Selections From A GENERATION OF VOLUNTEERS, “A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY...” tnmilitary.org ● The first Tennessee militia was organized in 1774 in the Sullivan and Carter counties (then North Carolina) to face a threat from Shawnee Indians, resulting in the battle at Point Pleasant. ● In 1813, Governor Blount immediately called for 3,500 militiamen and volunteers to avenge the Fort Mims massacre in Alabama. Five thousand of those men answered and fought with Andrew Jackson in the Creek War. Numerous victories ensued, including the Battle of Horseshoe Bend that destroyed Creek military power. ● During the 1830s, many Tennessee militiamen even contributed to Texas independence. Numerous militiamen, including Crockett and his band of Tennessee Mounted Volunteers, died defending the Alamo in 1836 ● President James K. Polk, a Tennessean, requested a 2,800 volunteer-soldier quota for Tennessee in the Mexican-American War in 1846. Instead, 30,000 Tennesseans offered their services, solidifying Tennessee as the Volunteer State. A lottery system determined which volunteers would serve in the newly formed 1st and 2nd Tennessee Infantry Regiments and a contingent of dragoons. The regiments fought at Monterey, Mexico, and during an assault on Fort Teneria, an enemy bastion guarding the city. It was here the 1st Tennessee earned the nickname, Bloody First. Both Tennessee regiments would see combat in Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo and other battles in the Mexico City campaign. ● Tennessees 45th General Assembly in 1887 established the Tennessee National Guard, as it is known today. State lawmakers set up the basic conditions under which the force would operate. Tennessee was among the first states to offer a full quota of soldiers for the Spanish-American War. ● Federalized as part of the 30th Division in World War I, Tennessee units organized as the 117th Infantry, 114th and 115th Artillery and 114th Machine Gun Battalion. The Soldiers nicknamed the 30th Old Hickory in honor of Andrew Jackson. (The 30th included Soldiers from North and South Carolina.) ●During World War II, the 30th Division landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day. At Saint Barthelmy near Mortain, France, the 117th Infantry defended against Adolf Hitlers 1st SS Panzer Division, preventing the Germans from driving to the Sea at Avranches and splitting the 1st and 3rd Allied Armies. ● More than 3,600 Tennessee Guardsmen responded to Operations Desert Shield and Storm. The 196th Field Artillery Brigade (including the 1st Battalion, 181st Field Artillery) was one of only two Army Guard combat units to see actual combat. The Tennessee Air Guard deployed six units and the Army deployed 17 during the conflict. A few days prior to G-Day, Tennessee’s 212th Engineer Company, attached to the 101st Airborne Division, broke through the border berm into enemy territory, building a six-lane road. The unit traversed six miles before the ground war began, becoming the first unit of the 101st into Iraq and one of the first U.S. units to breach the Iraqi defensive zones. ● Since 2001, nearly 28,000 Tennesseans have deployed for the war on terror. Back home, more than 1,200 Tennessee Guardsmen responded in the first days of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to provide humanitarian relief. Soldiers secured damaged areas, provided humanitarian assistance and conducted rescue operations. From Kings Mountain to the war on terror, the Tennessee National Guard has given true meaning to the Volunteer State.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 22:13:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015