By Christoper Hoitash
Even those with just a passing familiarity with the news can appreciate that the United States military has grown into a massive force the world over. On land, sea, and air, the United States military industrial complex is a force to be reckoned with, with one of the largest, heavily equipped militaries in the world.
That was not always the case. For most of US history, the military, including the Army, was very small, and the bulk of local military efforts usually fell on local state militias. The precursors to modern day’s National Guard, the state militias of early US history were a very different breed than today’s weekend warriors. Still, their roots remains, as does the paperwork for the continued technical existence of a well regulated militia under state control.
Colonial Roots
The history of US state militias predates the formation of the United States. Due to the vast distances and length of travel time between North America and Europe, the Thirteen Colonies formed colonial militias for self defense against potential threats, the two most common being the natives and the French.
Of course, the use of local militias has deeper roots than the Colonies, as they had to get the idea from somewhere, specifically, their English origins. The first musterings we would recognize as a proper militia dated back to the peasant levies of the middle ages, and adapted as times allowed. The peasant militias of old were part of their duty to their lords, with time served in the seasonal levies functioning as a form of tax.
When feudalism evolved into more modern economic and political models, the militias evolved into a volunteer force of able bodied men who met regularly to train in case they were needed for war, which for the British of the time before the founding of America could just as easily be against each other as the French.
The tradition carried over to the colonies, where men would volunteer their time to train and drill should the need for war arise. Besides fending off disgruntled natives, the colonial militias would see widespread service during the various colonial wars between France and Great Britain in the eighteenth century, culminating with the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War.
The British regulars who served alongside their colonial allies took a dim view to the militia’s limited training and frontier attitude, strongly at odds with the strong, sometimes brutal, discipline of the British Army. For their part, the colonial’s burgeoning independence meant they were not overly fond of having British soldiers around, even before they started occupying cities to suppress rebellious intentions.
Despite their mutual dislike, the colonial militia served admirably in these wars. Notably, a force composed entirely of colonial militia successfully besieged and captured the city of Louisburg, Nova Scotia in 1744, to the surprise of the European powers. Battle hardened from natives and French forces, the militia would answer the calls to arms come the Revolution.
Regulations for the militia varied by colony, but, generally, encompassed all eligible white males ages 18-45. They were required to provide their own equipment, a potential logistical nightmare on the battlefield but easy enough in the early days of the nation. Those who took their hunting rifle off the wall for food would find themselves making use of them against their fellow man before the end of the eighteenth century.
Revolution and Sequel
The Revolution started with local militias, those men who famously stood their ground against British regulars at Lexington and Concord to unleash the shot heard around the world. Until a proper army could be mustered and trained, the state militias would form the bulk of American forces on land.
This proved something of a double-edged sword. State militia, like the colonials before them, tended to be more independent minded than regular soldiers. They had a tendency to refuse to cross colony or state lines, and their reliability under heavy fire was always suspect. Still, with the Continental Army surviving on one year enlistments, local militias provided reasonably reliable bodies to bring to a fight.
While of questionable utility in a stand-up fight, with rows of men shooting at each other from point-blank range, militias, especially those from the more rugged realms like the frontier, proved excellent users of guerilla warfare. Sharpshooters in trees could pick off British officers with hunting rifles, and militias and rangers alike delighted in ambushing British troops for quick skirmishes as the redcoats marched from position to position.
Once the Revolution concluded in 1783, the new American government almost immediately found itself squabbling with the states regarding control of the militia and size of the military. With memories of troops billeted in cities fresh in their minds, American distrust of a large standing military for the next few centuries ensured a small standing army, and too much reliance on state militias in an emergency.
Still, the government realized some standardization was in order. To bolster federal authority over the state militias in an effort to provide such standards, the Militia Act of 1792 stated:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever the United States shall be invaded, or be in imminent danger of invasion from any foreign nation or Indian tribe, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, to call forth such number of the militia of the state or states most convenient to the place of danger or scene of action as he may judge necessary to repel such invasion, and to issue his orders for that purpose, to such officer or officers of the militia as he shall think proper; and in case of an insurrection in any state, against the government thereof, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, on application of the legislature of such state, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) to call forth such number of the militia of any other state or states, as may be applied for, or as he may judge sufficient to suppress such insurrection.
Along with expanded federal authority and security against potential insurrection –the Whiskey Rebellion and concerns over slavery likely still fresh in Congressional minds- militias were further organized along regular military lines, with companies, battalions, and the like, to provide for a more professional and easy to deploy force.
That was the theory, at least. Though ostensibly militia units were required to drill and train on a regular basis, such training usually devolved into a gathering of men spending the day drinking and chatting. The men considered themselves citizens first, soldiers a very distant second.
The concept of the citizen-soldier taking his hunting rifle off the mantel, going to war, and then returning to their farm proved a large setback to ensuring proper militia discipline. The men resisted the restraints of proper military drill, and continued to refuse to cross state borders, even when ordered by the president.
Such issues revealed themselves during the War of 1812. The militias performed terribly in combat against British and Canadian forces, often running from enemy fire and unwilling to cross state borders or participate in the failed invasion of Canada.
Such issues were not resolved following the war, as the nation’s expansion and efforts to subdue the natives required the proper army, though local militias would do their part if the need arose. Still, with peace against rival Western powers assured for some time, people grew complacent. Militia units rarely drilled, often met just to drink, and were poorly documented or reviewed. Meanwhile, militia units of cavalry or artillery existed largely only on paper.
Still, it was hard to shake the Myth of the Minuteman. Following the Battle of New Orleans, a great deal of press surrounded the ragtag army Andrew Jackson composed to fend off the British, which included everyone from local militia to pirates. Little attention was paid to the small core of regular army soldiers, most of them artillerymen, who helped ensure victory with precise artillery fire.
Civil War
Rather than fully resolve the issue of untrustworthy militia, the US government enacted a workaround of sorts. Units mustered for action were recorded as volunteer infantry. These infantry units, usually composed of local militia companies, would initially serve a ninety day term of service come the Civil War. When such enlistments proved too short to resolve what would become a long, bloody war, the volunteer forces were mustered out and reenlisted for three year terms, avoiding the mistakes of a lack of properly trained soldiers that plagued the Revolution.
These volunteer forces initially performed poorly, with the exception of those formed from standing militia units that took their duty seriously. Forged in the fires of war, however, the volunteer forces provided much needed manpower to bolster the Union cause, even when later units were not formed from preexisting militia.
The war left a bad taste in many people’s mouths, including the militias. States neglected their militia united even as reforming legislation started turning the system of state trained locals into something resembling a competent military force. The volunteer model of the civil war had its flaws, but worked much better than the various efforts at conscription enacted during the latter years of the Civil War.
As the nineteenth century continued, volunteer militia started to overshadow the state ones, who still met at least on paper. Volunteer forces were the ones to answer the call in 1898 for the Spanish-American War, and the lumbering efforts against Spain finally convinced the government of the need for more direct military reforms, as the mustering, equipping, and transporting of soldiers for the war took more time than actually fighting the Spanish.
Formation of the National Guard
These reforms revealed themselves with the Militia Act of 1903, which formally created the National Guard. The Guard was separated into two groups, Organized Militia and Reservists. This reduced state control over the men and allowed better oversight, equipping, and training by the US government, helping to ensure that Guardsmen would prove up to the task of a modern war.
One impetus for these reforms was constitutional in base. Per the US Constitution, state militias were not allowed to participate in foreign wars –that was a job for the army. The creation of a National Guard under federal authority helped circumvent this issue. As Europe lay awash in blood from the Great War, in 1916, the National Defense Act reformed and adapted the National Guard into the modern version recognized today. In the text of the document, which was updated as needed, it is stated that:
The National Guard of each State, Territory, and the District of Columbia shall consist of members of the militia voluntarily enlisted therein, who upon original enlistment shall be not less than seventeen nor more than forty-five years of age, or who in subsequent enlistment shall be not more than sixty-four years of age, organized, armed, equipped, and federally recognized as hereinafter provided, and of commissioned officers and warrant officers who are citizens of the United States between the ages of eighteen and sixty-four years: Provided, That former members of the Regular Army, Navy, or Marine Corps under sixty-four years of age may enlist in said National Guard.
This Act was partially a response for the need to update the United States military to modern standards, and partially preparation should the United States, reluctant as many were, to be embroiled in the European conflict. When the National Guard found themselves mustered along with the small regular military to participate in the final years of World War One, the enlistment, equipping, and recruitment proved much more successful and timely than previous efforts to enlist the Volunteer forces. Though they initially performed poorly due to inexperience on the battlefield, the American Expeditionary Force eventually proved itself just as potent a fighting force as the armies of the Old World.
However, with the National Guard mobilized for war abroad, the states found themselves without military protection. While invasion was of course unlikely, the National Guard did and does much more than fight. They support disaster relief and recovery, provide local defense against insurrection, and assist with suppressing riots. To fill the gap, the states created local Home Guards.
Strictly under the control of the states, Home Guards of World War One proved a contentious creation, as potential issues of jurisdiction and control between the Home Guards, National Guard, and US Army became apparent. The Home Guard ostensibly existed as a sort of state militia, meaning its control remained firmly in the purview of the states. For helping with natural disasters and concerns of Mexican raids along the border, the Home Guard provided a valuable stopgap while the National Guard and Army went to war in Europe.
Following the war, most Home Guards would disband as the National Guard returned. Now known as State Defense Forces, local militias are still maintained by 23 states and territories, with duties and organization similar to the state militias of old. They remain under state control even in times of war, cannot be deployed overseas, and are responsible for the defense of the state or territory from which they are mustered and trained. Some states, particularly in the South, maintained the Home forces, forming them into distinct state militias that are now recognized as State Defense Forces.
In general, the tasks of state defense and disaster relief fall to the National Guard, which can be mustered to fight abroad with much more ease than the state militias of the nineteenth century. Still, the roots of the citizen-soldier remain strong, as anyone who has seen or received an ad for the National Guard can attest.
Sources:
https://angrystaffofficer.com/2017/03/20/a-short-history-of-the-militia-in-the-united-states/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-president-woodrow-wilson-signs-national-defense-act
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/an-important-landmark-anniversary-for-the-national-guard
