Existing comment:
Meanwhile, Back In Wisconsin:
-- "The Wisconsin troops as a whole were better equipped for immediate field service than were the troops of any other state." -- Major General T.H. Barry, October 19, 1916
While tensions mounted along the Mexican border, things back home had been changing for the citizen-soldier. Federal officials enacted a series of laws that reformed the National Guard of Wisconsin and other states, subjecting citizen-soldiers to increased central control and standardization. The Militia Act of 1903 institutionalized the role of the National Guard as the nation's first line of reserves. By 1916, Federal laws had made it possible to use the Guard as a reserve force wherever national policy might take it. Upon enlistment, Guard members now took an oath to serve both national and state authorities.
Wisconsin Progressives enacted additional laws reinforcing Federal reforms. For example, realistic field exercises began at the Military Reservation near Camp Douglas, while inspections of local armories became more frequent.
When President Wilson mobilized the National Guard for service along the Mexican border, he could be confident that the 4,288 Wisconsin Guard members sent to Texas were among the best in the nation. The First, Second, and Third regiments of Wisconsin Infantry, one field hospital unit, two troops of cavalry, and one battery of field artillery constituted the state's contribution to Mexican border service. |