The Florida Naval Militia was the official

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 the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Naval militias were organized as naval parallels to the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

as dual federal and state obligations, with the naval militias normally being under state control but subject to federal activation. The Florida Naval Militia was active during three periods in Florida history: between 1897 and 1903; between 1911 and 1917; and between 1934 and 1941.

History

History of predecessor units

Florida Naval and Marine Militia (C.S.)

The Florida Naval and Marine Militia served as a predecessor to the Florida Naval Militia. The Florida Naval and Marine Militia was a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

naval force which served between the years of 1861 and 1865. Naval-militia-right-before-leaving

Spanish–American War – World War II

1897–1903

The Florida Naval Militia was first created in 1897, and consisted of one battalion of four divisions, located at Jacksonville, Pensacola, Port Tampa, and Tampa. From 15 December 1898 until 21 June 1899, the was loaned to the Florida Naval Militia by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, the members of the Florida Naval Militia were drafted into the federal Navy and Coast Guard, with only the Jacksonville Division being reorganized after the war until its disbandment in 1903.

1911–1917

The Florida Naval Militia was reinstated in 1911 with three divisions located in Key West,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, and

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

. After the onset of

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 entire naval militia was activated for the duration of the war, and not reconstituted under state service after the war ended. Before being federalized, members drilled once per week (later increased to twice per week), underwent physical examinations and measurements for uniforms, and were vaccinated for typhoid and smallpox.

1934–1941

Due largely to the efforts of Governor

David Sholtz David Sholtz (October 6, 1891 – March 21, 1953) was the 26th Governor of Florida. Prior to serving as Governor he would be a state attorney serving Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit Court and previously as a member of the Florida House of Repres ...

, the Governor of Florida and an officer in the Naval Reserve, the Florida Naval Militia was reorganized in 1934. However, with the entrance of the United States into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the members of the naval militia were once again called into federal service, and the organization was dissolved in 1941.

Legal status

Although currently not organized, federal and state laws still allow each state to maintain its own military forces, including a

. United States Code specifically defines the Naval Militia as one of the components of the United States organized militia, along with the

. So long as at least 95% of a state's naval militia's membership is composed of Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve members, naval militias may be loaned or issued vessels, material, armament, equipment, and other facilities of the Navy and the Marine Corps that are available to the Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve. States creating a naval militia may therefore either create a naval militia completely out of civilian volunteers under Title 32; a naval militia composed of Navy and Marine Corps Reserve members and eligible for federal equipment under Title 10; or a hybrid naval, composed of some units of civilian volunteers and ineligible for federal aid, and some units of federal reservists, whose units are eligible for federal aid, which allows the organization as a whole to receive federal equipment and aid while opening membership to civilians as well. The

New Jersey Naval Militia The New Jersey Naval Militia (NJNM) is the inactive naval militia of the state of New Jersey. As a portion of the New Jersey organized militia, it existed as an active entity from 1895 to 1963 and again from 1999 to 2002. The Naval Militia was stoo ...

offers an example of a hybrid-approach to the naval militia; the New Jersey Naval Militia was composed of three battalions. The first battalion was composed solely of navy and marine reservists in order to receive access to federal support and Navy and Marine Corps facilities. The second battalion was organized as an operational Naval State Guard, and the 3rd Division provided support and auxiliary functions. By only seeking federal recognition for the first battalion as a naval militia, and considering the other two as divisions of the New Jersey State Guard, the NJNM was able to receive federal aid and include significant numbers of civilian volunteers into the state naval force. Such an organizational method is legal so long as only the units with federal recognition are given access to federal equipment. Floridian state law grants the governor the authority to create and maintain a naval militia as well; maintaining a naval militia organized under federal guidelines is authorized under Title XVII of chapter Chapter 250 in the Floridian state law. Florida law also allows the creation of a state defense force, which could include or wholly consist of a naval unit not held to federal standards. As such, the

governor of Florida 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 ...

has the ability to reactivate the Florida Naval Militia based on existing legal permission at any time.

References

External links

Florida Naval Militia Roster 1898-1914
{{State Defense Forces Military in Florida State defense forces of the United States