13 DECEMBER 1636 - NATIONAL GUARD BIRTHDAY
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The General Court of Massachusetts Bay ordered the organization of the Colony's militia companies into three regiments: The North, South and East Regiments. Although the exact date of the muster is not known, 13 December is observed as the "birthday" to recognize and honor the National Guard and its militia antecedents, and the service of citizen soldiers to the nation and the several states from America's colonial period to the present.
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 the militia to be in a high state of readiness.
The organization of the several companies into three regiments increased the efficiency and responsiveness of the militia.
DID YOU KNOW
The Army National Guard carries on the American militia tradition.
National Guard units train and prepare to accomplish state as well as federal missions.
The First and Second Militia Acts of 1792 authorized the president, as commander in chief, to call militia to federal service to oppose invasions and to enforce the laws of the Union.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, units of U.S. Volunteers were raised from the militia to augment the Army in wartime.