Massachusetts National Guard
The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army.[1] What is today's Massachusetts National Guard evolved through many different forms. Originally founded as a defensive militia for Puritan colonists in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the militia evolved into a highly organized and armed fighting force. The Massachusetts militia served as a central organ of the New England revolutionary fighting force during the early American Revolution and a major component in the Continental Army under George Washington.
Massachusetts National Guard
1636–present (387 years)
Massachusetts Bay Colony
(1636–1686, 1689-1692)
Dominion of New England
(1686-1689)
Province of Massachusetts Bay
(1692-1775)
United Colonies
(1775-1776)
United States
(1776–present)
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- War of 1812
- American Civil War
- * First Bull Run
- * Yorktown
- * Peninsula Campaign
- * Second Bull Run
- * Antietam
- * Fredericksburg
- * Chancellorsville
- * Gettysburg
- * Wilderness
- * Spotsylvania
- * Cold Harbor
- * Second Battle of Petersburg
- * Appomattox
- War with Spain
- * Puerto Rican Campaign
- World War I
- * Champagne-Marne
- * Aisne-Marne
- * Saint-Mihiel
- * Meuse-Argonne
- World War II
- * Northern France
- * Rhineland
- * Ardennes-Alsace
- * Central Europe
- Korean War
- Afghanistan Campaign
- Iraq Campaign
Superior Unit Award (IFOR Service)
President of the United States (Federalized)
Major General Gary W. Keefe
Command Sergeant Major James L. Campbell Jr.
John Winthrop
Myles Standish (Plymouth Company Commander)
It is currently headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base and commanded by Major General Gary W. Keefe. Massachusetts National Guard soldiers and airmen are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army and Air Force, and identical ranks and insignias are utilized. National Guardsmen are eligible for all US military awards in addition to state awards. Soldiers and Airmen are held to the same uniform, physical fitness, and marksmanship standards as their Active Duty counterparts.
1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment (part of 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, NJ Army National Guard (ARNG))
Massachusetts National Guard Museum and Archives[edit]
The Massachusetts National Guard Museum and Archives is located in the armory in Concord, Massachusetts (not the historic Concord Armory.)[15]