The Louisiana Naval Militia is the currently unorganized
naval militia
A naval militia is a reserve military organization administered under the authority of a state government in the United States. It is often composed of reservists of the Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and Coast Guard Reserve, retirees ...
of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, United States. It was organized as a naval
military reserve force, serving as naval parallel to the
Louisiana National Guard
The Louisiana National Guard is the armed force through which the Louisiana Military Department executes the U.S. state of Louisiana's security policy. Consisting of the Louisiana Army National Guard, a reserve component of the United States Army ...
.
History
By 1898, the Louisiana Naval Militia consisted of 500 men all recruited from
. During a
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
epidemic in 1905, the Louisiana Naval Militia was activated during a series of quarantines enacted across the region. In one incident, two ships from
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, ''Grace'' and ''Tipsy'', attempted to cross into Louisiana from a quarantine zone. The Louisiana Naval Militia boarded the ships and arrested the officers and crew. The naval militia remained stationed on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
to guard against possible incursions by Mississippi state troops crossing into Louisiana waters in their attempts to quarantine their own state from Louisiana fishermen; the naval militia remained on active duty until the federal government took over control of managing the quarantine response.
In 1909, the Louisiana Naval Militia sailed on a training cruise. By 1913, the Louisiana Naval Militia consisted of two
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...
s of four divisions each, 461 members, and two ships: and USS ''Isla de Luzon''. In 1916, sailors from the Louisiana Naval Militia practiced firing
3-inch and 12-inch guns.
Personnel
Naval militias are partially regulated and equipped by the federal government, and membership requirements are set according to federal standards. Under 10 U.S. Code § 7854, in order to be eligible for access to "vessels, material, armament, equipment, and other facilities of the Navy and the Marine Corps available to the Navy Reserve and the Marine Corps Reserve", at least 95% of members of the naval militia must also be members of the
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
or the
United States Marine Corps Reserve
The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...
.
Legal status
The naval militia is recognized as a component of the organized militia of the United States under 10 U.S. Code §7851.
Therefore, its restart of operations depends on either executive action by the state governor or by act of the state legislature.
See also
*
Louisiana State Guard
The Louisiana State Guard (LSG) is the official state defense force of the state of Louisiana. The LSG was first created during World War II. As a state defense force, the LSG is a part of the state militia of Louisiana, and can serve as a statesid ...
References
{{State Defense Forces
State defense forces of the United States
Military in Louisiana