HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. - The Massachusetts National Guard joins the City of Salem on Saturday, April 12, 2025, starting at 8:00 a.m., to celebrate the 388th Anniversary of the First Muster of the National Guard on Salem Common, Salem, Mass.
WHAT: The 2025 Salem First Muster Ceremony
WHEN: Saturday, April 12,2025 beginning at 8:00 a.m. (Rain or Shine)
WHERE: 8:00 a.m. - Memorial at the Gen. Abbott Monument
St. Peter’s Church, 24 St. Peter Street, Salem, Mass.
09:00 a.m. - Ceremony at Armory Park, Essex Street, Salem, Mass.
10:00 a.m. - Muster Ceremony on Salem Common, Salem, Mass.
The celebration commemorates significant events in the history of the Massachusetts National Guard including the origin of the Army National Guard.
On December 13th, 1636, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered the organization of the Colony’s militia companies into three regiments, specifically the North, South and East Regiments. The Colonists had adopted the English militia system, which obligated males between the ages of 16 and 60, to possess arms and participate in defense of the community. The early colonial militia drilled weekly and provided guard details each evening to sound an alarm in case of attack. Strained relations between the Pequot Tribal Nation and the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony required the militia to maintain a state of readiness. Though the exact date is not known, the First Muster of the East Regiment took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the spring of 1637.
America’s National Guard heritage can be traced back to the First Muster in Salem 388 years ago. Today, National Guardsmen from Salem and throughout Massachusetts continue a tradition of service at home and abroad. The original regiments continue to serve the Massachusetts Army National Guard as the 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment, the 101st Engineer Battalion, the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, and the 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment. In January 2013, President Barack Obama signed legislation designating Salem as the birthplace of the National Guard.
The celebration begins at 8:00 a.m. at St. Peter’s Church in Salem. Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment and the Second Corps of Cadets will lay wreaths and fire a rifle-salutes at the grave site of Capt. Stephen Abbott, founder and first commander of the 2nd Corps Cadets, and the site of the residence of Gen. John Glover, commander of the 14th Continental (Marblehead) Regiment.
The Muster Ceremony on Salem Common will feature a U.S. Army helicopter landing, U.S. Air Force flyover, 500 Soldier Pass-in-Review, and Howitzer Cannon Salute. Also on hand will be several static military displays of trucks, cannons, HMMWVs (Humvees) and military equipment.