Traditionally speaking, the National Guard dates back to December 13, 1636, when the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered the organization of the colony’s separate militia companies into three regiments. On this date the National Guard was born here in the United States. Designated as the North, East and South regiments, these first regiments, the oldest units in the U.S. Armed Forces, were later to become the 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery (South), 101st Engineer Battalion (East), and the 181st and 182nd Infantry Regiments (North), Massachusetts Army National Guard.
These Militia men had but one goal in mind, to protect their families and homes against attack. Patterned after the English militia system, every male colonist between 16 and 60 was obligated to serve in the militia. There were no fancy uniforms, and not even enough muskets to go around. But these part-time soldiers successfully banded together to defend the colonies against French, Spanish, and Indian Forces.
In the aftermath of the Pequot War, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire created formal militia organizations. The Rhode Island National Guard, as an example, traces its history from the first colonial defensive force established in 1638. On May 13, 1638, the “Traine Band” was formed in Portsmouth, RI. This group of “freemen as a militia subject to call and expected to perform certain military duties in the protection of the people,” was the humble beginnings of that state’s military forces.
In the decades that followed, all but one of the original thirteen colonies stretching from New Hampshire to Georgia established militia organizations.
California's National Guard
Our Heritage (Continued)
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CW2 Mark J. Denger and LTC Roger D. McGrath
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Pequot War, 1636-1637
King Philip's War, 1675-1676
King William's War, 1689-1697
Quene Anne's War ,1702-1713
War of Jenkin's Ear, 1739-1742
French and Indian Wars, 1754-1763
First Muster
Salem, Massachusetts, 1637
The history of the National Guard began on December 13, 1636, when the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered the organization of the Colony's militia companies into three regiments: The North, South and East Regiments. The colonists had adopted the English militia system which obligated all males, between the ages of 16 and 60, to possess arms and participate in the defense of the community. The early colonial militia drilled once a week and provided guard details each evening to sound the alarm in case of attack. The growing threat of the Pequot Indians to the Massachusetts Bay Colony required that the militia be in a high state of readiness. The organization of the North, South and East Regiments increased the efficiency and responsiveness of the militia. Although the exact date is not known, the first muster of the East Regiment took place in Salem, Massachusetts. The National Guard continues its historic mission of providing units for the first-line defense of the nation. The 101st Engineer Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard, continues the East Regiment's proud heritage of 350 years of service.
The First Muster By Don Troiani, National Guard Heritage Series
