Rhode Island State Guard

Rhode Island State Guard
The patch worn on the uniform of Rhode Island State Guardsmen during World War II.
Active	1918 - 1919 1941 - 1947 1950 - 1951
Country	United States
Allegiance	Rhode Island
Branch	Army
Type	State defense force
Role	Military reserve force
Size	18 companies (World War I) 1 regiment (World War II)
Part of	Rhode Island Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs
Garrison/HQ	Providence, RI
World War I equipment	.38 revolvers 1,100 Springfield rifles 250 Krag–Jørgensen rifles
Commanders
Civilian Leadership	Governor of Rhode Island
State Military Leadership	Adjutant General of the State of Rhode Island

The Rhode Island State Guard is the currently inactive state defense force of Rhode Island. As a state defense force, the Rhode Island State Guard served as a state military unit which assumed the stateside duties of the Rhode Island National Guard when the National Guard was in federal service. However, unlike the National Guard, the State Guard, when organized, answers solely to the Governor of Rhode Island and by law cannot be federalized or deployed outside the borders of Rhode Island.

Prior to the creation of the National Guard of the United States, the United States maintained a small professional army which, in times of war, would be supplemented by volunteer militia units raised by individual states. During the American Revolutionary War, the 1st Rhode Island Regiment was raised to serve in the Continental Army. Rhode Island raised multiple units to fight for the Union Army during the American Civil War. During the Spanish–American War, the 1st Regiment, Rhode Island Volunteers, was mustered into federal service but did not see combat.

The Militia Act of 1903 federalized state militias and placed them under federal control. When the National Guard was deployed abroad during World War I, states were forced to raise replacement units to provide homeland security capabilities. During World War I, Rhode Island raised 18 companies of State Guard, composed of 100 men each, and established a headquarters and supply company, a machine-gun detachment and a sanitary detachment.

In order to equip the State Guard, the state purchased .38 revolvers from private dealers, and obtained five hundred .45 caliber Springfield rifles and two hundred fifty .30 caliber Krag–Jørgensen rifles from the federal government. The state also possessed an additional six hundred .45 caliber Springfield rifles.