A city guard, city watch, town guard, or town watch was a law enforcement and security formation found in many countries and historical periods, usually subordinate to the local municipal government. Historically, many cities had their own guard formations, which doubled as police and military forces in times of need.
After 1830, with the Indian removal policy of the federal government giving white settlers a monopoly over the land east of the Mississippi, many states disbanded their unorganized militias in favor of volunteer militia units who frequently called themselves city or national guards.[1] These companies performed functions such as assisting local law enforcement, providing troops for ceremonies and parades or acting as a benevolent social club. The groups of company size were usually uniformed and armed themselves as well as erecting armories through their own contributions. Volunteer units of sufficient size could elect their own officers and apply for a state charter under names that they themselves chose.[2][3]
With the unification of laws and centralization of state power (such as the Municipal Police Act of 1844 in New York City), such formations became increasingly incorporated into state-run police forces.
^p.131 Uviller, H. Richard & Merkel, William G. The Militia and the Right to Arms, or, How the Second Amendment Fell Silent Duke University Press, 20 Jan 2003
^Givens, Terryl L. & Grow, Matthew J. Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism Oxford University Press, 4 Oct 2011
^p. 115 Stentiford, Barry M. The Richardson Light Guard of Wakefield, Massachusetts: A Town Militia in War and Peace, 1851-1975 McFarland, 17 Apr 2013
city, guard, confused, with, municipal, police, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several,. Not to be confused with Municipal police This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message A city guard city watch town guard or town watch was a law enforcement and security formation found in many countries and historical periods usually subordinate to the local municipal government Historically many cities had their own guard formations which doubled as police and military forces in times of need Drum of the Edinburgh City Guard late 18thC bearing the city s coat of arms Contents 1 United States 1 1 Companies 2 See also 3 NotesUnited States editAfter 1830 with the Indian removal policy of the federal government giving white settlers a monopoly over the land east of the Mississippi many states disbanded their unorganized militias in favor of volunteer militia units who frequently called themselves city or national guards 1 These companies performed functions such as assisting local law enforcement providing troops for ceremonies and parades or acting as a benevolent social club The groups of company size were usually uniformed and armed themselves as well as erecting armories through their own contributions Volunteer units of sufficient size could elect their own officers and apply for a state charter under names that they themselves chose 2 3 Companies edit Boston City Guard Cambridge City Guard Chicago Light Guard 4 Detroit Light Guard Hannibal Guards Montgomery Guards Richardson Light Guard Salem Light Guard Swatara Guards Wallace Guards Wamesit Guard Worcester City Guard With the unification of laws and centralization of state power such as the Municipal Police Act of 1844 in New York City such formations became increasingly incorporated into state run police forces The Militia Act of 1903 remade city guard forces by stipulating all organized militia companies were to be incorporated into the Army National Guard or Naval Militias See also editCity guard Poland Colombo Town Guard First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry Militia Municipal Guards Shurta Schutterij Watchman law enforcement Notes edit p 131 Uviller H Richard amp Merkel William G The Militia and the Right to Arms or How the Second Amendment Fell Silent Duke University Press 20 Jan 2003 Givens Terryl L amp Grow Matthew J Parley P Pratt The Apostle Paul of Mormonism Oxford University Press 4 Oct 2011 p 115 Stentiford Barry M The Richardson Light Guard of Wakefield Massachusetts A Town Militia in War and Peace 1851 1975 McFarland 17 Apr 2013 http taylors battery com Pre 20war 20militia 20history 20and 20the 20formation htm nbsp This law enforcement agency article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title City guard amp oldid 1180337391, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
