Kentucky National Guard History

The Kentucky National Guard, like other state National Guards, has been known under various names such as state militia or state guard. It has the distinction of being one of the oldest military forces in the United States. Its history dates back to 1775 when Kentucky was known as Fincastle County, a part of western Virginia. The fundamental concept of a state or local military organization has existed since 1636, when the Colony of Massachusetts formed a regiment of “Trained Bands.”

Throughout her history, Kentucky has cherished the tradition of rendering military duty with zeal when called upon. Kentucky’s history teams with incidents of self-sacrifice unsurpassed in daring and achievement. Kentuckians have answered the call to arms in all wars of our country.

Since its inception, the Kentucky National Guard has not only stood ready as an alert fighting force ready to defend Kentucky and the United States against those who would destroy our democratic way of life but this voluntary citizens Army has also served in times of national disaster. The skill and proficiency with which the Guard has served Kentucky further contributes to the fact that it is, and will continue to be, a necessary and indispensable organization for the continuing existence of the Commonwealth.

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KyNG History Articles

Time capsule left by decorated Kentucky Guard MP unit found in Fort McCoy barracks nearly two decades after unit left for Operation Iraqi Freedom
March 20, 2023 — In November 2004, the 617th Military Police Company of the Kentucky National Guard was one of many military units completing their mobilization at Fort McCoy for deployment. It was in that month the unit wrapped up their training at Wisconsin’s only Army installation and prepared to head off to Iraq for a year deployment for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Before they left, however, some members of the unit decided they'd put together a “time capsule” of sorts in a plastic drawer they got from the Fort McCoy Exchange, put some mementos in it, and stash it away in the walls of one of the hundreds of barracks on the installation’s cantonment area... MORE

Kentucky National Guard celebrates 230th birthday
June 27, 2022 — Airmen and Soldiers from across the Commonwealth gathered in Louisville, Kentucky, June 24, 2022, to celebrate the 230th birthday of the Kentucky National Guard, one of the nation’s oldest state militias... MORE

A letter to the troops about Juneteenth
June 19, 2022 — The Chief of the National Guard Bureau (CNGB) released a letter to Soldiers and Airmen through email and social media recognizing Juneteenth signed and dated on June 8, 2022. In the letter, Gen. Daniel Hokanson and Chief Master Sgt. Tony L. Whitehead, senior enlisted adviser to the National Guard Bureau, gave a brief history of the significance of the date and the occasion it celebrated. ... MORE

Operation HERoes Hosts Kentucky’s First All-Female Honor Flight
June 14, 2022 — An all-women veteran group boarded an A320 Airbus out of the Blue Grass Airport for Washington, D.C., June 11, 2022, for an historic all-female veteran honor flight... MORE

Today marks the 150th Anniversary of the death of Lieutenant Hugh Wilson McKee.
June 11, 2022 — Navy Lieutenant Hugh Wilson McKee was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, where he was born on April 23, 1844. Hugh was the youngest son of William Robertson and Jane Wilson McKee and named after his maternal grandfather, Hugh Wilson. His father, Colonel William R. McKee was a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point and in 1847, was killed while leading the Second Kentucky Foot at the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican War. Hugh’s older brother, George Wilson McKee followed in their father’s footsteps, graduating West Point in 1863. During the Civil War George served in the Union Army, as a Major of Ordinance and commander of the Frankford Arsenal at Philadelphia... MORE

KY Native Charles Young Posthumously Promoted to BG by U.S. Army
February 3, 2022 — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced that the U.S. Department of Defense has approved the posthumous honorary promotion of U.S. Army Col. Charles Young to Brigadier General on Feb. 1, 2022. In February 2020, Gov. Beshear recognized the promotion of Young on the state level and submitted a letter to President Joe Biden to have the honorary promotion be instated on a federal level. ... MORE

Brigadier General Jackson Morris, 29th Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky, 1920-1923.
February 1, 2022 — Jackson Morris, lawyer, politician, sportsman and soldier was born February 1st, 1875, at Crockettsville, Breathitt County, Kentucky. One of seven children born to Nacy W. and Louise Spicer Morris. The Morris family was of the Baptist Church faith, which he followed throughout his life. As a teenager, he became a Mason. He was fraternally affiliated with Pineville Lodge, A. F. and A. M.; Pineville Chapter, R. A. M.; London Commandery, K. T.; Kosair Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Louisville, and the Lodge of Odd Fellows at Frankfort... MORE

George Lee McClain, Adjutant General of Kentucky 1935-1939
January 23, 2022 — The thirty-fourth Adjutant General of Kentucky was George Lee McClain, born on January 23, 1895, at Bloomfield, Nelson County, Kentucky. George was the only son of William Thomas and Nina Cochrane McClain. By 1900, his father had moved the family to Bardstown, where young George received his initial education in the local schools... MORE

Isaac Shelby – Placing the Commonwealth and the Kentucky Militia on a Strong Footing
January 4, 2022 — Isaac Shelby served as the first and fifth Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Kentucky. Shelby was the right man at the right time, his political insight and his participation and military leadership in America’s Colonial Wars was of paramount importance in the organization and development of the Commonwealth and her militia. Before his settling in Kentucky, he had served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. He also served as a soldier in Lord Dunmore’s War, the American Revolutionary War, and as Governor of Kentucky would serve in the War of 1812. Governor Shelby led Kentucky Troops in the Battle of the Thames, an action that would end hostilities in the Old Northwest Territory during the War of 1812. For his gallantry at the Battle of the Thames he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in March 1818. ... MORE

The Eighth Kentucky and the Battle Above the Clouds
November 24, 2021 — Every war has its iconic images or photographs, capturing for posterity, depicting a moment defining a battle or conflict. During the Second World War, one such moment was captured on February 23, 1945, with the Stars and Stripes being raised over Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima, by five Marines. Just over eighty years before this event, six Union Soldiers from Kentucky, were captured in a photograph accomplishing a similar mission atop Lookout Mountain, located near Chattanooga, Tennessee, during what would become known as the “Battle Above the Clouds.” ... MORE

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Three U.S. Air Force North American F-51D Mustang fighters from the 165th Fighter Squadron, 123rd Fighter Group, Kentucky Air National Guard, in flight. The 123rd FG flew the F-51 from 1946 to 1952.

Kentucky National Guard History

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