Morrison, Mark Joseph

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Genre

Thesis/Dissertation

Date

2018

Author

Morrison, Mark Joseph

Advisor

Urwin, Gregory J. W., 1955-

Committee member

Lockenour, Jay, 1966-

Department

History

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/3289

Abstract

In the early twentieth century, reformers within the U.S. War Department attempted to create a more robust and formalized reserve system to augment the regular army. While many regular officers advocated a federalized reserve, they were opposed by members of the National Guard Association, who insisted that state troops remain the nation’s second line of defense. In 1903, Congress passed the Dick Act, which stipulated that militia and National Guard units would continue to serve as the primary reserve to the regular army. To ensure Guardsmen were up to the task, Congress also required that state units conform to the regular army’s organization, armament, and discipline. This thesis examines the changes facilitated by the Dick Act within Pennsylvania’s National Guard, by focusing specifically on a single unit- the 1st Regiment of Infantry. It begins by exploring failed efforts by federal and state officials to change the 1st Regiment by 1908. It then examines the effects of increased federal funding and oversight on the regiment after 1908, and how these factors led to changes in the way the unit trained. Annual reports from the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania and the Chief of the Division of Militia Affairs provided the majority of the information for this thesis. Contemporary periodicals and documents maintained in the First Regiment Infantry Museum also helped to shed light on the activities of the 1st Regiment between 1903 and 1912. This thesis concludes that by 1912 the 1st Regiment achieved relative parity with the regulars in terms of organization and equipment, the type of field training it conducted, and the type of training its officers attended.

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Theses and Dissertations

"PRACTICALLY IN THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES": THE 1ST REGIMENT, NATIONAL GUARD OF PENNSYLVANIA, 1903-1912