NGP History Project

This Saturday at Fort Indiantown Gap, explore the past and present of our Pennsylvania National Guard.

Learn about the early years of our state militia and National Guard, then meet the men and women serving the Keystone State today!

⛺ Numerous displays and vehicles will be set up throughout the open‑house area
🚁 Observe flight operations demos by a UH‑60 Blackhawk and CH‑47 Chinook
🪖 Check out a fire‑and‑maneuver demonstration conducted by an infantry squad using simulated explosives and blank ammunition.

Find our canopy in front of the ground‑vehicle static display, across Clement Ave from the French 40&8 boxcar.

More details here:
https://www.ftig.ng.mil/Community/2026-Open-House/

It’s the summer of 1898.

You:
🇺🇸 National Guardsman from Pennsylvania
🏝️ Just arrived in Puerto Rico or the Philippines
🥵You’re already sweating through wool trousers and a flannel shirt in tropical heat you’ve never felt before.

Them:
🇪🇸 Spanish Army or local auxiliary.
✅ You’ve lived here your whole life - or you’ve already acclimated to the climate
🙂You are wearing rayadillo cotton built for sun, humidity, and survival.

The real first battle? The uniform.

Take a trip to Fort Mott State Park this weekend for the annual Spanish‑American War living history and learn more about this often overlooked conflict.

& , who is ready for the Spanish-American War living history at Fort Mott State Park this weekend?

The weather is going to be perfect for a weekend along the Delaware!

Don't forget to follow this event's brand new page: Spanish-American War at Fort Mott. There isn't a lot posted just yet, but this will soon be a one-stop-shop for all of your future event information.

Many of our and long‑time will remember our posts about the Spanish-American War and WW1 living history events at Fort Mott State Park.

We’re excited to share that each event now has its own dedicated page. With Matt coordinating the Spanish-American War at Fort Mott program since 2018 and the WW1 at Fort Mott program since 2023, these pages give everyone - visitors and participants alike - a clear place to stay up to date.

Participants will still receive event‑specific information through the usual internal channels.

Give the pages a follow, share them around, and keep an eye out - photos from previous years will be rolling out over the next couple of weeks. Each event will soon have its own page on The NGP History Project website as well.

On this Memorial Day - once known as Decoration Day - we look back to the origins of this national moment of remembrance.
It was General Orders No. 11 from GAR Headquarters that first set the tone for how communities across the country would honor the fallen after the Civil War.

In those early years, the day was marked not only by parades and cemetery ceremonies, but also by the gathering of old comrades. GAR posts hosted camp fires where veterans shared stories of their service; towns and civic groups organized lunches and dinners; and families planned excursions to local picnic grounds to spend the day in reflection and fellowship.

The Pennsylvania Militia, later the National Guard of Pennsylvania, played a visible role in these observances. Units marched in local parades and supported GAR ceremonies throughout the Commonwealth. Many of the men in uniform were themselves Civil War veterans, or members of the Sons of Union Veterans, even into the 1890s - and period photographs show them proudly wearing their GAR and SUV medals on their National Guard uniforms.

Today’s NGP history comes from the May 18, 1883, Evening Gazette of Pittston, Pennsylvania.

In the early years of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, periodic reorganizations brought companies together into larger, more cohesive formations. Some units chose not to participate for various reasons and continued operating as independent militia companies without state funding or support.

The McClellan Rifles were one of these companies. Formed in 1866, the unit eventually dropped from the NGP rolls and functioned more as a fraternal organization or club. In 1883, the company requested permission to return to the NGP. The request was approved May 15 under Special Orders No. 231, which authorized the unit to recruit to state strength and hold officer elections in accordance with Pennsylvania’s militia laws.

On May 17, Col. Reynolds, commander of the 9th Regiment, set the muster date. At 8 p.m. May 28, 1883, the McClellan Rifles were mustered in as Company H, 9th Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania.

The weather is shaping up for a great day today!

Come visit the Pennsylvania Military Museum and 28th Infantry Division Shrine to learn more about the 28th from its early beginnings, to the units that Pennsylvania men and women serve in today.