This Month in W.Va. History: How a frontier militia became the foundation of the West Virginia National Guard
U.S. Army Spc. Emilee Austin, 1-150th Cavalry Regiment, West Virginia National Guard, 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, leads Basic Leader's Course 20-703 in the reciting of the Noncommissioned Officer's Creed at their graduation ceremony in the Middle East, Jan. 24, 2020. (Courtesy of Sgt. Devin Lewis/West Virginia National Guard)
If you’ve followed the news in the past 10 months, you’ve probably heard a lot about the West Virginia National Guard.
Guard members have been at the forefront of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, from providing support to counties in the initial stages, to assisting in testing, providing sanitization for facilities and PPE, and most recently handling and distributing vaccines.
Meanwhile, members have returned and departed for overseas missions, living up to the WVNG mission of serving the state and the country -- as it has done for more than 130 years.
The West Virginia National Guard, which consists of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, was established on Feb. 22, 1889, by the West Virginia Legislature, but its roots go back 154 years prior to the legislation.
In February of 1735, Morgan Morgan established a militia in what is now the Berkeley County area of West Virginia. Militias were common in this period, serving as protection for a town and its people. Morgan’s militia was called upon for the continent's major conflicts, including organizing as the 1st Battalion, 201st Field Artillery in the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Machine gun practice, West Virginia National Guard, 150th Infantry, D Company. (Courtesy of the West Virginia State Archives)
Following the formation of West Virginia, Morgan’s militia would continue to operate while others -- due to dwindling numbers and lack of state support -- would come and go. In 1889, the 201st Field Artillery Battalion became part of the First Infantry of the West Virginia National Guard, making it one of the oldest units still active in the country. In fact, the 201st was recently among the WVNG units dispatched to Washington, D.C. for the presidential inauguration.
The West Virginia National Guard’s second unit, appropriately named the 2nd Regiment, also has deep roots predating the state’s formation. With a lineage tracing back to a Greenbrier County militia in 1778, the regiment mostly consisted of residents from what is now southern West Virginia who fought for Virginia in the Revolutionary War. Later reorganized as the 150th Cavalry Regiment, the unit is also still in operation today.
Since its inception, West Virginia National Guard members have served in every American war and continue to deploy overseas for missions in the Middle East.
As for Morgan, his impact on West Virginia did not end with his militia. His son, Zackquill Morgan, would later go on to found Morgantown. Morgan Morgan’s grandson, Ephraim Morgan, became West Virginia’s 16th governor from 1921-25.
From the frontier to the frontlines, Morgan Morgan’s militia has evolved into what has become a vital resource for the Mountain State’s residents and the country.
