Pennsylvania Marks 250th Anniversary
of First Militia Law

The year 2005 is the 250^th Anniversary of Pennsylvania’s first militia law.  On November 25, 1755, the representatives of the Province of Pennsylvania, meeting in General Assembly, passed the law that authorized Pennsylvania’s volunteer militia.  The Pennsylvania militia had first been organized eight years earlier when Benjamin Franklin formed the Associators.  The General Assembly laid the legal foundation for the militia  and today's National Guard when it passed this law in the late fall of 1755.

The anniversary of the Pennsylvania’s first militia law will take place on the Friday after Thanksgiving this year.  For more than 250 years, in war and in peace, Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers and airmen have served at home and abroad.  We served in every war and responded to floods, blizzards and other emergencies at home.  In giving thanks this Thanksgiving for all the blessings we enjoy  as Americans, PNGAS calls on all Pennsylvanians to pause a moment to give thanks for the Pennsylvania National Guard and the service of generations of soldiers and airmen from across Pennsylvania from our days as a royal colony to the great Commonwealth we are today.  

The Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Resolution 202, sponsored by Chairman Don White and other Senate leaders, to mark the 250th Anniversary of the first Militia Law. On November 21, 2005, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives enacted House Resolution 520, marking this important anniversary

Click here to see the text of the Act of Nov. 25, 1755 -- Pennsylvania's First Militia Law   

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