Wednesday, August 1, 2018

August 1, 1918. Mustering the Home Guard


The size of World War One is perhaps demonstrated in part by the fact that, like World War Two, the militia was expanded to include bodies in each state that replaced the Federalized National Guard.*

Normally these units are called State Guards, and they've existed in every state in modern times only during World War One and World War Two, although some states have retained State Guard separately from from somewhat before the war until the present time and a few have established them once again in modern times.  Most states don't have them, however.  They're state troops liable only to their Governors for service for the most part, unlike National Guardsmen who also serve as a reserve of the Army.

By this point during the Great War, Wyoming was experimenting with mustering its State Guard.  Of interest, rifle production had now caught up with demand and the State Guard was being issued brand new rifles, almost certainly M1917 Enfields, which were replacing the Krag rifle of Spanish American War vintage.  As Krags were perfectly adequate for what the Home Guard was to do, and indeed wasn't really obsolete in larger terms, it shows that production was catching up with need by this point in the war.

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*As we earlier noted, the US also formed sort of a national militia of this type in the form of the United States Guards during the war.

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