and killed near Swansea, his body drawn and quartered, and his head displayed on a pole in Plymouth. The conflict took the lives of eight percent of the male population of the Plymouth Colony and resulted in the near annihilation of several Indian tribes.Philbrick 2006, pp. 229–348.

The colonial predecessor of the 772nd Military Police Battalion and 102nd Infantry (see below) also participated in King Philip's War.

The Middlesex Regiment was expanded in 1680 and divided into two regiments: the Lower (or 1st) and Upper (or 2nd) Middlesex Regiments. The 181st Infantry traces its lineage back to the 2nd Middlesex Regiment; the 182d Infantry, to the 1st Middlesex Regiment.

While remaining in state service during the Revolutionary War, the 2nd Middlesex Regiment was expanded on February 19, 1776, to form the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Middlesex Regiments. On April 23, 1775, these regiments were reorganized to produce five regiments in the new Continental Army: Prescott's, Thomas's, Nixon's, Brewer's, and Bridge's Regiments. Bridge's Regiment was disbanded later in the year.

Prescott's Regiment became the 7th Continental Regiment on January 1, 1776. On January 1, 1776, the 7th Continental Regiment was consolidated with the 23rd Continental Regiment (see Thomas's Regiment below) to form the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment. Prescott's Regiment played a prominent role at the Battle of Bunker Hill and the evacuation of Long Island.Boatner 1974, p. 887. Thomas's Regiment was redesignated as Bailey's Regiment on July 1, 1775, then consolidated with Cotton's Regiment (authorized April 23, 1775) on January 1, 1776, to form the 23rd Continental Regiment, following which the 23rd and 7th Continental Regiments were consolidated to form the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment. Nixon's Regiment became the 4th Continental Regiment on January 1, 1776, and then the 6th Massachusetts Regiment in 1779. Nixon's Regiment was in action at Bunker Hill, the Siege of Boston and the defense of New York City.Boatner 1974, p. 809. Brewer's Regiment became the 6th Continental Regiment in 1776, Wiggleswoth's Regiment in 1777, and the 13th Massachusetts Regiment in 1779.

In 1785 the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Middlesex Regiments were reorganized as the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, which, after a number of additional reorganizations and redesignations, became the 6th Regiment of Infantry in 1855 and the 181st Infantry in 1921.

The 181st Infantry also perpetuates the lineage of the 104th Infantry, MA ARNG (Second Massachusetts), as a consequence of the consolidation of the 104th and 181st Infantry Regiments on September 1, 2006, with the newly formed unit retaining the designation of the 181st Infantry. The 181st Infantry's credit for the Quebec Campaign was acquired when it was consolidated with the 104th Infantry.

The 104th Infantry traces its history back to the Hampshire Regiment, Massachusetts Militia, constituted on May 7, 1662, and organized in 1663 from the existing Train Bands from Springfield (organized September 1639), Northampton (organized August 1661) and Hadley (organized May 1661). The Hampshire Regiment was expanded on November 16, 1748, into the North and South Hampshire Regiments. Then, following the formation of Berkshire County from the western portion of Hampshire County, the Berkshire Regiment was formed on January 1, 1763.

On January 22, 1776, these three western Massachusetts militia units were reorganized into the Hampshire County Brigade (Timothy Danielson commanding), consisting of the 1st–6th Hampshire Regiments, and the Berkshire County Brigade (John Fellows commanding), consisting of the 1st and 2nd Berkshire Regiments. Elements of the Hampshire and Berkshire County Brigades were called into active service at various times during the Revolutionary War, and additionally provided five regiments that became part of the Continental Army.

During May and June 1775, the Hampshire and Berkshire County militias were reorganized to form four named regiments in the Massachusetts Provincial Army–Danielson's, Fellows's, Paterson's and Woodbridge's–which were adopted into the Continental Army on June 14, 1775. These four regiments were reorganized in January 1776 to form the 3rd, 15th and 21st Continental Regiments, which in 1779 were reorganized again to form the 1st Massachusetts Regiment. In addition to its service in the Main Army, the 1st Massachusetts Regiment also spent time assigned to the Canadian and Northern Departments. A fifth regiment, Porter's Regiment, was constituted on January 21, 1776, and organized during the winter and spring for a year of service in Canada, following which it was disbanded in December 1776.Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors, 104th Infantry. Reproduced in Sawicki 1981, pp. 192–201

The powder horn in the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 181st Infantry commemorates the service of the Minute Men during the Revolutionary War.

182nd Infantry, MA ARNG (North Regiment)

Revolutionary War Campaigns: Lexington, Boston, Quebec, Saratoga, New York 1778, New York 1779.

Like the 181st Infantry, the 182d Infantry also traces its origins to the North Regiment, organized from existing train bands on December 13, 1636. As noted above, the North Regiment was redesignated in September 1643 as the Middlesex Regiment, which was expanded On October 13, 1680, and divided into two regiments: the Lower (or 1st) Middlesex Regiment and the Upper (or 2nd) Middlesex Regiment. The 182d Infantry carries on the lineage of the 1st Middlesex Regiment, consisting of companies from Charlestown, Watertown, Woburn, Malden and Reading, whereas the 181st Infantry perpetuates the lineage of the 2nd Middlesex Regiment.

While remaining in state service during the Revolutionary War, the 1st Middlesex Regiment was expanded in February 1776 to form two new regiments, one of which retained the designation as the 1st Middlesex Regiment, while the other was designated as a new 2nd Middlesex Regiment.

During the course of the war these two regiments remained in state service, and were also reorganized to produce two named regiments that were adopted into the Continental Army: Heath's Regiment (authorized on April 23, 1775, and organized at Roxbury) and Alden's Regiment (constituted on September 16, 1777, and organized at Boston during the spring of 1777).

Heath's Regiment was redesignated on July 1, 1775, as Greaton's Regiment, which became the 24th Continental Regiment on January 1, 1776. The 24th Continental Regiment was consolidated on January 1, 1777, with the 25th Continental Regiment (authorized April 23, 1775), with the resulting unit being designated as the 25th Continental Regiment. The 25th Continental Regiment ultimately became the 3rd Massachusetts Regiment on August 1, 1779. Greaton's Regiment was part of the force that pursued the British during their retreat from Lexington and Concord, and was also active in raids on British depots during the Siege of Boston.Boatner 1974, pp.l 449–450. Alden's Regiment became the 7th Massachusetts Regiment on August 1, 1779. Alden's Regiment was present at the fort near the village of Cherry Valley in eastern New York that was attacked by a mixed force of Loyalists, British soldiers and Seneca and Mohawk warriors in November 1778. Although the fort was not captured, many residents of the village were massacred. Colonel Alden was killed during the raid.Boatner 1974, pp.221–225.

In 1785 the 1st and 2nd Middlesex Regiments were reorganized as the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, which, after a number of additional reorganizations and redesignations, became the 5th Regiment of Infantry in 1855 and the 182nd Infantry in 1923.Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors, 182nd Infantry. Reproduced in Sawicki 1981, pp. 355–357.

The white shield of the Distinctive Unit Insignia is from the Massachusetts state flag, and is also the original color for Infantry. The Indian is from the first seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. St. George’s cross suggests the British, or colonial, origin of the unit. The shoulder patch of the Americal Division, in which the 182nd Infantry served during World War II, occupies the upper right corner of the crest.

101st Engineer Battalion, MA ARNG (East Regiment)