Minuteman Minute | The First Muster

Happy 387th birthday to the National Guard! Although older militias existed in what would become the United States, on Dec. 13, 1636, Massachusetts organized its militias into three regiments. The lineage of those regiments is still carried by four units of the Massachusetts Army National Guard today.

Hi, I’m Will Roulett, Director of the National Guard Memorial Museum here in DC, and this is YOUR Minuteman Minute! This diorama by Andrew Chernak was made for the National Guard’s 350th birthday in 1986. Based on Don Troiani’s The First Muster, it depicts the birth of the organized militia or National Guard. While earlier militias existed in what would become the United States, December 13th, 1636, is recognized as the birth of the National Guard. On that day, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court organized the colony’s militia companies into the first three militia regiments in North America. It had been 16 years since the pilgrims established the Plymouth Colony and eight since the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established. Colonial expansion brought conflicts with the Pequot and other Native Americans tribes, which necessitated a more organized militia. Four units of the Massachusetts Army National Guard descend from those first regiments. Come see this – and a whole lot more – at the National Guard Memorial Museum. I’m Will Roulett, and that’s been your Minuteman Minute, brought to you by the National Guard Educational Foundation.