District of Columbia Army National Guard - History

History

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

It is the night of September 13–14, 1814 . . . Francis Scott Key, under a flag of truce, has been permitted aboard a British man-of-war maneuvering in Baltimore Harbor. A Washington attorney, Key is attempting to arrange the release of Dr. William Beans, a Maryland physician, who has been arrested by British forces.

Key watches while the British fleet bombards Fort McHenry, and is inspired to write the poem which will later become our National Anthem.

History shall record that the "Star Spangled Banner" was written by a member of the District of Columbia Militia while serving on temporary active duty. To ensure that the British would grant him full protection of the flag of truce, it seems that First Lieutenant Francis Scott Key, a member of the Georgetown Field Artillery, had traveled to Baltimore on military orders.

SIX MAYORS AND A GOVERNOR SERVED

During the period 1808 through 1872, six Mayors of the District of Columbia, and one Governor of the Territory of the District of Columbia served in the District of Columbia Militia.

Roger C. Weightman, Mayor from 1824 to 1827, served concurrently as a Colonel of the Militia. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1830, and, in 1860, upon promotion to Major General, served as Commanding General of the Militia. Weightman rose from a job as a penniless printer to be a prominent businessman and banker.

John P. VanNess, Mayor from 1830 to 1834, joined the Militia in 1808. He was appointed and served as Major General Commanding of the D.C. Militia from 1811 to 1815.

William A. Bradley, Mayor from 1834 to 1836, was, concurrently, a Colonel in the Militia.

Peter Force, Mayor from 1836 to 1840, was, concurrently, a Colonel in the Militia, and later, in 1860, was promoted to Brigadier General. Earlier, in 1824, Force founded and served as first commander of the Columbia Artillery.

William W. Seaton, Mayor from 1840 to 1850, was, concurrently, a Colonel in the Militia.

Walter Lenox, Mayor from 1850 to 1852, was, concurrently, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Militia.

Alexander R. Shepard, Governor from 1870 to 1872, when the District of Columbia was organized under a Territorial form of government, had, circa 1861, served as a Private in the National Rifles of the DC Militia, and fought with that unit at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

THE MARCH KING AND DC NATIONAL GUARD

During the years 1888 and 1890, the "March King," John Philip Sousa, wrote three marches for local teenage cadet corps and drill teams which were exciting parts of the capital city scene in the years after the Civil War. At the time the marches were written, these three units had each become elements of the D.C. National Guard.

In 1888, Sousa composed The March Past of the National Fencibles for the National Fencibles, a cadet corps formed prior to 1887. The history of the National Fencibles continued in lineage of the 163rd Military Police Battalion, and today in the 372nd Military Police Battalion.

In 1890, at the request of the Washington Cadet Corps, formed in 1880 as the marching unit of the Washington High School, Sousa composed High School Cadets. The unit members had asked Sousa to write a march superior to National Fencibles, written by him for their rival corps. The history of the National Fencibles continues in the lineage of the 372nd Military Police Battalion.

In 1890, Sousa also composed Corcoran Cadets for the Corcoran Cadets Drill Team, the favorite and most notable of the local corps. Formed in 1883, the average age of the Corcoran Cadets was 16. The unit was reported to present a snappy picture with its wooden rifles, colorful uniforms, and youthful enthusiasm. It was the first cadet company to be mustered into the D.C. National Guard. The history of the Corcoran Cadets continued in the lineage of the 163rd Military Police Battalion, and today in the 372nd Military Police Battalion.

Two other Sousa works were very popular with local National Guard units. La Reine de la Mer Valses (The Queen of the Sea), a waltz composed in 1886, and dedicated to Mrs. W.C. Whitney, the wife of the Secretary of the Navy, was played while inspecting officers "trooped the line" at military ceremonies. The Washington Post March, one of Sousa's most famous pieces, was composed in 1889 at the request of the Washington Post newspaper owner as a means of helping the newspaper increase subscriptions. It was first performed on June 15, 1889, reportedly by the D.C. National Guard Band. It was enthusiastically received and became an "overnight" success.

PROTECTING THE PRESIDENT

It is March 3, 1861 . . . tomorrow Abraham Lincoln will become the 16th President of the United States. Plots to prevent his inauguration are common knowledge. Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief of the Army, directs Colonel Charles P. Stone, Inspector General of the D.C. Militia, to protect the President-elect from possible assassination.

The next morning, loyal infantry and riflemen of the D.C. Militia are stationed on rooftops overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue, a company of sappers and miners (engineers) are ordered to march immediately in front of and behind the Presidential carriage, and double files of D.C. Militia cavalry ride on either side of the carriage to and from the Capitol, spurring their horses so they will rear up, in order to prevent an assassin from getting aim. Another battalion of D.C. Militia is placed near the Capitol steps while riflemen in the windows guard all approaches.

The inauguration takes place without incident. As President Lincoln enters the White House he receives his first military salute from the volunteer members of the D.C. Militia.

FIRST TO BE CALLED

It is April 10, 1861 . . . two days before the rebel attack upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina—the event that "officially" begins the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln orders the mobilization of ten companies of D.C. Militia. The units assemble at their armories and swear an oath to support the Constitution of the United States. The D.C. Militia has provided the first man, the first company, and the first regiment mobilized for the war. Five days later the President mobilizes an additional 23 companies of D.C. Militia. All mobilized units begin immediately to prepare for the defense of Washington.

THE FIRST PRISONER

It is 1861 . . . the Civil War has just begun. Manuel C. Causten, a resident of the District of Columbia, enlists in Captain Owens' President's Mounted Guard, an element of the D.C. Militia. Little is known of his duties, however, it is assumed that as a Private he served as a mounted trooper in the Company.

On May 31, 1861, just six weeks after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, Private Causten has the distinction and misfortune of becoming the first Federal soldier captured during the war.

One might expect that Causten was captured during a heated engagement, but that is not the case. Instead, he is captured by Confederate pickets (scouts) near Seneca Mills, Montgomery County, Maryland.

As the first prisoner of the Confederates, Causten is "displayed" to the public in Richmond, Virginia and later in North Carolina. In April 1862, on his father's recommendation, he applies to Confederate General John Winder for parole to return to Washington, D.C. to accept a commission as a Lieutenant in the 19th U.S. Infantry. His appointment permits him to be exchanged for a Confederate prisoner of war of equal rank, and he is released in May 1862.

Lieutenant Causten is captured again on September 20, 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia. This time he is not so quickly released, and remains a prisoner until December 1864. Illnesses contracted while in prison force Causten to resign his commission in February 1865.

Causten was a member of a fairly prominent D.C. family. One of his sons became an official in the Department of the Treasury, and, circa 1900, was "in charge" of the Alaska Territory.

THE DRUMMER BOY OF SHILOH

It is August 1871 . . . John L. Clemm organizes and is elected Commander (Captain) of the Washington Rifles, a Company in the D.C. Militia. A few months later, in December 1871, after he is found to be academically unqualified for admission to the United States Military Academy, President Ulysses Simpson Grant, his former commanding officer, will commission Captain Clemm as a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army of the United States.

Much earlier, however, in April 1862, Union and Confederate forces will clash in a bloody battle at Shiloh, Tennessee. Johnny Clemm, a drummer boy so small that he is often carried into battle on the shoulders of his Union comrades, will be immortalized in story and song after he puts down his drum, picks up a rifle, and empties a saddle of a Confederate Colonel.

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh will go on to a long and distinguished military career. He will retire in 1915 as a Major General, the last veteran of the Civil War remaining on active service.

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NAVY

From 1898 until 1917, a full-fledged Naval force was part of the D.C. National Guard. Known as the Naval Militia, these citizen sailors performed all duties of active Navy personnel, wore similar uniforms, and accomplished their training on Naval Militia vessels or ships of the active Navy. Members of the D.C. Naval Battalion saw sea service along the East coast of the United States, and in the Gulf of Mexico during the period 1915-1916.

Most of the Naval Militia vessels were loaned to the D.C. National Guard by the Department of the Navy. A letter, signed in January 1915, by Acting Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt, discusses the loan of the U.S.S. Sylvia, a steam yacht built in 1882. The Sylvia remained with the Naval Militia until 1917, when she was transferred back to the active Navy for service in World War I.

The U.S.S. Puritan, a monitor, was the largest vessel operated by the D.C. Naval Militia. Displacing 6,060 tons, the Puritan was more than 290 feet in length, and more than 60 feet in beam (width). Carrying a crew of 19 officers and 210 men, she was armed with four 12-inch guns (a modern battleship carries 16-inch guns), six 4-inch guns, and an additional six smaller weapons. Built in 1882, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Puritan had an active career during the Spanish-American War. Following wartime service she served at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1899 to 1902, and was operated by the D.C. Naval Militia from 1904 to 1909.

The D.C. Naval Militia was absorbed into the active Navy when the United States entered World War I. Although it was not reconstituted after the War, present laws continue to provide for a Naval Battalion as part of the D.C. National Guard.

THE FIRST AVIATOR

It is August 1915 . . . the "Aeronautic Corps" for the D.C. National Guard has been established as part of the Naval Battalion. One hydroaeroplane, a "Columbia" biplane, is authorized. It is designed and built at the Washington Aeroplane Company (then located on the Maine Avenue waterfront—now the site of several restaurants). The aircraft is powered by one 8-cycle, 60 horsepower motor.

The Aeronautic Corps consists of two Lieutenants, one Aviator, and six enlisted personnel. The aviator and enlisted personnel are noted to have had "more or less previous experience in aeronautics."

The aviator, Ensign Dean R. VanKirk, has been loaned to the D.C. Naval Militia "for the purpose of instruction and training of the Aeronautical Corps of the Battalion, and for official flights as ordered by the commanding officer." VanKirk will undergo training at the Curtiss Flying School at Newport News, Virginia, and, in late 1916, will depart for additional training at the Naval Aeronautic Station, Pensacola, Florida. VanKirk will, unfortunately, crash and be killed on one of his first flights at Pensacola.

HEROES ALL

The Medal of Honor is awarded for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of one's life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy. The deed must be one of personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his comrades and must have involved risk of life.

Six men awarded the Medal of Honor later served in the D.C. National Guard.

Private M. Emmet Urell (later Colonel, 2nd Regiment, DCNG, circa 1895) was awarded the Medal at Bristoe Station, Virginia on October 14, 1863, for, "gallantry in action while detailed as color bearer; was severely wounded."

Captain Cecil Clay (later Colonel, 1st Regiment, DCNG, circa 1892) was awarded the Medal at Fort Harrison, Virginia on September 29, 1864, when he, "led his Regiment in the charge, carrying the colors of another regiment, and when severely wounded in the right arm, incurring loss of same, he shifted the colors to the left hand, which also became disabled by a gunshot wound."

Sergeant Major Christian A. Fleetwood (later Major, 7th Battalion, DCNG, 1887–1892) was awarded the Medal at Chaffins Farm, Virginia on September 29, 1864, when he, "seized the colors after two color bearers had been shot down, and bore them nobly through the fight."

Second Lieutenant Charles H. Heyl (later Lieutenant Colonel, The Adjutant General, DCNG, 1897–1898) was awarded the Medal for action near Fort Hartsuff, Nebraska on April 28, 1876, when he, "voluntarily, and with most conspicuous gallantry, charged with three men upon six Indians who were entrenched on a hillside."

Second Lieutenant Oscar F. Long (later Lieutenant Colonel, The Adjutant General, DCNG, 1889–1892) was awarded the Medal for action at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana on September 30, 1877, "having been directed to order a troop of cavalry to advance, and finding both its officers killed, he voluntarily assumed command, and under a heavy fire from the Indians advanced the troop to its proper position."

Second Lieutenant Lloyd M. Brett (later Lieutenant Colonel, The Adjutant General, DCNG, 1903–1908, and Brigadier General, The Adjutant General, DCNG, 1923–1927) was awarded the Medal for action at O'Fallon's Creek, Montana on April 1, 1880, when he acted with "fearless exposure and dashing bravery in cutting off the Indians' pony herd, thereby greatly crippling the hostiles."

ONLY THE FLAG SHALL GO

It is 1942 . . . the National Guard has been mobilized for nearly two years, many units have already seen combat. The 29th Infantry Division, made up of units from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, is staging at Fort Meade, Maryland for movement to England. Included among its units is the 121st Engineer Combat Battalion (see Note, below) (later the 163rd Military Police Battalion and now the 372nd Military Police Battalion) of the D.C. National Guard.

At the same time, the 37th Infantry Division from the Ohio National Guard, is staging at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. The 37th has also been alerted for movement to England, and has sent 121st Engineer Combat Battalion ahead as part of the advance party.

Order are changed. The 37th is diverted for service in the Pacific Theater. There is no time to recall the 121st, or to create and train a new engineer battalion. The War Department orders all personnel and equipment of the 121st Engineers moved from Fort Meade to Fort Indiantown Gap. The unit is redesignated as the 117th Engineer Combat Battalion. One officer and six enlisted personnel, symbolically representing the 121st Headquarters, each line company, and the Medical Detachment, remain behind with the organization's colors.

The new 117th Engineers will ship out to the Fiji Islands, and will then see extensive combat in the Philippines. The men from the D.C. Guard will earn great praise for their heroism as they work under enemy fire building and repairing 64 bridges, destroying enemy held buildings and tank obstacles, and participating in river crossings with "consummate skill and courage."

By the time the 121st sees its first combat, on D-Day at Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy, its ranks will have been filled with new soldiers from throughout the Nation. The history, lineage, and honors of the 121st later continued with the 163rd MPs, and today with the 372nd MPs. The accomplishments of the members of the 117th Engineers do not, unfortunately, continue with a modern unit. The 117th was disbanded at the end of World War II. Efforts in the 1980s to have the 117th's wartime credits assigned to the 163rd MPs were rejected by Department of the Army.

Note: The modern 29th Infantry Division included a unit designated the 121st Engineer Battalion. That unit, formed well after WWII, had no relationship to the unit described above, nor did it carry its history, lineage or honors.

ON THE BORDER

It is June 1916 . . . all units of the D.C. National Guard have been mobilized and sent to Texas or Arizona as part of the military force assembled to stop Mexican bandits, led by Pancho Villa, from attacking American towns along the border. Most D.C. units will perform garrison duties and engage in training exercises.

The 1st Separate Infantry, an all-black unit (now the 372nd Military Police Battalion), is assigned to Naco, Arizona, a critical location since it is a major water supply point for the region.

In late summer, a bandit raid probes the town's defenses, and the men of the 1st Separate Infantry return the fire. The engagement is short but intense. A later inquiry by the War Department finds that the men of the 1st Separate are, "well led and have demonstrated excellent fire discipline."

National Guard units are withdrawn later in the year. The Naco engagement will prove to be the only incident during Mexican Border operations in which D.C. National Guard troops engage in combat against the bandits.

AN IMMENSE HONOR

It is March 25, 1917 . . . twelve days before the United States enters World War I. The Secretary of War orders the Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard to mobilize forces to protect vital District facilities from possible enemy sabotage.

The General orders out the 1st Separate Infantry, an all-black unit which will later become the First Battalion, 372nd Infantry (now the 372nd Military Police Battalion). The entire Battalion assembles before breakfast and is ready for orders. They are sent to prevent enemy action at the several power stations and the six reservoirs serving the city.

The men of the Battalion are immensely proud of their assignment. Of all the units in the D.C. National Guard, theirs is the only one considered sufficiently loyal to be given the task of securing these vital city installations. Other units are considered to have too many men of foreign descent to be trusted with this critical assignment.

As the 372nd Infantry, the unit will go to France in 1918, and will be the only unit of the D.C. National Guard to actually engage in combat against German forces.