Utah's First Line of Defense:
The UTAH NATIONAL GUARD and CAMP W. G. WILLIAMS 1926-1965 BY
T H O M A S G. A L E X A N D E R A N D L E O N A R D J . A R R I N G T O N
Since earliest times, America has traditionally kept a militia of citizen-soldiers ready for any emergency. John Adams considered the annual training days one of colonial New England's most important institutions; and from the founding of the Republic, the militia has been called upon to serve both at home and abroad. T h e nation's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, stipulated that "every State shall always keep up a well regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage." Although we now call it the National Guard, the duty of the state militia has changed little since the early days of the Republic. Today, we maintain a large standing army — something our forefathers abhorred — because we have found it necessary to our national security; but the militia forms an important reserve force of private citizens who are ready to serve their country. U T A H ' S TERRITORIAL MILITIA, T H E NAUVOO LEGION
As with some of the older states, Utah has a long and honored tradition of militia service. One of Utah's first laws created a territorial militia with the name " T h e Nauvoo Legion," recalling a similar organization Thomas Alexander is assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University; Leonard Arrington is professor of economics at U t a h State University. This article was written under a grant from the U t a h State University Research Council. The writers are grateful for this assistance and for the suggestions and cooperation of Major General Maxwell E. Rich, former adjutant general of the U t a h National Guard, and Major General Maurice L. Watts, present adjutant general. All photographs are courtesy the U t a h National Guard.
