The history of the Arkansas National Guard and World War I begins with the reorganization of the Arkansas State Guard following the Spanish–American War. As a result of difficulties encountered during the mobilization of state militia forces, the United States Congress passed new legislation which resulted in the renaming of the Arkansas State Guard as the Arkansas National Guard. The new federal legislation resulted in increased funding and training for the guard. The newly reorganized Arkansas National Guard was call upon by the President to help defend the border with Mexico in 1916 in response to cross border raids during the Mexican Revolution. The Arkansas National Guard had just returned from the Mexican Expedition in 1917 when it was activated for World War I. As a part of their incorporation in the United States Army, all National Guard units were renumbered in accordance with a federal system. The Arkansas National Guard units were incorporated into the 39th Infantry Division and after training at Camp Beauregard, were shipped to France in August and September 1918. The 39th Division was broken up, with some units being used as replacements for other divisions. Most former Arkansas National Guardsmen returned to the United States in February through June 1919 and were demobilized.
The "Dick" Act The Militia Act of 1903 (32 Stat. 775), also known as the Dick Act, organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system. The act was passed in response to the demonstrated weaknesses in the militia, and in the entire U.S. military in the Spanish–American War of 1898.
U.S. Senator Charles W. F. Dick, a Major General in the Ohio National Guard and the chair of the Committee on the Militia,. Retrieved on September 13, 2009 sponsored the 1903 Act towards the end of the 57th U.S. Congress. Under this legislation, passed January 21, 1903, the organized militia of the States were given federal status to the militia, and required to conform to Regular Army organization within five years. The act also required National Guard units to attend 24 drills and five days annual training a year, and, for the first time, provided for pay for annual training. In return for the increased Federal funding which the act made available, militia units were subject to inspection by Regular Army officers, and had to meet certain standards.
The increase in Federal funding was an important development. In 1808 Congress had allocated $200,000 a year to arm the militia; by 1887, the figure had risen to only $400,000. But in 1906, three years after the passage of the Dick Act, $2,000,000 was allocated to arm the militia; between 1903 and 1916, the Federal government spent $53,000,000 on the Guard, more than the total of the previous hundred years.
In Arkansas, re-organization of the Arkansas State Guard actually began in 1901 under Governor Jeff Davis. Major General W.M. Maynes, in a biannual report dated December 31, 1906, provided an overview of the status of the Arkansas Militia. The Militia was subdivided by statute into parts, (1) the State Guard, or active organize militia: and (2) the Reserve Militia. The State Guard, or regularly enlisted, organized and uniformed militia was at a total strength of 1,274 personnel. The Federal Government appropriated $35,956.86 for the support of the Arkansas State Guard in that year and the Adjutant General asked the General Assembly for a matching appropriation of one half the Federal appropriation.
The Arkansas State Guard becomes the Arkansas National Guard Beginning with the passage of the "Dick" Act, the state militia, which had formerly been referred to as the Arkansas State Guard, was henceforth called the Arkansas National Guard. The units of the Arkansas National Guard retained their designations as the 1st Arkansas Infantry, 2nd Arkansas Infantry, etc., until the beginning of World War I, when all National Guard units were redesignated with federal numbers. Also beginning with the "Dick" Act, National Guard units had to meet certain criteria in order to receive "federal recognition". These "federal recognition" dates became critical to establishing a new unit and receiving federal funding.
Growth under new organization Several new companies were organized during the period before World War I:.
Company Station General Order authorizing Company K, 1st Infantry London General Order 9, dated February 20, 1909 Company M, 1st Infantry Herber Springs General Order 10, dated May 2, 1909 Company C, 2nd Infantry Hope General Order 11, dated May 25, 1909 Company I, 2nd Infantry Yellville General Order 15, dated June 21, 1910
Geographic reorganization In 1909 a change was made in the organization of the Arkansas State Guard. For several years, the state had been organized with the 1st Infantry Regiment being stationed north of the Arkansas River and the 2nd Infantry Regiment stationed south of the river. The Adjutant General, General Green determined that the building of railroads and highways had made this stationing plan inefficient and issued General Order No 35 which reorganized the regiments and battalions and changed the letter designations of some of the companies. The regiments were re-stationed so that the 1st Infantry was situated in the eastern part of the state, with its principle "concentration point" being Little Rock, and the 2nd Infantry was stationed in the western part of the state with its "concentration point" at Fort Smith. RegimentBiennial Report of the Adjutant General of Arkansas to GEO. w. Donaghey, Governor and Commander and Chief, 1910, Page 6 Unit Station Officers EnlistedDepartment OfficersLittle Rock34 Brigade Headquarters Black Rock 4 1st Regiment Headquarters Little Rock 15 5 Company A Prescot 3 78 Company B Beebe 3 58 Company C Hot Springs 3 41 Company D El Dorado 3 57 Company E Black Rock 3 56 Company F Jonesboro 3 64 Company G McCrory 2 61 Company H Heber Springs 3 42 Company I Helena 3 58 Company K Lonoke 3 71 Company L Piggott 3 61 Company M Blytheville 3 55 1st Regiment Band Little Rock 28 2nd Regiment Headquarters Company Paris 14 6 Company A Siloam Springs 3 55 Company B Fayetteville 3 52 Company C Dardanelle 3 71 Company D Eurka Springs 3 57 Company E Paris 3 63 Company F Magazine 3 61 Company G Hope 3 55 Company H Atkins 3 61 Company I Yellville 3 53 Company K Fort Smith 3 42 Company L Oin 3 58 Company M Harrison 3 602nd Regimental BandRussellville 273rd Regiment BandHope 28 Medical CorpsLittle Rock 15 14
Regular Army advisers
Under Section 30 of the 1903 "Dick" act, the War Department detailed one officer and for duty with the Arkansas National Guard on 10 October 1909. On February 4, 1910, a second NCO was detailed to the Guard and a commissioned officer was added on November 12, 1910.
The first permanent military camps The Officer's Association of the Arkansas National Guard held a meeting on November 10, 1909, to discuss the possibility of obtaining suitable land for a permanent military camp to provide a location for training. A committee was formed and bids were received from the cities of Benton, Dardanelle and Beebe. Ultimately an offer from Beebe of at very little cost to the State was accepted. Camp W. M Haynes was named in honor of a former commanding General. Improvements to this camp were paid for with federal funds. Other ranges were maintained at leased sites including Camp X.O. Findall, in Little Rock; Camp J. N. Wright at Fort Smith; Camp C. B. Gregg in Jonesboro; and Camp John S. Little in Russellville. The State owned no permanent armories during this time but did fund leases for most companies.
First annual training encampments With the new Federal funding in place State National Guard units were encouraged to participate in bi-annual encampments with the Regular Army. In 1906 Arkansas sent one provisional regiment to Fort Riley, Kansas, for training. In 1908 a provisional Regiment trained at Leon Springs, Texas. In 1910, Arkansas troops were invited back to Leon Springs, Texas, for a 12-day encampment and the federal government provided $25,000 to defray the costs of the encampment.
Companies A-D-F-H-I and M of the First Infantry and Companies A-B-F-C-I and M of the Second Infantry participated in an encampment at Dardanelle, Arkansas, August 9–18, 1909. The units were trained by members of the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, U.S. Army.
Mexican Expedition 1916
The Mexican Expedition was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Francisco "Pancho" Villa from 1916 to 1917. The expedition was in retaliation for Villa's illegal incursion into the United States and attack on the village of Columbus, Luna County, New Mexico, during the Mexican Revolution. The United States Army Center of Military History officially refers to the campaign as "the Mexican Expedition". The official beginning and ending dates are March 14, 1916, and February 7, 1917. National Guard units from Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico had been called into service on May 8, 1916. With congressional approval of the National Defense Act of 1916 on June 3, 1916, National Guard units from the remainder of the states and the District of Columbia were also called for duty on the border.War Department, Annual Report of the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year, 1916, Vol. 1 (1916) By mid-June President Wilson had called out more than 110,000 National Guard for border service. None of the National Guard troops would cross the border into Mexico but were used instead as a show of force.
In July 1916, the entire Arkansas National Guard was mobilized for federal service on the Mexican border. Arkansas units began to assemble immediately at Fort Roots, near Little Rock. Of the 2,078 Guardsmen that answered the call, only 1,208 passed the new physical standards for entry into Federal service. The Arkansas troops received orders on 29 June to move to Deming New Mexico in order to replace regular troops joining the actual expedition into Mexico and prepare if Mexico reacted to the incursion. The Arkansas troops were not engaged in Mexico and returned to Little Rock in February, mustering out of service February 19–24 at Fort Logan H. Roots. This mobilization of the National Guard along the Mexican border was the training ground for many future leaders of the Arkansas National Guard. Many of the officers who led Arkansas National Guard units in the early years of World War I and World War II began their service on the Mexican border.
World War I
Status on eve of war When the United States declared war on Germany April 6, 1917, less than two months had passed since the last Arkansas National Guard units completed mustering out from duty on the Mexican border.The Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Arkansas National Guard, Retrieved January 27, 2010, http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3192 In March 1917, the Arkansas National Guard had been in danger of having its Federal recognition withdrawn. The problem was scarcity of men "Guards Only Hitch Is Scanty of Men", Arkansas Democrat (Evening Edition), March 27, 1917, p. 4. Company "E", 1st Arkansas Infantry, Little Rock Company, had only twenty men and should have had thirty-two additional men. The reason for the shortage was the lack of interest of the businessmen of Little Rock. The employers would not let men off for training, thereby discouraging their employees from joining."Company E with 20 Men Need Aid", Arkansas Democrat (Evening Edition), March 27, 1917, p. 4.
Mobilization