2024

2024 has been our best year yet, and we could not have done it without the really awesome people that make up our membership!

We started the year off strong with some excellent research products on African Americans that served in the National Guard of Pennsylvania, uncovering new commands, as well as discovering that while African Americans served in segregated commands or in support roles as cooks, there were also instances where African American companies were integrated into regiments that were not segregated! This was a significant discovery because prior to this, research showed that African American commands were either independent organizations or formed into a battalion together.

Over the winter months, one of our members visited South Carolina to explore NGP connections in the low country from the American Civil War and Spanish American War. Notable NGP commanders in the later 1800s would serve in various capacities in this region during the war, with guardsman from the Keystone State returning in 1898 to garrison Camp Marion during the Spanish-American War.

As we worked our way into spring, our members visited the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's flag collection to see the new exhibits in the Capitol Preservation Committee’s education center, as well as presenting the curator with a $500.00 donation to their preservation and conservation fund. This amazing facility houses the commonwealth’s collection of militia, Civil War and Spanish-American War flags and colors. 




March would see our membership supporting Fort Mott State Park’s World War 1 living history weekend, portraying soldiers from various nations during the conflict.


The State Archives in Harrisburg would move to a new building over the period of several months in 2023. Before our schedule got too busy, we dropped in for a couple of research trips for upcoming events. We were extremely impressed with the new facility and all the great research tools! If you have not been there yet, we highly recommend that you pay them a visit.

May would find us on the annual pilgrimage to Boalsburg, Pennsylvania for the memorial service for the 28th Infantry Division. This would also be the first year that we set up our new outdoor display, which was well received by members of the division and visitors who were attending the ceremony. We set up next to our friends, The Pennsylvania Military Museum, and displayed artifacts and items that covered the NGP’s uniforms and equipment from the 1870s up through WW1. Our membership would also observe Memorial Day later in the month by participating in events around the state.



June would find us visiting a new area for programming for the 135th Anniversary of the Johnstown Flood Disaster and the National Guard of Pennsylvania’s response. We were hosted in town at the Johnstown Area Heritage Association’s facility inside of a building that used to be a library, donated by Andrew Carnegie after the flood. This was our first event where the focus was entirely on the civil duties and emergency response on the national guard.

The end of June always finds our members back at Fort Mott State Park for the annual Spanish-American War event. One of our members coordinates this event and it is a great place to see representation from both sides of the conflict, as well as the civilian aspect of the war.


In July, we had another batch of decals produced for our annual fundraiser, and we also had the honor of helping to support the purchase of the 28th Division’s unit plaque at the National Museum of the U.S. Army. We would also support our new friends at the WW2 American Experience with a living history program on the 10th Pennsylvania’s involvement in the Philippines in 1899.


September would be a busy month with our membership supporting the 2024 Army Expo at the Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, PA, as well as a contingent making the trip down to Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland to observe the Defender’s Day events where the 8th Regiment and brigade band served with distinction 135 years ago.


We really ramped up our preservation fundraising in October, diving into a new resource to help us meet our goal. For the first time in our history, we have been able to offer branded apparel! We set up an online shop that allowed us to sell men’s and women’s shirts, as well as full-zip and pullover hooded sweatshirts. In November we would add coffee mugs to the merchandise list, but by far, the hooded sweatshirts have been our most popular item!

Veterans Day weekend would find our members at Paoli Battlefield for their Paoli Battlefield Heritage Day program which features a military timeline spanning multiple decades.

In December we finished out the year with Soldiers Christmas at Fort Mott State Park and our Annual Meeting to prepare for the 2025 season.

Our 2024 Preservation and Education Campaign closed on December 31st. Combined with our treasury, we are donating 100% of our budget to historic preservation for a combined total of $1,000.00 to battlefield preservation! We will be supporting the American Battlefield Trust’s campaigns to save battlefield at Antietam National Battlefield and Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site. Both sites are where units with lineage to current Pennsylvania National Guard units fought during the American Civil War and the Revolutionary War.

2024 Stats