The United States Guards were a formation of the
National Army created to guard strategic installations and areas in order to free infantry regiments for war service in the
First World War
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 ...
.
American Civil War
During the Civil War Colonel H.P. Montgomery offered to recruit a regiment in New York with the title of "United States Guards" but his offer was not accepted.
World War I
The Guards were created on 22 December 1917 and were controlled by the Chief of the
Militia Bureau. They eventually comprised 48 battalions of men who were either too old or physically unfit for active service.
The Guards were disbanded following the end of the war in 1920. The experience led the US Army to not wish to bear the financial burden of paying for troops whose only use was internal security.
World War II
The idea of reforming the US Guards was discussed in 1941 with the
National Guard Bureau
The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was cre ...
replying that the
War Department did not want Federal troops for internal security duties; this function would be performed by
state guards
In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state.
...
.
[p.96 Stentiford]
References
National Guard Bureau ''Military Protection, United States Guards: The Use of Organized Bodies in the Protection and Defense of Property During Riots, Strikes, and Civil Disturbances'' 1919
United States.
Notes
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See also
*
Veteran Reserve Corps
The Veteran Reserve Corps (originally the Invalid Corps) was a military reserve organization created within the Union Army during the American Civil War to allow partially disabled or otherwise infirm soldiers (or former soldiers) to perform lig ...
*
State defense force
Military units and formations of the United States in World War I
History of the United States Army
Military units and formations established in 1917