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The Newburg Home Guard
I've written many times about the
importance of the Newburg Home Guard. These were the men who were responsible
for defending Newburg from the exact threat posed by Adam
Johnson in Kentucky. Despite the obvious increase in rebel
activity in the weeks before the raid, not a single member
of the Guard was posted in defense of Newburg on July 18,
1862. Of course, there was a constant detail on the
waterfront at Newburg from July 19 to November 1, 1862. By
that time "the bird had flown," never to return.
The
Newburg Home Guard
I page includes information about the first
incarnation of the Newburg Home Guards, formed in May 1861. Because there is so
little information on the Newburg Home Guard (or any Home
Guard for that matter), the information on these pages is
pretty rare. However, what does exist is fascinating to say
the least. Take a look.
The
Newburg Home Guard
II page includes the second existing roster
of the Guards, dated September 1861. This roster, too, is
illuminating. The roster comes to us written in
alphabetical order, which likely means that it was a list
formally organized after volunteers had come in for some
time. The fact that the roster notes twice as many men as
the May 1861 list is also important in that it shows that
the desire to become part of the Guard steadily increased
through the summer and fall of 1861. Amazingly, the roster
is a veritable "who's who" of the Newburg raid.
Stay
tuned for future entries in this history of the Newburg
Home Guard.
