The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys. Both units use the original Revolutionary War-era flag of the Green Mountain Boys as their banner. In 2026, the Vermont National consisted of about 4,000 members – 3,000 in the Army National Guard and 1,000 in the Air National Guard.
History Colonial
Settlers relied on the militia almost from the moment they began moving into Vermont in the mid-1700s.National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of New Hampshire, Register of New Hampshire Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1898, page 72 Units were often formed as needed, and usually for brief periods of time. Since most Vermonters had obtained land grants from New Hampshire's governor, they relied on the militia to resist attempts by the government of New York to exert control over the grants.Ron Miller, Rob Williams, editors, Most Likely to Secede, 2013, page 192 However, Vermonters were also willing to work with the British colonies when it suited them, and several early Vermont settlers served as militia in the French and Indian War.Francis Smith Eastman, A History of Vermont, 1828, pages 27–28Miriam Irene Kimball, Vermont for Young Vermonters, 1908, pages 44 to 52
In the late 1760s and early 1770s, the militia took on a more organized structure and formalized its name, the Green Mountain Boys,Fletcher Haulley, A Primary Source History of the Colony of New Hampshire, 2005, page 39 with Ethan Allen appointed as Colonel and commandant, and Seth Warner and Remember Baker as company commanders with the rank of Captain. In Vermont's pre-Revolutionary War days, the legislature or committee of safety would generally call out the militia as needed, its members would elect their leaders, and the legislature or committee of safety would confirm them. On occasion, the elections by members were not ratified. Perhaps the most noteworthy example of this occurred in 1775, when the Green Mountain Boys became part of the Continental Army, and the committee of safety selected Warner over Allen as colonel and commander.Daniel Chipman, Memoir of Colonel Seth Warner, 1848, page 156
Since Vermont was not part of the British colonies that declared independence, the Continental Congress did not automatically accept Allen's and Warner's request for the Green Mountain Boys to be directly accessed into the army. Instead, they asked Allen and Warner to work through New York's Provincial Congress to facilitate the process.Brenda Haugen, Andrew Santella, Ethan Allen: Green Mountain Rebel, 2005, pages 68–69 New York agreed and provided uniforms, equipment and pay, as well as authorizing officer's commissions.New York Secretary of State, New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, 1808, page 61Benson John Lossing, The Pictorial Field-book of the Revolution, Volume 1, 1855, page 155 When Allen was denied the command, he met with Major General Philip Schuyler and offered to serve in any capacity—with a commission or without, with pay or without. Overcoming his previous misgivings about Allen, Schuyler accepted, and Allen was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army.Willard Sterne Randall, Ethan Allen: His Life and Times, 2011
When Schuyler gave up command temporarily because of illness he was succeeded by Richard Montgomery. Montgomery allowed Allen to attempt to raise troops for an invasion of Canada. Allen was captured at the Battle of Longue-PointeWilliam Henry Atherton, Under British Rule, 1760–1914, 1914, pages 70–73 and spent over two years as a prisoner of war.Philip K. Jason, Mark A. Graves, editors, Encyclopedia of American War Literature, 2001, page 13
With the Green Mountain Boys called to active duty, Vermont reorganized its militia to defend the border with Canada and protect Vermont from invasion. After Allen's release, he returned to Vermont and was appointed commander of the reorganized militia.Randall, Ethan Allen: His Life and Times Roger Enos, the father-in-law of Ira Allen, and a veteran of over twenty years in the Connecticut and Vermont militias, was later appointed commander with the rank of Brigadier General, and he was later promoted to Major General.John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth, editors, The Vermont Encyclopedia , 2003, page 115
Statehood After Vermont attained statehood, its militia was organized into several divisions. The governor served as head of the militia, with the title "Captain General and Commander in Chief", and the division commanders, who held the rank of major general, reported to the adjutant general, who reported to the governor.Vermont General Assembly, The Revised Statutes of the State of Vermont Passed November 19, 1839 , 1840, pages 559–560 Noteworthy among the individuals who commanded divisions during this period was Martin Chittenden, the son of Thomas Chittenden, Vermont's first governor.Vermont General Assembly, Records of the Council of Safety and Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, Volume 5, 1877, page 38
Though most Vermonters did not support fighting the British in the War of 1812, preferring the economic prosperity they derived from trade with the British dominion of Canada,Spencer C. Tucker, The Encyclopedia Of the War Of 1812 , 2012, pages 742–743 units of the state militia were mobilized after the British invaded upstate New York, with General Samuel Strong of Vergennes leading a successful Vermont Militia attack at Plattsburgh as part of an American effort that resulted in a British retreat.Carl Edward Skeen, Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812, 1999, pages 116–117
Martin Chittenden served in the U.S. House from 1803 to 1813, and as governor from 1813 to 1815. As one of the majority of Vermonters who opposed U.S. involvement in the War of 1812, in November, 1813 he issued an order for Vermont Militia units that had been mobilized and sent to New York to return immediately to Vermont, arguing that the federal government had no right to command state militia troops, and that the militia was needed to guard Vermont's border with Canada. The commander in Plattsburgh, General Jacob Davis of Milton, positively refused, countering that once the militia was ordered into federal service, it was no longer subject to the governor's orders.William T. Doyle, The Vermont Political Tradition , 1987, page 288
U.S. forces, including the Vermont Militia, remained encamped near Plattsburgh until they returned home in December, and Chittenden took no action against Davis. U.S. House members from Kentucky who supported the War of 1812 introduced resolutions calling for criminal charges to be pursued against Chittenden, which were never acted on, but Vermont public opinion on the war had changed and Vermonters demonstrated their displeasure with Chittenden's stance by defeating his bid for a third one-year term in 1815.Donald R. Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict , 2012, page 271Austin Jacobs Coolidge, John Brainard Mansfield, editors, A History and Description of New England, General and Local , Volume 1, 1859, page 996
In the wake of the War of 1812, the federal government attempted to standardize training and laws governing call up and mobilization for militia organizations throughout the United States. As a result, state governors were no longer in direct command with military rank, but appointed an adjutant general who reported directly to the governor and served as commander of the state militia. As with other states, Vermont's adjutant general was originally appointed by the governor. Subsequent changes to Vermont law conferred this appointment power on the state legislature, which still elects the adjutant general every two years. (A few other states also modified their selection process. As one example, until 2014 the adjutant general in South Carolina was elected statewide directly by the voters.)
The Vermont adjutant general's office was marked in the 1820s and 1830s by efforts to reenergize the militia after interest started to lapse following the War of 1812.
In the 1830s and 1840s militia activity nationwide was on the wane, largely the result of the long period of relative peace that followed the War of 1812. Militia membership, once compulsory, was rife with exemptions. Regular drills were replaced by once a year "muster days" that were more picnic than military formation. Vermont was no exception, and its militia records for this era are incomplete.
In the late 1830s the Vermont Legislature began to reenergize its military.
From the late 1830s on, the office worked in conjunction with the faculty of Norwich University to reorganize and obtain funding for the militia, and convened annual meetings of like-minded individuals to plan ways to increase participation.
Civil War H. H. Baxter, Vermont's adjutant general in the late 1850s and early 1860s, was commended for taking measures to prepare the militia for mobilization in anticipation of the Civil War. At the outbreak of hostilities his office oversaw recruiting, equipping and training of federal volunteers, and mustered in the first Vermonters activated for wartime service, the 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment.
During the Civil War Peter T. Washburn, Baxter's successor, earned accolades for bringing order to the process of recruiting, equipping, training and transporting recruits for the Union Army, working with Norwich University to develop a process that was later adopted by other Union states.
Post Civil War After the Civil War, successive Vermont Adjutants General initiated efforts to obtain benefits for Vermont's Civil War veterans, including establishment of the Vermont Soldiers' Home.
In the late 1890s, the Adjutant General of Vermont was responsible for preparing Vermont units to take part in the Spanish–American War (1898).
20th century In the early 1900s a major project undertaken by Vermont's adjutants general was a renovation and cataloging of the Vermont National Guard's archives, including muster rolls, payrolls and unit rosters dating back to the Revolution.
Two World Wars Herbert Johnson became acting adjutant general in 1917 when the incumbent resigned to join the regular army for World War I; then adjutant general in 1919. He served for 24 years, and remained Vermont's longest-serving adjutant general.
During World War I (1917–1918), Vermont National Guard units served with the 26th Infantry Division (a.k.a. the "Yankee" Division).
Johnson and his staff oversaw the construction of 12 new armories and the modernizing and reorganizing of the Vermont National Guard after World War I. Johnson also advocated improved relations between the regular army and the National Guard, including the standardization of training and unit organizations.
During the Flood of 1927, the Vermont National Guard overcame the downing of telephone and telegraph lines by following Johnson's directive to operate on their own initiative during recovery efforts, and the National Guard took part in evacuations of people from flooded areas, clearing roads, and providing food, water and other emergency aid.
In the early to mid-1930s Johnson worked to maintain funding for the National Guard while states and the federal government struggled with the loss of revenue caused by the Great Depression. These efforts to preserve the Guard's readiness and force structure were later acknowledged by historians to have played an important part in the Army's rapid response after the US entered World War II.
World War II and the Korean War Johnson and his successor, Murdoch Campbell, received accolades for organizing the volunteer Vermont State Guard that performed many state duties while National Guard soldiers were deployed in the European and Pacific Theaters during World War II.