TN National Guard Timeline
TN National Guard Timeline
TN Guard History Timeline
SSG L. Nathaniel Adams (12B) of A/RES 278th ACR
October 11, 2024
16 August 1774
- CPT Evan Shelby organizes Watauga militia to aid Lord Dunmore in Virginia against the Shawnee
1780
- John Sevier and Isaac Shelby gather militiamen from Washington and Sullivan Counties at Sycamore Shores in preparation to march south on MAJ Patrick Ferguson
- John Sevier and Isaac Shelby’s “Overmountain Men” participate in the battle of Kings Mountain
1793
- William Blount calls Militia to attack Chickamauga settlements
1794
- Militamen secure the southwest territory after Blount negotiates a truce with the Chickamauga
1 June 1796
- Tennessee achieves Statehood
1812
- Tennessee Militia mobilizes for war with Great Britain
1813
- Blount calls for 3,500 volunteers and 5,000 answer to fight the Creek War with Andrew Jackson
8 January 1815
- Jackson’s troops defeat the British at the Battle of New Orleans
1835
- Tennessee Militiamen help Texas in the State’s fight for independence
6 March 1836
- David Crockett and other Tennessee Militiamen die defending the Alamo in Texas
1846
- President James K. Polk requests 2,800 Soldiers from Tennessee for The Mexican-American War and 30,000 volunteer
May 1861
- Isham G. Harris raises the Army of Tennessee
June 1861
- Tennessee votes to secede from the Union
2 July 1861
- Tennessee admitted to the confederacy
September 1861
- The Tennessee Army becomes part of GEN Albert Sidney Johnston’s forces
24 July 1866
- Tennessee readmitted to the Union
March 1867
- Congress abolishes the state militias in all former confederate states except for Tennessee
1867
- Tennessee Militiamen protect election sites from KKK
1869
- Tennessee Militiamen protect election sites from KKK
1887
- Tennessee’s 45th General Assembly establishes the Tennessee National Guard
1898
- The 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment deploys to the Philippines and helps capture the city of Iloilo during the Spanish-American War
- The 4th Tennessee Infantry Regiment acts as an occupying force in Cuba after the Spanish-American War ends
1916
- National Defense Act of 1916 passes and allows the Commander-in-Chief to put the National Guard under federal control in times of war or grave public emergency
- The 1st and 3rd Tennessee Infantry Regiments, three troops of cavalry, and medical detachments serve on the Mexican border to defend against Pancho Villa’s bandits
24 March 1917
- Tennessee units leave federal service and return home from Mexico
12 April 1917
- Tennessee National Guard units are federalized as part of the 30th Division for service in WWI and were reorganized as the 117th Infantry, 114th and 115th Artillery, and the 115th Machine Gun Battalion
- The 30th Division is nicknamed “Old Hickory”
May 1918
- The 30th Division deploys to Europe
29 September 1918
- The 30th Division breaks through the Hindenburg Line
- Sergeant Joseph B. Adkinson earns the Medal of Honor
- First Sergeant Milo Lemert earns the Medal of Honor
7 October 1918
- Sergeant Edward Talley earns the Medal of Honor
8 October 1918
- Private Calvin Ward earns the Medal of Honor
- Sergeant James Karns earns the Medal of Honor
November 1918
- Tennessee Guard units revert to pre-WWI unit designations
1923
- The 117th Infantry and 115th Artillery made permanent units in the Tennessee National Guard and the 105th Air Observation Squadron is organized
11 June 1944
- The 30th Division lands in Normandy
7 August 1944
- The 117th Infantry faces off with the 1st SS Panzer Division near Mortain, France
12 August 1944
- The 117th Infantry defeats the 1st Panzer Division stopping the German plan to split the 1st and 3rd Allied Armies
16 October 1944
- The 30th Division breaks through the Siegfried Line
16 December 1944
- T/Sgt Vernon McGarity earns the Medal of Honor
24 December 1944
- The 30th Division defeats the 1st SS Panzer Division during the Battle of the Bulge
18 September 1947
- Air National Guard created
1951
- The 196th Field Artillery Battalion helps stop the Chinese invasion into Korea
1954
- Tennessee and North Carolina split the 30th Division and each state maintains its own division
- Tennessee organizes the 30th Armored Division
September 1956
- The Tennessee National Guard enforces school integration in Clinton, TN
1968
- The 30th Armored Division combats riots in Nashville and Memphis after the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination
1973
- The 30th Armored Division renamed the 30th Armored Brigade
1991
- The 212th Engineer Company, attached to the 101st Airborne Division, breaks the border berm and builds a 6-lane highway into enemy territory
- The 212th is the first unit of the 101st into Iraq
11 September 2001
- The Tennessee National Guard secures armories, patrols Nashville, and patrols six major airports
March 2003
- The 730th Quartermaster Company fights alongside forward regular Army units in Iraq
- The 267th Military Police Company and the 46th Engineer Battalion establish Camp Bucca
May 2010
- TN National Guard activated to assist with flooding in Nashville
February 2015
- 267th Military Police Company assists local authorities in health and welfare checks for motorists stranded on I-40 West of Nashville after a winter storm
- National Guard Armory in Sparta used as emergency shelter after power outages caused by a winter storm
24 November 2016 (Thanksgiving)
- Guardsmen from East Tennessee based Units deploy to the Great Smokey Mountains to assist in operations to combat wildfires
20 September 2017
- Hurricane Maria Operations:
- The 164th Airlift Wing and the 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion are both still in the Virgin Islands when Hurricane Maria hits
- The 118th Wing sends a weather team to keep Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas open
- The 118th Wing sends a Power Production team to Munez Air National Guard Base in Puerto Rico to help restore power
- The 118th Wing sends a Chaplain to St. Croix to provide religious support
- 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion sends additional Blackhawks to the Virgin Islands
- The 117th Military Police Battalion and the 252nd Military Police Company provide Soldiers to the U.S. Virgin Islands to protect high-valued targets, man traffic control points, and provide security
7 September 2017
- Hurricane Irma Operations:
- The 118th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group moves from Texas to Puerto Rico to conduct surveillance for critical need areas
- 119th Command and Control Squadron and the 241st Engineering Installation Squadron conduct a joint operation in Florida to assist with critical communications
- The 164th Airlift Wing assists with processing personnel and cargo at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix
- The 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion provided Blackhawks and crews to assist with inter-island transportation in the Virgin Islands
- TN Army National Guard placed on standby
29 August 2017
- Hurricane Harvey Operations:
- The 118th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group provides Airmen to conduct damage assessment in Texas
2019
- The 278th Task Force 1 deploys to Poland
March 2019
- The 278th Task Force 2 deploys to Poland
3 March 2020
- Tornado Operations:
- The 278th ACR assists first responders with operations in Putnam county
- The 118th Wing provides generators to power downed water treatment facility in Jackson county
- The 230th Sustainment Brigade and 118th Wing help distribute essential relief items in Nashville
- The 30th Troop Command conducts damage assessment and recovery operations with Blackhawks
- Join Force Headquarters activates a joint operations center to help process and expedite requests from civilian agencies
26 March 2020
- Tennessee Air and Army Guardsmen volunteer to assist Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) in COVID testing operations
3 June 2020
- Tennessee Guardsmen deploy to DC during Black Lives Matter riots
January 2021
- The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 194th Engineer Brigade, 230th Sustainment Brigade, 118th Wing, 134th Refueling Wing, and the 119th Cyber Operations Squadron deploy to DC for 59th Presidential inauguration
February 2021
- The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment provides water to Memphis hospitals during severe winter weather
- The 118th Wing provides power to a communication tower in Rutherford county during severe winter weather
- The 45th Civil Support Team help provides shelter to Lynchburg and Manchester during severe winter weather
22 August 2021
- TN Army and Air Guard increase support and scope during COVID operations
- TN Army Guard assists state and local authorities with relief efforts after severe flooding in Humphreys County
30 August 2021
- The 251st Military Police Company, 1172nd Transportation Company, and 1176th Transportation Company assist Louisiana Guard in relief efforts after Hurricane Ida
7 June 2023
- The 118th Wing flies an MQ-9 Reaper without forward-deployed crews from California and lands in Tennessee for the first time
March 2024
- The 194th Engineer Brigade deploys to Texas for Border Operations
3 May 2024
- The 278th Armored Calvary Regiment wins the Sullivan Cup in Ft. Moore, GA
27 September 2024
- The 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion works with TEMA and local first responders to conduct search and rescue, medical evacuations, and supply transportation operations after massive flooding in East Tennessee
28 September 2024
- The 278th Armored Calvary Regiment deploys to Kuwait
