Milford chronicle., 1958-03-28
Delaware National Guard
Story Is NOIU In
Pamphlet Form
continued from page one)

continued from page One)
colonial wars against the Indians.
The booklet traces the history
of the Delaware National Guard
back IN an almost unhroken line
to 1865, when the state was under
Swedish rule, and the citizens in
north :rn Delaware were organized
INTO the first militia to :ght off an
invading Dutch force from New
York
While the unframed Swedish
militia was overcome by the Dutch
under the command of the buster
ing Peter Stuyvesant, it was soon
reorganized under the Dutch gov
ernment. From then on, there al
ways seems to have been a militia
of one sort or another, with very
few breaks when public Indifference
toward matters of defense pre-
vailed.
! Delaware militia volunteers par
ticipated in the various colonial
wars of the zoos and made a
brilliant name for themselves in
the War for independence, where
they fought with distinction in
every major battle of the war ex-
cept one.
The history traces the militia
through it's defense of Lewes dur
| ing the War of 1912 and its ser
vice in Mexico during the Mexican
War. Under the Civil War, special
mention is made OF the National
Guards of Wilmington under Capt.
Thomas A. Smyth, a unit so an
xious to fight that it didn't wait for
! the formation of a Delaware regi-
ment, but hurried off to join a
Pennsylvania outfit. LaIer, after
the Delaware regiment was ready
for service, it returned to serve
under it's home state colors.
Captain Smyth was later to be-
come a general, one of the young
est in the Union Army, and one
widely recognized for his courage
and ability to lead his men. He
died as a result of battle wounds
the day of Lees surrender.
The brief account of Delaware
troops in the Civil War is sufficient
to show that the states regiments
played an important part in some
of the hardest-fought battles of
the war.
1t was after the war that interest
in the volunteer militia Jagged so
much that in 1869 there was but
single company in ali of Della
ware. While others were organized
within the next few years, progress
was slow.
When ]. Parke Postles, a Con-
gressional Medal winner. became
adiutant general in 1879, he found
the National Guard had more Off
GERS that privates! OF the 134 men
on the rolls, 81 were honorary
generals and colonels, 27 were Off
GERS of lower ranks, and only 56
were privates.
By the time of the Spanish
American War, however. the
Guard had again reached regimen
tai strength, and volunteered for
service 1t served again in 1916,
on the Mexican Border, and two
years later, as the 59th Pioneer
Infantry, in France.
After describing the Guards
World War ii and Korean service,
the booklet concludes: "The Del
aware National Guard has proved
by actual demonstration, its abili-
ty to use it's weapons and equip
ment as effectively as any citizen
soldiers in the nation"
In a foreword to the booklet
Governor j. Caleb Boggs, COM
mander in chief of the Delaware
National Guard (and man who
came up through the ranks of the
Guard himself) praises the Guard
as it begins its fourth century OF
service, and notes that even in a
: nuclear age, the citizen soldier and
, airman will continue to play vital
4 part in the defense of the nation
h and the we'll being of the state.
h The booklet can be obtained
\ through local National Guard un-
\ it's, or from the Greenwood Book
shop, Wilmington, at so cents a
cory.