The National Lancers are a Massachusetts-based volunteer

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

. The National Lancers, along with the

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. What is toda ...

and the

Massachusetts State Defense Force The Massachusetts State Defense Force (MSDF) is the currently inactive state defense force of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It was inactivated in 2016 by Governor Charlie Baker. The purpose of the Massachusetts State Defense Force, when acti ...

, exists as a component of the Massachusetts Organized Militia.

History

The Lancers were organized on 31 October 1836 at the request of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Edward Everett Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865) was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Massa ...

and organized as a light cavalry militia troop. The Lancers were created to provide an armed escort for the governor as well as protect Massachusetts against invasion and insurrection. The National Lancers fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

as a part of the Army of the Potomac designated as Companies C and D, 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry. The Lancers took part in campaigns in South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. During the Boston Draft Riot in July 1863, the National Lancers prevented rioters from seizing the armory of the Boston Light Artillery. In June 1916, the Lancers - along with the rest of the 1st Squadron of Cavalry of the Massachusetts National Guard - were federalized and deployed to Texas in support of the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

. In April 1917, the Lancers were re-designated as the Company A, 102d Machine Gun Battalion, 26th Division and subsequently deployed to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The unit was disbanded at

Camp Devens Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Due to extensive environmental contamination it was l ...

in April 1919. After the end of

, the National Lancers was reorganized, with one troop remaining an official part of the

and the other becoming a purely ceremonial unit. In 1940 the National Guard unit was re-designated as Battery A, 180th Field Artillery. On 6 July 1964,

Endicott Peabody passed a bill officially designating the National Lancers as an official component of the Organized Massachusetts Militia.

Duties

The National Lancers serve as both the ceremonial cavalry of the Massachusetts Organized Militia and as a search and rescue unit. In July 2004, the National Lancers were ordered into active state service to guard

Camp Curtis Guild Camp Curtis Guild is a Massachusetts Army National Guard camp located in the towns of Reading, Lynnfield, and Wakefield, Massachusetts. It is named after former Massachusetts governor Curtis Guild, Jr. During World War II the camp was one o ...

during the

2004 Democratic National Convention The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts for president and Senator John Edwards from North Car ...

. In their ceremonial capacity, the Lancers annually reenact the ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes.

Legal status

The National Lancers are recognized as a component of the Massachusetts Organized Militia under Massachusetts state law.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

The National Lancers Official Website
Massachusetts Z Military in Massachusetts Military units and formations of the Union Army

History

Duties

Legal status

See also

References

External links