Army National Guard History Table of Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 Foreword.....................................................................................................................................................6 Introduction...............................................................................................................................................10 C 1 HAPTER .............................................................................................................................................. 14 The Colonial Militia, 1636-1775 .............................................................................................................. 14 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................14 The English Militia Tradition ............................................................................................................... 18 Military Forces in the New World ........................................................................................................ 19 The Virginia Militia, 1607-1646...........................................................................................................21 The New England Militia, 1620-1676 .................................................................................................. 24 The Militia Expands and Evolves ......................................................................................................... 27 The French and Indian War, 1754-1763 ............................................................................................... 31 George Washington: Colonial Militiaman, 1753-1775.........................................................................33 The Drift Toward Revolution ............................................................................................................... 35 Lexington and Concord......................................................................................................................... 37 Conclusions...........................................................................................................................................42 C 2 HAPTER .............................................................................................................................................. 44 Revolution and Early Nationhood, 1775-1794 ......................................................................................... 44 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................44 The Battle of Bunker Hill ..................................................................................................................... 46 Congress Creates an Army.................................................................................................................... 50 The American Revolution in the North, 1775-1777 ............................................................................. 52 The American Revolution in the South, 1778-1783 ............................................................................. 57 The Militia and the Constitution ........................................................................................................... 62 The Militia Act of 1792 ........................................................................................................................ 67 The Militia in Federal Service, 1794..................................................................................................... 69 Conclusions...........................................................................................................................................73 C 3 HAPTER .............................................................................................................................................. 75 The Volunteer Militia, 1795-1897 ............................................................................................................ 75 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................75 The Jeffersonian Era ............................................................................................................................. 77 The War of 1812...................................................................................................................................79 The Expansible Army Plan ................................................................................................................... 83 The Demise of the Enrolled Militia ...................................................................................................... 84 The Rise of the Volunteer Militia ......................................................................................................... 86 The Mexican War ................................................................................................................................. 92 Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877............................................................................................ 94 Militiamen as Strikebreakers .............................................................................................................. 102 Creation of the National Guard Association ....................................................................................... 104 The Militia and Westward Expansion................................................................................................. 106 The Rise of the National Guard .......................................................................................................... 108 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................................111 The American Civil War, 1861-1865 The Militia Presidents Abraham Lincoln ............................... 113 Jefferson Davis ................................................................................................................................... 114 C 4 HAPTER ............................................................................................................................................115 The Birth of the Modern National Guard, 1898-1916 ............................................................................ 115 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................115 1 Army National Guard History The Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection.............................................................. 116 The Root Reforms............................................................................................................................... 122 The Influence of Emory Upton ........................................................................................................... 124 The Militia Act of 1903 ...................................................................................................................... 127 A New National Guard Takes Shape .................................................................................................. 129 The Militia Act of 1908 ...................................................................................................................... 134 The Continental Army Plan ................................................................................................................ 137 The National Defense Act of 1916 ..................................................................................................... 139 The Mexican Border Crisis.................................................................................................................141 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................................144 Senator Charles W. F. Dick: Father of the Modern National Guard...................................................146 C 5 HAPTER ............................................................................................................................................147 The National Guard In The World Wars, 1917-1945 ............................................................................. 147 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................147 America Goes to War.......................................................................................................................... 149 The Mobilization of 1917 ................................................................................................................... 150 The Guard Goes “Over There!”..........................................................................................................156 The Influence of John McAuley Palmer ............................................................................................. 163 The National Defense Act of 1920 ..................................................................................................... 164 The Interwar Years ............................................................................................................................. 167 The Mobilization of 1940-1941 .......................................................................................................... 172 The Opening Shots of World War II................................................................................................... 177 The War in Europe.............................................................................................................................. 180 The War in the Pacific ........................................................................................................................ 184 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................................187 C 6 HAPTER ............................................................................................................................................190 The Early Cold War, 1946-1970............................................................................................................. 190 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................190 Plans for the Postwar Guard ............................................................................................................... 192 Army Demobilization ......................................................................................................................... 195 The National Guard Rebuilds, 1946-1947 .......................................................................................... 196 The Armed Forces Reorganize ........................................................................................................... 197 Final Growth of the ARNG, 1948-1950 ............................................................................................. 199 The Korean War, 1950-1953 .............................................................................................................. 201 Important Developments After Korea................................................................................................. 206 Missile Age Minutemen...................................................................................................................... 208 The Pentomic Era................................................................................................................................ 211 The Struggle Against Segregation ...................................................................................................... 213 Integration in the ARNG..................................................................................................................... 215 The Berlin Crisis................................................................................................................................. 217 The McNamara Reforms..................................................................................................................... 219 The Vietnam War................................................................................................................................ 222 Domestic Strife, 1965-1970................................................................................................................ 226 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................................230 Maj. Gen. Ellard A. Walsh Father of the Modern NGAUS ................................................................ 232 C 7 HAPTER ............................................................................................................................................233 The Era Of Total Force Policy, 1970-1990............................................................................................. 233 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................233 The Army After Vietnam....................................................................................................................235 The All-Volunteer Force..................................................................................................................... 236 Total Force Policy............................................................................................................................... 240 2 Army National Guard History The Roundout Program....................................................................................................................... 242 Overseas Training and Mobilization Preparedness............................................................................. 243 Other Important Developments in the 1970s ...................................................................................... 246 The Reagan Buildup ........................................................................................................................... 247 The ARNG and the Reagan Buildup................................................................................................... 250 The Perpich Lawsuit ........................................................................................................................... 255 The End of the Cold War....................................................................................................................256 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................................257 C 8 HAPTER ............................................................................................................................................259 The Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991 .......................................................................................................... 259 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................259 The ARNG in 1990.............................................................................................................................260 The Road to War................................................................................................................................. 261 Operation Desert Shield...................................................................................................................... 262 The ARNG Roundout Brigades .......................................................................................................... 268 Operation Desert Storm ...................................................................................................................... 272 Redeployment and Demobilization..................................................................................................... 280 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................................283 Congressman G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery National Guard Soldier and Statesman............................ 286 C 9 HAPTER ............................................................................................................................................287 A New World Order, 1991-2000 ............................................................................................................ 287 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................287 The Search for a New Strategy ........................................................................................................... 288 The Aftermath of Desert Storm .......................................................................................................... 289 Project Standard Bearer ...................................................................................................................... 292 The Counter-Drug War....................................................................................................................... 293 The Drawdown of 1992-1997............................................................................................................. 295 The Bottom-Up Review...................................................................................................................... 299 Guardsmen as Peacekeepers ............................................................................................................... 303 Increased Domestic Missions.............................................................................................................. 307 The ARNG in the Information Age .................................................................................................... 310 A Rift Over Roles and Missions ......................................................................................................... 311 The ARNG in 2000.............................................................................................................................315 Mr. Thomas A. Hill A Lifetime of Guard Service..............................................................................318 C 10 HAPTER ........................................................................................................................................ 319 The National Guard In Review ............................................................................................................... 319 The National Guard’s Core Characteristics ........................................................................................ 319 The Guard’s Greatest Contributions ................................................................................................... 320 The National Guard’s Transformation................................................................................................ 323 Regulars and Guardsmen .................................................................................................................... 327 Army and National Guard Integration ................................................................................................ 332 National Guard Mobilizations and Preparedness................................................................................ 336 Towards the 21st Century .................................................................................................................... 341 Glossary ..........................................................................................................................................344 Appendix 1 .................................................................................................................................. 345 Appendix 2 .................................................................................................................................. 346 Notes ................................................................................................................................................. 347 Chapter 1 The Colonial Militia, 1636-1775........................................................................................347 3 Army National Guard History Chapter 2 Revolution and Early Nationhood, 1775-1794...................................................................348 Chapter 3 The Volunteer Militia, 1795-1878...................................................................................... 350 Chapter 4 The Birth of the Modern National Guard, 1898-1916........................................................352 Chapter 5 The National Guard in the World Wars, 1917-1945 .......................................................... 354 Chapter 6 The Early Cold War, 1946-1970 ........................................................................................ 356 Chapter 7 The Era ofTotal Force Policy, 1970-1990.........................................................................359 Chapter 8 The Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991...................................................................................... 361 Chapter 9 A New World Order, 1991-2000........................................................................................ 362 Selected Bibliography.............................................................................................................................365 Primary Sources..................................................................................................................................365 Legislative Publications ...................................................................................................................... 365 War Department/Department of Defense Publications.......................................................................365 State Military Department Documents ............................................................................................... 367 Oral Interviews and Written Questionnaires.......................................................................................367 Special Studies....................................................................................................................................367 Secondary Sources..............................................................................................................................369 Articles................................................................................................................................................369 Books..................................................................................................................................................370 Manuscripts.........................................................................................................................................373 Periodicals...........................................................................................................................................373 4 Army National Guard History Preface I Am The Guard: A History of the Army National Guard, 1636-2000 provides a broad, comprehensive view of the accomplishments of citizen-soldiers as the militia, the National Guard, and since 1947, the modern Army National Guard. Just as our first official history was going to press, America endured the heinous terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a day that reminds us all of the extreme actions some are willing to undertake against this nation of free people. In the past, freedom has confronted and defeated evil. Like those American citizen-soldiers before us who rose to the occasion and vanquished evil, so too will the men and women of today’s Army National Guard help to raise the banner of freedom to the world. While much has changed since the creation of America’s first citizen-soldier regiments in 1636, a number of the National Guard’s important characteristics have remained constant. The National Guard has maintained its unique status as both a federal and State force. As a federal reserve in the first line of defense, the Army National Guard provides ready units for mobilization in time of war and national emergency. As a State force, it provides for the protection of life and property and preserves peace, order and public safety. Another constant has been the dedication and service of its members. From the earliest militia engagements in the New World to the Army National Guard’s current role in the war on terrorism, Guard soldiers have performed exemplary, selfless service for both community and country. The National Guard has always been a community-based force, with citizen-soldier camps and armories appearing wherever the American people have ventured. At the same time, the National Guard has been a dynamic institution capable of responding to the nation’s changing needs. From the musket to the microprocessor, Guard soldiers have quickly adapted to the new weapons and tactics of warfare. I Am The Guard is an informative, entertaining, and educational account of the Army National Guard’s history. May it inspire all of us to exceed the high standards of our proud heritage and to face with confidence the clear and present dangers that now confront America and the certain challenges that lie ahead in the 21st Century. ROGER C. SCHULTZ Lieutenant General, GS Director, Army National Guard 5 Army National Guard History Foreword For the 225 years of our history as an independent nation, the general defense policies of the United States have reflected George Washington’s Sentiments on a Peace Establishment. Washington’s Sentiments was written in response to a request from the Continental Congress immediately after the cessation of hostilities in the Revolutionary War. Washington sought the advice of those stalwarts of the Revolution — Knox, Pickering, Huntington, Heath, Hand, Von Steuben, and Rufus Putnam. The Sentiments reflects not only the experience of that group in the Revolutionary War, but certainly the experience of the colonists in the previous hundred years of intermittent involvement in the North American extensions of Europe’s wars as well as the colonists’ own security problems with Native Americans. The Sentiments also reflected Washington’s great respect for the principles of the Declaration of Independence, his adherence to the principle of subordinating the military to civil authority, and the desire to stay at peace with the rest of the world while remaining secure in our homeland at the least possible cost to our citizens. Washington’s Sentiments articulated five fundamental pillars of the national defense. The first was a “regular and standing force” large enough to take on the immediate tasks of the day. Washington listed “to awe the Indians, protect our trade, prevent foreign encroachments, guard us from surprises...” as the purposes of Regular forces. The defense establishment would include a Navy “as rapidly as the national budget would allow.” It is quite clear that Washington envisioned Regular forces as being as small as possible but adequate to take on all those tasks for which the nation’s citizen-soldiers would not be equipped. The second element of the national defense was, in Washington’s words: “A well organized Militia; upon a Plan that will pervade all the States, and introduce similarity in their Establishment, Maneuvres, Exercise and Arms.” This particular point reflects Washington’s continuing frustration with the lack of standardization and poor quality among many of the militia units provided him by the colonies during the war. It also reflects his understanding that we were a nation of separate colonies, soon to be States, and that our militia tradition was a bulwark of our democracy and necessary for both the States and the national government. National defense problems requiring major forces were to be resolved, not in the European fashion of the day with professional armies, but rather with the employment of the citizens in their own defense. Washington’s third and fifth points covered the need for arsenals with war reserve supplies and the need for what we would today call a “defense industry.” His fourth point called for “Academies, one or more for the Instruction of the Art Military...” Washington, like every senior military commander who followed him, understood that better trained officers and soldiers from both the Regulars and the militia would have made victory in the Revolutionary War much easier. 6 Army National Guard History The five major points of Washington’s Sentiments were indeed general, as the Congress had requested. They were also simple, understandable, and, like other of the Founding Fathers’ thoughts, adaptable to the unforeseen problems the nation would face in the years ahead. The halls of Congress have echoed with many long and lively debates on each of the five points in the Sentiments. For the most part, senators and representatives, many of whom have probably never read Washington’s Sentiments, have voted to maintain national security policies that reflected the Sentiments. In I Am the Guard, Michael Doubler has given us a remarkably comprehensive examination of the history and development of the second point in Washington’s Sentiments, the “Militia.” He has also given us a balanced look at the interactions, often contentious, sometimes smooth and harmonious, but always necessary, between Washington’s first point, the “regular and standing force” and point two, the “Militia.” The book is a good read, one that should give pleasure and pride to every Guardsman. Far more important, it brings invaluable lessons from history to policy makers of today. It should be required reading for defense policy makers in both the executive and legislative branches of our government and for military officers dealing with force structure and mobilization planning. Washington didn’t mention it when he wrote the Sentiments, but I’m sure he said to himself at the time that tension would always exist between the Regulars and the militia. With one part of the total force consisting of professional soldiers convinced that soldiering is full-time work requiring undivided attention and the other part of the force consisting of citizen-soldiers who train intermittently and whose livelihoods in other fields require a lot of attention, conflicting views were bound to rise. Washington himself wrote some scathing comments about some of the militia of the Revolutionary War. Two hundred years later, I heard the echoes of those criticisms from Regular officers in the Pentagon. On the other side of the coin, many a militia (later National Guard) officer has been heard disparaging the Regulars and suggesting that whenever they were in trouble that citizen-soldiers would “bail them out.” While both views may be understandable, neither strengthens the total force. Doubler tells of the frictions, but he also tells of the wonderful accomplishments for the nation when Regulars and Guardsmen have reinforced each other effectively. During the course of a 46-year military career, I had the opportunity to look at America’s defense establishment from different perspectives to get a good understanding of the wisdom and foresight in Washington’s Sentiments. I was able to view the “regular and standing force,” the “Militia,” and their interactions from positions ranging from that of a private soldier in the National Guard to that of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States. My own experience was much influenced by two of the greatest Chiefs of Staff the Army ever had, George Marshall and Creighton Abrams; both had tremendous respect for—and from—the National Guard. Both understood the necessity of meshing the strengths of the Regular Army and the National Guard to produce the best defenses for the United States. I spent my first five years as a soldier in a National Guard infantry division; nearly three of those five years were in combat. My World War II division, the 34th, was the first to be sent overseas after Pearl Harbor, and as a 7 Army National Guard History consequence, retained a richer mixture of Guardsmen than many of the other Guard divisions that were required to provide cadres for other new divisions being formed. My two wartime division commanders were both superb Regular Army officers, Charles W. “Doc” Ryder and Charles L. Bolte. Both understood and carried out Marshall’s policy of giving National Guard officers full opportunity to prove their capacity to lead. Both retained and promoted competent Guard officers, and both were quick to dispose of incompetents whether they were Regulars or Guardsmen. We who served as enlisted soldiers and junior officers in the 34th Division were fortunate to serve under fine leaders from each of George Washington’s first two pillars. Many years later, after the Vietnam War, I had the good fortune of serving as Director of Operations on the Army Staff at the time General Abrams was reshaping the Army. His belief in the importance of closer integration of the Regular Army and the National Guard led us to the “Roundout” concept of the late 1970s. Being one of the authors of the idea, General Abrams detailed me to present the idea to the Army Reserve Force Policy Board. My briefing to the board was given on a warm day in Washington, DC; I was in shirtsleeves without my uniform coat with its 34th Division combat patch on the right shoulder. When I finished, the very first person to speak was the chairman emeritus of the board who was also the longest serving Guard major general in the force at the time. He said, “General, I don’t know who you are, or what your experience has been, but I can tell you one thing, and that is that you don’t know a damn thing about the National Guard! This idea will never work!” I repressed my reaction to tell him that I had far more time in combat with Guardsmen than he had and simply continued to explain the benefits of the concept to the nation, the Army, and the National Guard. Fortunately, most of the board came to a different conclusion than the first speaker, and the concept was implemented. In my next job, I had the even greater good fortune of commanding a mechanized division that was “rounded out” by a fine National Guard brigade. As this book is going to print, a new President and a new and experienced Secretary of Defense are conducting a much-needed review of national security and defense policies. Those involved in the review would be wise to lean on the wisdom of our first Commander in Chief’s Sentiments on a Peace Establishment, recognizing that Washington’s two main pillars of the nation’s defense forces — Regulars and the National Guard — are both necessary and that the nation’s defenses can be strengthened greatly by the judicious reinforcement of both. I Am the Guard provides wonderful examples from the past for building cooperation for the future. On the other hand, the future will be different from the past. When examining the defense structure of the future, the reviewers must consider both State and national needs. If I were the reviewer, I would look to a much richer integration of active duty forces and the reserve components. It may not be possible, but I would seriously examine combining the Guard and the Army Reserve to eliminate the overhead required for two reserve components. I would recommend major changes in the pay and retirement systems, emphasizing “pay for performance” and providing both Regular and Guard soldiers early vesting in a “portable” retirement system to help keep the force young and vigorous. With the size of 8 Army National Guard History the total force becoming an ever diminishing percentage of the overall population, the National Guard’s longstanding ties to local communities become ever more important in keeping the support of “we the people” for a sensible national defense. The revolutions in communications and computing power hold hope for a training revolution that can support better readiness for Guard units and closer integration with the Regular Army. At the same time, the revolution in the speed of communications and modern transport also guarantees that potential enemies of the United States can pose the sort of immediate threats that can only be answered by active forces prepared for an almost instantaneous response. The Regular Army and the National Guard need each other perhaps more than at any time in history. The nation needs both in a strong, mutually reinforcing posture. John W. Vessey General, USA (Ret.) 9
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