Militia and National Guard
Federal lineage and dual-status law are cited here. Colonial and territorial capsules that now have a Guard, state-archive, museum, or NPS page sit under Jurisdictions. Connecticut 1739 and Virginia’s later county-lieutenant system remain in Limits. California Gold-Rush volunteer-company stories were not opened as unit histories.
How We Began
National Guard · n.d. · Federal
Army National Guard birthday: December 13, 1636, when the Massachusetts Bay General Court organized the colony’s militia into three permanent regiments. Descendants still in the Massachusetts Army National Guard: 181st Infantry, 182nd Infantry, 101st Field Artillery, 101st Engineer Battalion. Air National Guard birthday: September 18, 1947. The North, South, and East names are on the First Muster page.
https://www.nationalguard.mil/About-the-Guard/How-We-Began/ (opens in a new tab)
The First Muster
National Guard (Heritage Series) · n.d. · Federal
December 13, 1636: the Massachusetts Bay General Court ordered the colony’s militia companies into three regiments — the North, South, and East Regiments. First muster of the East Regiment: Salem, date unknown.
Records of the National Guard Bureau (RG 168)
National Archives · n.d. · Federal
First Militia (Dick) Act, 32 Stat. 775, January 21, 1903, made state militias and national guards the reserve component of the federal army.
https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/168.html (opens in a new tab)
Militia Act of January 21, 1903 (Dick Act) — enrolled text
Congress.gov, 57th Congress · 1903-01-21 · Federal
Organized militia to be known as the National Guard of the State, Territory, or District of Columbia. Presidential call in case of invasion or rebellion.
https://www.congress.gov/57/plaws/statute/c57s2ch196.pdf (opens in a new tab)
Reserve Component Duty Statuses (CRS R49056)
Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov · n.d. · Federal
Title 10: federal service, President in command, federal pay; Posse Comitatus generally applies. Title 32: state authority, federal pay and benefits, governor in command. State active duty: state funded, governor. Dual status is the design Keys teaches.
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R49056 (opens in a new tab)
National Guard Civil Support in the District of Columbia (CRS IF11768)
Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov · n.d. · Jurisdictions
The President is commander in chief of the D.C. National Guard (D.C. Code § 49–409). Unlike a state Guard, that is true even in militia status — the President stands where a governor would.
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11768 (opens in a new tab)
Virgin Islands National Guard — History
Virgin Islands National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Federally recognized October 19, 1973. Created by an act of Congress sponsored by Delegate Ron de Lugo.
Title 32 — National Guard (notes on Pub. L. 96-600)
US Government Publishing Office · 2011 · Jurisdictions
Pub. L. 96-600, December 24, 1980, inserted Guam into the definition of Territory for National Guard purposes. Later text lists States, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands are not on that list. Keep the Guam year 1980; do not copy a floor-speech signing day that conflicts with the enrolled law.
Guam National Guard — remarks of Delegate Robert A. Underwood
Congressional Record (Bound), August 2, 2001 · 2001-08-02 · Jurisdictions
First members sworn July 21, 1981 — the Atlas “headquarters 1981” line. The same speech says President Carter signed P.L. 96-600 on December 4, 1980; the Statutes at Large date is December 24, 1980. Use this page for 1981, not for the signing day.
Historia — Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico
Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico (Government of Puerto Rico) · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Official site: organized by order of the US Congress June 19, 1919. Traces lineage to Spanish militias created by Juan Ponce de León in 1511.
Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, February 27, 1776
National Park Service, Moores Creek National Battlefield · n.d. · Jurisdictions
February 27, 1776. NPS: first decisive Patriot victory of the Revolution.
https://www.nps.gov/mocr/learn/historyculture/battle-of-moores-creek-bridge.htm (opens in a new tab)
Autumn 1811: The Battle of Tippecanoe
National Park Service · n.d. · Jurisdictions
William Henry Harrison struck Prophet’s Town on Tippecanoe Creek, present-day Indiana, November 1811. Matches the campaign, not a separate adjutant-general history.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/tippecanoe.htm (opens in a new tab)
Alaska Territorial Guard in World War II
United States Army · n.d. · Jurisdictions
More than 6,300 Alaskans joined the newly created Alaska Territorial Guard after the June 1942 Aleutian invasion. The territorial guard disbanded in 1947; veterans later served in the Alaska National Guard. This article is the 1942–47 record. The 1939 constitution date is on the Army lineage certificate, not in this article.
297th Infantry Regiment — Lineage and Honors
US Army Center of Military History · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Constituted 21 October 1939 in the Alaska National Guard as the 297th Infantry. The 1st Battalion was organized and Federally recognized 11 January 1941 with headquarters at Juneau.
World War II in Alaska — Native Defenders
National Park Service · n.d. · Jurisdictions
When the Alaska National Guard was called to active duty in September 1941, Governor Gruening received permission to establish the Alaska Territorial Guard. Native units patrolled coasts and led reconnaissance. Complements the Army page on the 1942–47 ATG.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/world-war-ii-in-alaska.htm (opens in a new tab)
Raines Visits Saipan — Northern Mariana Islands and the Guard
National Guard Bureau · 2025-04-08 · Jurisdictions
The Northern Mariana Islands do not maintain a separate National Guard. Residents who want to serve enlist in the Guam National Guard. This page does not make the same statement for American Samoa; Title 32’s jurisdiction list does.
Form of Association, 24 November 1747
Founders Online, National Archives (Franklin Papers) · 1747-11-24 · Jurisdictions
Franklin’s voluntary Association for defense of Pennsylvania, November 1747. The colony had no statutory militia.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-03-02-0092 (opens in a new tab)
Revolutionary War Overview — The Military Association
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, State Archives · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Associators patterned on 1747–48 and on groups after Braddock’s defeat in 1755. The Association collapsed in the winter of 1776–77; the Assembly replaced it with a compulsory militia.
John Hancock to George Washington, 10 August 1776
Founders Online, National Archives · 1776-08-10 · Jurisdictions
John Haslet of Kent County, Delaware, appointed colonel of the Delaware Regiment by Congress on January 19, 1776. Continental service through 1776; killed at Princeton, January 3, 1777. The “Blue Hens” nickname is not on this page and was dropped from the Atlas line.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-05-02-0495 (opens in a new tab)
Providence I (Sloop) — formerly Katy
Naval History and Heritage Command · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Rhode Island General Assembly, June 15, 1775: fit out two ships to defend the colony’s shipping; sloop Katy chartered from John Brown of Providence. Taken into Continental service at Philadelphia, December 3, 1775, and renamed Providence.
Texas Rangers Headquarters
Texas Department of Public Safety · n.d. · Jurisdictions
The Texas Rangers began in 1823. Since 1935 they have been a division of the Department of Public Safety — a law-enforcement body, not the National Guard.
https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/texas-rangers/company-hq (opens in a new tab)
Texas State Guard legacy rooted in 1836 tradition of citizen service
Texas Military Department (archived 12 February 2026) · 2026-02-11 · Jurisdictions
Citizen volunteers from the Texas Revolution in 1836. 1903 Militia Act (Dick Act) created the modern National Guard as a federally integrated reserve. Matches the lineage; the Rangers sit at DPS, not in this force.
The live address https://tmd.texas.gov/texas-state-guard-tradition redirects to the department news index. This is the archived lineage article.
Texas Military Department History
Texas Military Department · n.d. · Jurisdictions
The department was established as the War Department of the Republic of Texas on August 5, 1836. The same page dates the first militia muster in Stephen F. Austin's colony to 1823, and the modern National Guard to 1903.
https://tmd.texas.gov/texas-military-department-history (opens in a new tab)
History — Utah National Guard
Utah National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Heritage from the Nauvoo Legion (Illinois charter 1840; Utah territorial militia 1852). Disbanded by the Edmunds-Tucker Act in 1887. Utah National Guard organized March 26, 1894, in Salt Lake City.
Military Records — Utah Territorial Militia (Nauvoo Legion)
Utah Division of Archives and Records Service · n.d. · Jurisdictions
1851 Laws of Utah: “the Militia of the Territory of Utah shall consist of one legion, to be called the Nauvoo legion.” A heritage of the settlers’ time in Illinois.
https://archives.utah.gov/research/guides/military-records/ (opens in a new tab)
King’s Guard / Queen’s Guard / Royal Guard / Household Troops, 1874–1893
State of Hawaiʻi Department of Defense · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Kingdom household troops into 1893. Royal Guard disbanded January 18, 1893, after the overthrow. National Guard of Hawaii recognized by the Provisional Government ten days later.
The Virginia Company of London — Historic Jamestowne
National Park Service, Historic Jamestowne · n.d. · Jurisdictions
May 13, 1607: settlers began a three-sided fort on Jamestown Island. Laborers were armed from the common store; gentlemen provided their own armor and weapons. The later county-lieutenant system was not independently opened and was dropped from the Atlas line.
New York National Guard marks the National Guard birthday
New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs · 2024-12-12 · Jurisdictions
First citizen-soldiers in New York were the Burgher Guard, organized by the Dutch East India Company in 1640 to help protect New Amsterdam. After New Amsterdam became the English colony of New York in 1665, a militia modeled on other English colonies was put in place. The 1664 date is the surrender; this page dates the English colony to 1665. Matches the sequence.
https://dmna.ny.gov/pressroom/?id=1736359771 (opens in a new tab)
French and Indian Wars — New Jersey militia
National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey · n.d. · Jurisdictions
The New Jersey Assembly provided for militia training in 1668, but pacifist Quaker settlers in West Jersey largely ignored it. West Jersey was divided from East Jersey by the Quintipartite Deed of July 1, 1676.
https://njmilitiamuseum.gov/military-heritage/french-and-indian-wars (opens in a new tab)
Quintipartite Deed of Revision, Between E. and W Jersey: July 1st, 1676
West Jersey History Project (transcription) · 1676 · Jurisdictions
The indenture of July 1, 1676 divides the province and names the easterly part East New Jersey and the westerly part West New Jersey. The 1668 militia statute predates that division.
https://www.westjerseyhistory.org/docs/wjdocs1/nj06a.shtml (opens in a new tab)
Revolutionary War — New Jersey militia
National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey · n.d. · Jurisdictions
A 1775 law enrolled men 16–50 in the active militia. In 1776 the militia helped defend New York under Washington; it later gave vital assistance at Trenton and Princeton and in the forage war into spring 1777.
https://njmilitiamuseum.gov/military-heritage/revolutionary-war (opens in a new tab)
History of the New Hampshire National Guard
New Hampshire National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
In 1679 New Hampshire was granted its own charter and the new province established a formal militia from existing town militias — “the official origin of the New Hampshire National Guard.” A timeline table on the same page lists a 1660 birth year; ShadowPoint uses the 1679 narrative, not the table.
Maryland Military Department — Origin & Functions
Maryland State Archives (Maryland Manual) · n.d. · Jurisdictions
The Maryland Charter of 1632 empowered Lord Baltimore to raise troops to put down insurrection or rebellion and subdue enemies of the province. Origins of the Maryland Army National Guard trace to 1634, when two militia captains disembarked with early settlers at St. Clement’s Island in St. Mary’s County; able-bodied men were obliged to serve. Mary’s” to that charter-and-landing record.
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25ind/html/51milf.html (opens in a new tab)
Charleston, SC
National Park Service · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Settlers named the 1670 settlement Charles Towne in November 1670. Threats of a Spanish invasion made them fortify it with a trench and palisade wall. The palisade is on this page; a named militia statute is not.
https://www.nps.gov/places/charleston-sc.htm (opens in a new tab)
Frederica — Historical Background
National Park Service, Fort Frederica National Monument · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Georgia as a buffer colony on the southern frontier. First settlers 1733 on a defensible bluff at Savannah; Fort Frederica 1736. Oglethorpe later raised the 42nd Regiment of Foot — regulars, not colonial rangers.
First Company Governor’s Foot Guard — History
Connecticut Military Department · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Organized October 1771 after a 1768 incident when a “trainband” made a farce of escort duty. The First Company claims the oldest military organization in continuous existence in the United States. This page is not a 1739 numbered-regiment statute.
https://portal.ct.gov/MIL/Organization/Governors-Guards/1GFG/1GFG-History (opens in a new tab)
The Militia and Minute Men of 1775
National Park Service, Minute Man National Historical Park · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Town militia was required by law. Minute-man companies were volunteer. On October 26, 1774 the Provincial Congress recommended companies who “shall equip and hold themselves in Readiness to march at the shortest Notice.” They became known as minute men because they were to be ready “at a minute’s warning.” Keys: selected companies pledged to turn out at a minute’s notice. Matches the volunteer, minute-warning distinction.
Kentucky National Guard celebrates 232nd birthday
Kentucky National Guard · 2024-06-24 · Jurisdictions
Formed by Gov. Isaac Shelby as one of his first official acts in 1792. Statehood June 1, 1792; less than a month later he signed “An Act to Arrange the Militia of the State Into Divisions, Brigades, Regiments, Battalions, and Companies, and for Other Purposes.” Atlas: state militia arranged after 1792 admission.
Kentucky National Guard History
Kentucky National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
History dates back to 1775 when Kentucky was known as Fincastle County, a part of western Virginia.
https://ky.ng.mil/Home/Kentucky-National-Guard-History (opens in a new tab)
Ohio National Guard History Timeline
Ohio National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Established July 25, 1788, in Marietta as the Northwest Territory Militia. At 1803 statehood it became the Ohio Militia. In 1864 the Ohio General Assembly renamed it the Ohio National Guard.
https://ong.ohio.gov/about-us/history/timeline-narrow.html (opens in a new tab)
Our History — Tennessee Military Department
Tennessee Military Department · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Official military history dates to June 1, 1796. First Tennessee militia organized in 1774 in Sullivan and Carter counties (then North Carolina). Gov. William Blount organized a territorial militia of 14 infantry companies and a cavalry troop.
https://www.tn.gov/military/who-we-are/our-history-military.html (opens in a new tab)
Oregon Military Department — Who We Are
Oregon Military Department · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Provisional government passed the first militia law July 5, 1843 (a battalion of mounted riflemen). Officers were commissioned, but militia units were never formed in that first year. A March 1844 bill led to the Oregon Rangers on March 11, 1844 — fifteen men.
https://www.oregon.gov/omd/pages/who%20we%20are.aspx (opens in a new tab)
West Virginia Army National Guard History
West Virginia Army National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Heritage to the 1735 militia company established in Berkeley County by Morgan Morgan. Civil War: some 40,000 men for both Northern and Southern forces. In 1889 the legislature renamed the militia the West Virginia National Guard.
Wisconsin National Guard — History
Wisconsin National Guard / Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Origin of the Wisconsin National Guard: March 5, 1837, when Capt. Morgan L. Martin organized a company of mounted riflemen called the Green Bay Rangers as the first unit of the Wisconsin Territorial Militia. Units were organized into the Wisconsin State Militia after Wisconsin became a state in 1848.
https://dma.wi.gov/wisconsin-national-guard/ (opens in a new tab)
Settlement of the Province of Maine
Maine Army National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
York Company of militia brought into the Massachusetts Bay Colony militia system on November 22, 1652. May 31, 1671: York County Regiment of Militia — “the birthday of the Maine National Guard.” District of Maine commanders also sat as deputies to the district assembly at York.
https://www.me.ng.mil/About/Our-History/Settlement-of-the-Province-of-Maine/ (opens in a new tab)
About the Nebraska National Guard
Nebraska National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Initial organization of two regiments in 1854. February 15, 1864: the Legislature established the adjutant general’s office for the Nebraska Territory. Territorial militia organized under an act approved in 1865. This page does not recap 1867 admission.
History — Louisiana National Guard
Louisiana National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
1813: Louisiana’s newly-formed General Assembly created the state force that became the foundation for today’s National Guard.
Minuteman Monument — Louisiana National Guard
Louisiana National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Origins with French and Spanish colonial administrations. General Alexander O’Reilly reformed the militia into a centrally organized institution in 1770; continuity from 1770 to today. With the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and West Florida Revolt (1810), the Louisiana Militia became a US force. Complements the 1813 assembly act on the History page.
https://geauxguard.la.gov/minuteman-monument/ (opens in a new tab)
Camp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic District
Illinois Department of Natural Resources · n.d. · Jurisdictions
The Illinois National Guard grew out of the Illinois Territorial Militia, which provided manpower during the War of 1812. After Illinois gained statehood in 1818, the Illinois Militia was formed by state law.
https://dnr.illinois.gov/naturalresources/cultural/camplogan.html (opens in a new tab)
About the Florida National Guard
Florida National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Traces its heritage back to 1565, the year the Spanish founders of St. Augustine organized their first company of citizen-Soldiers. Florida’s militia has defended local communities for over 440 years. St. Augustine’s 1565 founding as a town is on the NPS page in Union.
RG 101 Adjutant General
State Historical Society of Iowa (Iowa State Archives) · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Militia and National Guard records of the Adjutant General from the territorial period through 1950. This page does not print a separate 1846 state-force statute.
Brief History of the MSNG
Mississippi National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
On September 8, 1798, territorial governor Winthrop Sargent issued an official order calling for the organization of a militia. Mississippi Dragoons under Maj. Thomas Hinds in the War of 1812. 1st Mississippi Regiment of Infantry, the “Mississippi Rifles,” under Jefferson Davis at Buena Vista; “STAND FAST MISSISSIPPIANS” remains the motto of 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry — the Army’s sixth oldest active regiment.
https://www.ng.ms.gov/history/brief-history-msng (opens in a new tab)
National Guard Heritage Series
National Guard Bureau Publications Library · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Mississippi Rifles (1847): the Rifles are the 155th Infantry of the modern Mississippi Army National Guard. Battle of Glorieta Pass / Action at Apache Canyon (1862): First Colorado Volunteer Infantry and New Mexico volunteers; “Colorado and New Mexico territorial troops had effectively preserved the Union in the west.” Atlas Mississippi, Colorado, and New Mexico militia lines match those captions.
https://www.ngbpmc.ng.mil/Historical-Prints/Heritage-Series/ (opens in a new tab)
History — Our Roots Go Back to 1804
Arkansas National Guard Museum · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Arkansas National Guard roots go back to 1804, one year after the Louisiana Purchase: Indiana Territory enacted a law making most males liable for military service. By 1806 two militia units (infantry and cavalry) existed in what is now Arkansas. The 1819 act creating Arkansas Territory provided that the territorial governor “shall be commander-in-chief of the militia of said territory.” Largest territorial mobilization: six companies to Fort Towson, 1836. This museum is listed on the National Guard History and Heritage museum roster.
https://arngmuseum.com/history/national-guards/ (opens in a new tab)
Records of the militia of the Alabama Territory
Alabama Department of Archives and History · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Collection: records of the militia of the Alabama Territory, circa 1817–1819 — memoranda, correspondence, election returns, orders, and returns of strength.
https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/voices/id/7780/ (opens in a new tab)
Missouri Militias and National Guard Research Guide
The State Historical Society of Missouri · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Militias in Missouri date back to the French and Spanish colonial era. Early colonial, territorial, and state militias fought in the War of 1812 and later skirmishes. In 1877 a new militia law declared that the militia would from then on be called the National Guard of Missouri.
https://shsmo.org/research/guides/militia (opens in a new tab)
Minnesota National Guard Milestones
Minnesota Department of Military Affairs · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Minnesota formed a Territorial Enrolled Militia in 1850, but it only existed on paper until April 1856 when the first uniformed volunteer company was formed in St. Paul. Called the Minnesota Pioneer Guards. Minnesota’s National Guard traces its beginning to these early militia companies.
https://mn.gov/mnng/about-us/history/minnesota-national-guard-milestones.jsp (opens in a new tab)
H. Con. Res. 371 — 150th anniversary of the Minnesota National Guard
Congress.gov / GPO (enrolled concurrent resolution) · 2006 · Jurisdictions
“The Minnesota National Guard traces its origins to the formation of the Pioneer Guard in the Minnesota territory in 1856, two years before Minnesota became the 32nd State in the Union.” Atlas Minnesota militia: Pioneer Guards, 1856.
History — Kansas Adjutant General’s Department
Kansas Adjutant General’s Department · n.d. · Jurisdictions
The Kansas Militia was formed August 30, 1855, when the governor and Legislative Assembly of Kansas Territory established “An Act to organize, discipline and govern the militia of this Territory.” First territorial adjutant general: Hiram J. Strickler, appointed August 31, 1855. On January 29, 1861, Kansas became the 34th state and the militia was organized into units of the Kansas National Guard.
Official History of the Washington National Guard
Washington Military Department · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Official history volumes, digitized from Adjutant General pamphlets. Volume I: Heritage of the Washington Territorial Militia. Volume II: Washington Territorial Militia and the Indian Wars of 1855–56.
https://mil.wa.gov/official-history-of-washington-national-guard (opens in a new tab)
A Short History of the Washington State Guard
Washington Military Department · n.d. · Jurisdictions
“The Washington State Guard traces its history back to 1855 when the Washington Territorial Legislature enacted the first law creating the organized militia. After Washington became a state it created its state militia in 1890 … exclusively under state control until 1903 when the Washington National Guard was formed.” Atlas Washington militia matches those dates.
Our History — Idaho National Guard
Idaho Military Division · n.d. · Jurisdictions
While Idaho was still a territory in the 1860s, volunteers formed militia companies. A more formal territorial militia, created by the territory governor, existed from 1877–79. When Idaho became a state in 1890, the constitution required a permanent state militia. First Regiment of Idaho Infantry organized in 1890; the legislature approved the Idaho National Guard on March 14, 1891.
https://www.imd.idaho.gov/idaho-national-guard/our-history/ (opens in a new tab)
Wyoming Army Guard History
Wyoming Military Department · n.d. · Jurisdictions
In 1870 Territorial Governor John A. Campbell authorized division of the territory into three military districts. A year later the Territorial Assembly passed a law, effective December 31, 1871, giving legal sanction to volunteer militia companies of not less than 40 men. Key moment: April 4, 1870, General Order 1 establishes Wyoming Militia. Laramie Grays were organized in 1888.
https://www.wyomilitary.wyo.gov/about-us/army-guard/wy-army-guard-history/ (opens in a new tab)
Adjutant General and North Dakota National Guard
State Historical Society of North Dakota · n.d. · Jurisdictions
In 1862 the Dakota Territorial Militia was established (S.L. 1862, Ch. 60). Chronology: 1862, creation of the Dakota Territorial Militia. Reorganized in 1885, 1887, and 1889 as the Dakota National Guard. Formed in 1883 as Company A, First Regiment of the Dakota National Guard.
https://www.history.nd.gov/archives/stateagencies/adjutantgeneral.html (opens in a new tab)
NDNG celebrates its origins and 150 years of service
National Guard (North Dakota courtesy report) · 2012-02-01 · Jurisdictions
North Dakota and South Dakota marked January 27, 1862, as the birthdate. “On Jan. 27, 1862, the first unit of the Dakota Territorial Militia organized under Capt. Nelson Miner in the territorial capital of Yankton.” “The NDNG shares its heritage with the SDNG.” Atlas Dakota pair militia lines teach that shared 1862 origin, not a later paper-shuffle.
History of the Colorado National Guard
Colorado National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
History began January 23, 1860, when the 1st General Assembly of the Jefferson Territory authorized two military companies — the Jefferson Rangers and the Denver Guards. Those units were later disbanded and the Colorado Volunteers stood up as the official Territorial Militia.
Oklahoma National Guard
Oklahoma Historical Society, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture · n.d. · Jurisdictions
One of the first actions of the Oklahoma Territorial Council, August 1890, was creation of the Territorial Militia. In 1895 the militia was reorganized as the Oklahoma National Guard. With statehood in 1907, units were shifted from western Oklahoma (former Oklahoma Territory) to eastern Oklahoma (former Indian Territory).
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=OK066 (opens in a new tab)
Montana Army National Guard — About Us
Montana Army National Guard · n.d. · Jurisdictions
“The Montana Army National Guard was originally formed in 1867.” The 163d Infantry dates its history to independent companies grouped together around 1900.
Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs — agency history
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Arizona Constitution Article 16: the organized militia shall be designated “The National Guard of Arizona,” and shall consist of such organized military bodies as now exist under the laws of the territory of Arizona or as may hereafter be authorized by law. Laws 1912, Chapter 85 set forth the Military Code of Arizona.
https://azlibrary.gov/agency-history/2110 (opens in a new tab)
DEMA Annual Report 2015
Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs · 2015 · Jurisdictions
“The National Guard’s heritage in Arizona began on September 2, 1865.” Atlas Arizona militia: heritage dated from that First Arizona Volunteer Infantry moment.
https://dema.az.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/DEMA_Annual_Report_2015_0.pdf (opens in a new tab)
Records of the Constitutional Convention of 1849
California Secretary of State, California State Archives · n.d. · Jurisdictions
Holds the enrolled original Constitution of the State of California, 1849 — signed October 13, 1849 — and the convention journal. This page is the archive of that charter, not a Gold-Rush volunteer-company roster.
https://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/collections/constitutions/1849 (opens in a new tab)
California Constitution, Article V, Section 7
California Legislative Information · n.d. · Jurisdictions
“The Governor is commander in chief of a militia that shall be provided by statute. The Governor may call it forth to execute the law.” Atlas California militia: state militia under the governor after 1850 admission. Matches the current clause; Gold-Rush volunteer-company stories are not on this page.