Describes the organization, activities and roster of officers of the Massachusetts militia and National Guard.

This book traces the history of the Richardson Light Guard of Wakefield, Massachusetts, from its origins in 1851 until its end in 1975. What had been an institution of community members and local elites passed to town, then state, and finally federal government. During the same period, Wakefield evolved from an agrarian town to a manufacturing town and finally to a bedroom suburb, ending the practice of a handful of local elites ruling the town unchallenged. Though the rise of the National Guard was generally positive, for some militia companies, inclusion in the National Guard weakened vital bonds with their communities. In the 19th century, the Richardson Light Guard thrived under generous patrons, a supportive town, and a relatively wealthy state government. After becoming part of the National Guard in 1916, the links with its home community steadily weakened, finally breaking during World War II. After the war, the National Guard company had few links to Wakefield and was reorganized out of existence in 1975.

While many Civil War reference books exist, there is no single compendium that contains important details about the combatant states (and territories) that Civil War researchers can readily access for their work. People looking for information about the organization, activities, economies, demographics, and prominent personalities of Civil War states and state governments must assemble data from a variety of sources, and many key sources remain unavailable online. This volume, the first of six, provides a crucial reference book for Civil War scholars and historians, professional or amateur, seeking information about individual states or groups of states. Its principal sources include the Official Records, state adjutant-general reports, legislative journals, state and federal legislation, federal and state executive speeches and proclamations, and the general and special orders issued by the military authorities of both governments. Designed and organized for easy use, this book can be read in two ways: by individual state, with each chapter offering a stand-alone skeletal history of an individual stateÕs war years, or across states, comparing reactions to the same event or solutions to the same problems.