The most famous case involving the Guard was the disappearance of Philadelphian E.L. Wentz, a member of the family that included the principal owners of Virginia Coal and Iron Company. In 1904, when the missing body was discovered, Bullitt led his group of men into the woods to guard the remains of the victim, who had not been seen since the fall of the previous year. Bullitt represented the Wentz family at the coroner's inquest, at which the jury reached a surprise verdict that the cause of death was suicide and not homicide. Bullitt was also the commander of a National Guard unit, Company H of the 2nd Virginia Regiment, which was called to service in Mexico in 1916 and later in World War I.