page_title: Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812
section_title: 181st Infantry (ARNG MA)
hierarchical_section_title: Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812 / 181st Infantry (ARNG MA)
caption_attribution_description: English: Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 181st Infantry (ARNG MA)
context_page_description: Twenty-four current units of the Army National Guard perpetuate the lineages of militia units mustered into federal service during the War of 1812. Militia units from nine states that were part of the Union by the end of the War of 1812, plus the District of Columbia, are the predecessors of eighteen units that currently exist in the Army National Guard. Two of the four units derived from Virginia militias are in the West Virginia National Guard; at the time of the War of 1812, West Virginia was still part of Virginia. Only two current units, the 155th Infantry, a component of the Mississippi National Guard derived from militia units organized in the Mississippi Territory and the 130th Infantry, a component of the Illinois National Guard derived from militia units formed in the Illinois Territory, are from states or territories west of the Appalachians. Unfortunately, no militia units from the states of Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio or Tennessee, or from the Indiana, Michigan, Missouri or Louisiana Territories, where militia units played a major role in the fighting, have survived as units in the modern Army National Guard.
context_section_description: Campaigns: Streamer without inscription
  The 181st and 182nd Infantry Regiments are two of the oldest units in the U.S. Army, both tracing their origins all the way back to the North Regiment, organized in 1636 from militia units at Cambridge, Charlestown, Watertown, Dedham and Concord, and redesignated as the Middlesex Regiment in 1643. In 1680 additional companies from other towns were added, and the Middlesex Regiment was split into the 2nd (Upper) Middlesex Regiment, which ultimately became the 181st Infantry, and the 1st (Lower) Middlesex Regiment, which ultimately became the 182nd Infantry.
  By the time of the War of 1812, the 2nd Middlesex Regiment had become the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division in the Massachusetts militia. Flank companies of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division served as elements of the Elite Brigade, which was mustered into federal service during September and October, 1814, for service in Boston.
  The 181st Infantry also perpetuates the lineage of the 104th Infantry, with which it was consolidated in 2006. The 104th Infantry traces its roots to the Hampshire Regiment, constituted in 1662, which later became the Hampshire and Berkshire County Brigades. By the time of the War of 1812 these two brigades had become the 4th and 9th Divisions, respectively. From these two divisions, five regiments were organized for federal service at Boston from September through November 1814.
caption: Distinctive Unit Insignia: 181 Inf
exif: {}