The history of the Army National Guard in the United States dates from 1636, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony's government organized existing militia companies into three regiments. The National Guard's history continued through the colonial era, including the French and Indian War, and extends into the modern era, with deployments for natural disasters, military objectives, and controlling civil unrest in the early decades of the 2000s.
Founding
A militia was mustered in Spanish Florida in the 1500s, followed by creation of separate militia companies in towns around Boston.Thomas Kielbasa, National Guard News, Florida Celebrates 445th Anniversary of 'First Muster', 16 September 2010About the National Guard , The National Guard Website These militia were formed due to the perceived need to defend the Bay Colony against American Indians, and threats from other European countries operating in North America. These included the French in what is now Canada; the Spanish in what is now Florida, The Carolinas, and Georgia; and the Dutch in what was then New Netherland, which comprised what is now parts of New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.Thomas L. Purvis, Almanacs of American Life: Colonial America to 1763, 1999, page 41George Madison Bodge, Soldiers in King Philip's War, 1906, page 471
A 13 December 1636, act of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court called for the creation of three militia regiments from the existing town militias. It required all able-bodied men between ages 16 and 60, except judges and clergy members, be considered members of the colony's militia, which was organized as the North, South, and East Regiments. Militia members were required to equip themselves, take part in regular training, and report to their units when called. (The lineage of the North, South and East Regiments has been maintained in the 21st century by: 1st Squadron, 182nd Cavalry Regiment and 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment (North); 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment (South); and the 101st Engineer Battalion (East).)Michael D. Doubler, The National Guard and Reserve: A Reference Handbook , 2008, page 161
Early action
The militia of the Bay Colony, combined with militias from Plymouth and Saybrook and Native American allies from the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes, fought the Native Americans of Southern New England in the Pequot War (1634–1638). This war resulted in hundreds of deaths, hundreds of Native Americans sold into slavery or scattered throughout North America, and the destruction of the Pequots as a group.Faren R. Siminoff, Crossing the Sound: The Rise of Atlantic American Communities in Eastern Long Island, 2004, page 63Alfred A. Cave, The Pequot War, 1996, page 11 The militias of the Southern New England colonies fought Native Americans again in King Philip's War from 1675 to 1676. This conflict led to the decisive defeat of the Narragansets, further straining relationships between Native Americans and white settlers, but enabling continued white settlement of New England.Stanley Sandler, editor, Ground Warfare: An International Encyclopedia, H-Q, 2002, pages 464–465
The American colonists maintained their militias in the late 1600s and 1700s, preferring the militia to a standing army as the result of English resistance to a standing army, when Oliver Cromwell established a military dictatorship during the First English Civil War. In addition, the colonists had little interest in paying the taxes to maintain permanent garrisons of regular troops.James A. Wood, Militia Myths: Ideas of the Canadian Citizen Soldier, 1896–1921, 2010, page 5A. Ward Burian, George Washington's Legacy of Leadership, 2007, page 120Peter M. Karsten, The Military in America, 1986, page 59 The militias were also an early experiment in democracy, with company grade officers often elected by their men, and the higher officers appointed by colonial governors or legislatures. The colonies did not exert centralized control over the militias or coordinate their efforts. Training typically took place during musters each summer, with militia members reporting for inspection and undergoing several days of training in drill and ceremony.Barry M. Stentiford, The Richardson Light Guard of Wakefield, Massachusetts, 2013, page 18René Chartrand, Colonial American Troops, 1610–1774, Volume 2, 2002, page 23Spencer C. Tucker, The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890, 2011, page 498
French and Indian War
During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), militias from several British colonies took part in various actions, including:
Robert Dinwiddie dispatching Virginia militia, (most notably George Washington) to French outposts in the Ohio CountryJohn Ferling, The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon, 2010, page 18 The Braddock ExpeditionWilliam A. Crozier, editor, Virginia Colonial Militia, 1651–1776, 1905, page 36 Fort William HenryWilliam Dunlap, Adriaen van der Donck, History of the New Netherlands, province of New York, and state of New York, 1839, page 385 Siege of LouisbourgJames B. Whisker, American Colonial Militia: The New England Militia, 1606–1785, 1997, page 124 Battle of Quebec.British Battles.com, The Battle of Quebec, 1759 , 2013
Many American commanders who served in the American Revolutionary War had military experience in the French and Indian War, including Washington, Israel Putnam,Spencer C. Tucker. Almanac of American Military History, 2012, page 220 Daniel Morgan,Melissa Walker, The Battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens: The American Revolution in the Southern Backcountry, 2012, page 93 Adam Stephen,Justin Clement, Philadelphia 1777: Taking the Capital, 2007, page 17 Daniel Boone,K. Randell Jones, In The Footsteps Of Daniel Boone, 2005, entry for Whitetop Mountain Philip Schuyler,Peter R. Eisenstadt, Laura-Eve Moss, editors, The Encyclopedia Of New York State, 2005, pages 1372–1374 John Stark,Richard Winship Stewart, American Military History, Volume I, 2005, page 41 and John Thomas.Hal T. Shelton, Ruben Garcia, General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution: From Redcoat to Rebel, 1996, page 69
American Revolution
When tensions escalated between the British government and the American colonists in the 1760s and 1770s, many citizens began organizing, equipping and training private militia units, in order to have bodies of troops that were outside the control of the royal governors.Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, Bonnie G. Smith, The Making of the West: A Concise History, Volume II: Peoples and Cultures, 2010, page 593
Militia members served throughout the Revolution, often near their homes, and frequently for short periods. Militia units served in combat, as well as carrying out guard duty for prisoners, garrisoning of forts, and local patrols.Edward Ayres, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, The Role of the Militia During the Revolutionary War, accessed 12 June 2013Michael D. Doubler, The National Guard and Reserve: A Reference Handbook, 2008, page 48
On some occasions, militia members performed ineffectively, as at the Battle of Camden in North Carolina.Roger Chickering, Stig Förster, editors, War in an Age of Revolution, 1775–1815, 2010, pages 161–162 On other occasions they performed capably, including the Battles of Lexington and Concord,Dale Anderson, Lexington and Concord: 19 April 1775, 2004, page 22 Battle of Bunker Hill,George D. Bennett, editor, The United States Army: Issues, Background and Bibliography, 2002, page 1 Battle of Bennington,Joseph C. Morton, The American Revolution, 2003, page 56 Battles of Saratoga,Joseph J. Ellis, His Excellency: George Washington, 2004 and Battle of Cowpens.Ian R. Barnes, The Historical Atlas of the American Revolution, 2000, page 112
Perhaps the most important role played by the militia was off the battlefield, by affecting the course of the political debate. Militia with Patriot sympathies were well established, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic and New England colonies, causing the British Army to concentrate their forces into larger, more defensible garrisons. With the countryside in the hands of the Patriot militia, neutrals or Loyalists gradually either fled to British garrisons (and from there, often to Canada) or became more accepting of the Patriot goal of independence from Great Britain.Bulliet, Crossley, Headrick, Hirsch, Johnson, Northrup, editors, The Earth and its Peoples A Global History, Volume II, 2008, page 645Robert Bothwell, A Traveller's History of Canada, 2001, page 31Stanley J. Underdal, editor, Military History of the American Revolution: The Proceedings of the Sixth Military History Symposium, U.S. Air Force Academy, 2002, page 93
Post Revolutionary War During the period of the Articles of Confederation, the weak federal government reduced the Continental Army to a handful of officers and soldiers. The Articles of Confederation required each state to maintain a militia, and allowed the Confederation Congress to form a standing army only with the consent of nine of the thirteen states. Such consent was not forthcoming in an era when the population still harbored a distrust of a standing army, so Congress largely left the defense of the new nation to the state militias.Keith L. Dougherty, Collective Action Under the Articles of Confederation, 2006, page 31
Constitutional Convention During the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Federalist delegates argued for a powerful federal government, including federal control of the militia. Federalists anticipated using the military to defend the country if it were attacked, and to enforce federal laws when required.Gordon S. Wood, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815, 2009, page 111
Anti-Federalists advocated limited federal government, and wanted continued state control over the militias. Anti-Federalists based their arguments on three points. First, the militia could be available to the federal government to resist foreign invasions. Second, the militia served as a police force in each state, enabling it to maintain order and respect for the law. Third, once the new federal government replaced the one under the Articles of Confederation, the militia would be the last defense of the states in the event that a standing army raised by the federal government was employed against the states.Jack P. Greene, J. R. Pole, editors, A Companion to the American Revolution, 2008, pages 385–386
The compromise agreed to by both sides satisfied Anti-Federalists because there was no standing Army, and the militias remained the responsibility of the states, especially the appointment of officers. It satisfied the Federalists because it provided that the militia could be federalized when circumstances required it.Christopher Patrick Gibson, Securing the State: Reforming the National Security Decisionmaking Process, 2008, page 90
Militia Acts of 1792
The compromise between Federalists and Anti-federalists proved short-lived. In 1791 Arthur St. Clair suffered a major defeat in the Battle of the Wabash while fighting American Indians in the Northwest Territory. In response, Congress authorized the expansion of the army, and allowed for the president to call up the state militias on his own authority if circumstances required it when Congress was not in session.Spencer C. Tucker, Almanac of American Military History, 2012, page 412
The First Militia Act of 1792 allowed the president to call up the militias in the event of a foreign invasion, in response to attacks by American Indians, and when required for the enforcement of federal law.Robert W. Coakley, The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1789–1878, 1996, pages 19–20