Dayhoff Westminster Soundtrack: About the Adjutants General of Maryland and the Maryland Military Department

Monday, January 26, 2015

About the Adjutants General of Maryland and the Maryland Military Department

Pictured above: Brig. Gen. Linda L. Singh will assume the duties of the 29th Adjutant General and will replace Maj. Gen. James A. Adkins who will retire from a military career that spans more than 40 years of service. She will be the first African-American and first female to serve as the Adjutant General of Maryland. December 23, 2014 [Maryland National Guard shared Change Maryland's post]

About the Adjutants General of Maryland and the Maryland Military Department

I was working on a story about the Adjutant General, Maryland National Guard and the Maryland Military Department and came across these Maryland state government websites:

About the Maryland Military Department

http://www.mdmildep.org/about.html

For more detailed information on the Maryland Military Department, see the Maryland State Archives informational site

at http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/25ind/html/51mil.html.

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2015/01/about-adjutants-general-of-maryland-and.html

And for “A History of the Adjutants General of Maryland,” go here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Adjutants_General_of_Maryland#James_A._Adkins_.282008-present.29

The following is a History of the Adjutants General of Maryland. As in other states, the Adjutant General is the senior military official of the National Guard and any other military or para-military units that may be maintained by the state.

See more below

Origin of the Military Department

Authorization for military force in Maryland began when the Maryland Charter of 1632 empowered Lord Baltimore to raise troops to put down insurrection or rebellion and subdue enemies of the province. It continued in the eighteenth century as Maryland militia units fought during the French and Indian War and distinguished themselves in the American Revolution.

Under State government, the office of Adjutant General was authorized first in 1793 and made a Constitutional office in 1951. The Adjutant General heads the Military Department and exercises powers and duties under the Militia Law of Maryland.

Functions and Responsibilities

The Military Department is responsible for the Maryland Air National Guard, the Maryland Army National Guard, the Maryland Defense Force, and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. The Military Department also builds and maintains the armories and other facilities used by the Maryland National Guard.

All State forms and records required for militia use and the reports and returns required by the federal government are prepared by the Military Department, and service records of all officers and enlisted persons who have served or are serving in the Maryland National Guard are maintained by the Department as well.

Structure

The Military Department is controlled by the Office of the Adjutant General, and is made up of the following agencies:

State Operations

The State Operations section manages many of the fiscal and administrative duties of the Military Department. The Freestate ChalleNGe program and Honor Guard also fall under this group.

Maryland Air National Guard

The Maryland Air National Guard provides air combat forces and airlift aircraft, as well as emergency support, to the U.S. Air Force and other unified commands.

Maryland Army National Guard

The Maryland Army National Guard provides combat troops to the U.S. Army, and engineer, transportation and medical units, and military police for State service.

Maryland Defense Force

The Maryland Defense Force is separate and distinct from the Maryland National Guard, and is composed of officers, commissioned or assigned, and all able-bodied citizens of the State who volunteer and are accepted for service. They may be ordered to active duty in the State by the Governor whenever the National Guard has been called into the military service of the United States.

Maryland Emergency Management

The Maryland Emergency Management Agency provides for a civil defense system to protect life and property from attack and offer relief and assistance to people struck by natural disasters. Although it is organized within the Military Department, the Agency may report directly to the Governor in emergency situations.

More Information

For more detailed information on the Maryland Military Department, see the Maryland State Archives informational site athttp://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/25ind/html/51mil.html.

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And for “A History of the Adjutants General of Maryland,” go here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Adjutants_General_of_Maryland#James_A._Adkins_.282008-present.29

The office of Adjutant General in MarylandEdit

From the Report of the Adjutant General of Maryland 1906-1907 Chapter LII, Laws of Maryland, 1793, (Thomas Sim Lee, Governor), provided for the office of an Adjutant General of the State Militia in "an Act to regulate and discipline the militia of this State," in compliance with the Act of Congress of 1792, entitled, "An Act more effectually to provide for the national defence, by establishing a uniform militia throughout the United States," from which the fo1lowing excerpt is quoted:

"There shall be an Adjutant-General appointed in each State, whose duty it shall be to distribute all orders from the Commander-in-Chief of the State to the several corps; to attend all public reviews, when the Commander-in-Chief of the State shall review the militia, or any part thereof; to obey all orders from him relative to carrying into execution and perfecting the system of military discipline established by this Act; to furnish blank forms of different returns that may be required, and to explain the principles on which they should be made; to receive from the several officers of the different corps throughout the State, returns of the militia under their command, reporting the actual situation of their arms, accoutrements and ammunition, their delinquencies and every other thing which relates to the general advancement of good order and discipline; all which the several officers of the divisions, brigades, regiments and battalions are hereby required to make in the usual manner, so that the said Adjutant-General may be duly furnished therewith; from all which returns he shall make proper abstracts, and lay the same annually before the Commander-in-Chief of the State."

In October of the year 1794, an Adjutant General of Maryland was appointed for the first time and a resolution was passed at the November session of the General Assembly, as follows: "Resolved, That the treasurer of the Western Shore / be and he is hereby authorized and required to pay to The Adjutant-General of this State for the time being, the sum of two hundred pounds current money, in quarterly payments, provided the said Adjutant-General reside or keep an office at the seat of government." In 1797, the annual salary of the office was "five hundred and thirty-three dollars and one-third of a dollar,;" six hundred dollars in 1799, and was later "fixed and established" by law, (chapter 168, Laws of Maryland. 1S07), at five hundred dollars annually, to be paid in quarter yearly payments. By subsequent enactments, the amount was increased at various times until the present salary was attained and established. The Adjutant General of Maryland was given the relative military rank of "Colonel of Artillery in the line" by Chapter 251, Laws of Maryland, 1834; the relative rank of "Brigadier-General" by Chapter 284, Laws of Maryland, 1864; and finally, the present rank of "Major-General" by Chapter 337, Laws of Maryland, 1867.

Biographical

The following sketches have been adapted and borrowed from a variety of sources, including the Maryland State Archives and the The Report of the Adjutant General of Maryland 1906-1907.

The office of Adjutant General in Maryland

Biographical sketches

Henry Carbery (1794-1807)

Samuel Turbutt Wright (1807-1810)

John Kilty (1810-1811)

John Gassaway (1811-1817)

Richard Harwood, of Thomas (1817-1835)

John Nelson Watkins (1835-1856)

John Wilmot (1856-1858)

Nicholas Brewer, of John (1858-1864)

John Summerfield Berry (1864-1869)

George Henry Bier (1869-1871)