A city guard, city watch, town guard, or town watch were local

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

companies formed to enforce municipal laws. Usually subordinate to the local

municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, many cities had their own guard formations which doubled as police and military forces in times of need.

United States

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. These companies performed functions such as assisting local law enforcement, providing troops for ceremonies and

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

s or acting as a benevolent

social club A social club or social organization may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity with in an organizational association known as a Club (organization), club. Exampl ...

. The groups of

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

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.

Companies

*Boston City Guard *Cambridge City Guard *Chicago Light Guard * 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

), 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 The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

or Naval Militias.

References

History of law enforcement Military history Militias Municipal law enforcement agencies Paramilitary police {{military-stub cs:Obecní policie de:Stadtpolizei et:Munitsipaalpolitsei nl:Stadswacht pl:Straż miejska sk:Obecná polícia sv:Tornvakt

United States

Companies

See also

References