On January 27, 1862, Captain Nelson Miner was assigned to command the first unit of the Dakota Territorial Militia in the territorial capital of Yankton.
Following statehood in 1889, the North Dakota National Guard held regular training events, but engaged in no significant activities until the spring of 1898, when the United States declared war on Spain. The Army was sorely undermanned for a war against a major world power and desperately needed new recruits.
There was a ready supply of soldiers with basic military skills in the National Guard. There was, however, one obstacle: it was considered unconstitutional for the Guard to serve outside the bounds of the United States. The War Department suggested that guardsmen resign from the Guard and enlist in the Army.
Almost every member of the North Dakota Guard did so, and the 1st North Dakota Volunteers was born.
There were those who predicted the “soldier boys” would never see action, and that their training would go to waste. But it wasn’t long before they were off to Camp Merritt in California, and then to the Philippines. They arrived on July 31, 1898, just in time to participate in the capture of Manila.
With the surrender of Spain, North Dakota troops expected to be headed home. But when Filipinos learned the United States planned to purchase the Philippines instead of granting independence, they organized a strong resistance. American troops soon found themselves fighting the same Filipinos who had recently been their allies.
Although the war wouldn’t end for another two years, volunteers were the first to be sent home. On this date in 1899, the North Dakota troops were finally mustered out eighteen long months after they boarded the train in Fargo.
The 1st North Dakota acquitted themselves well and earned an admirable reputation. Five were killed in action. Twenty-five served in an elite scouting unit. Thirteen North Dakotans were awarded the Medal of Honor.
General Lawton wrote of them:
“Every service—even to the use of pick and shovel—was performed by each, from the Colonel down to the private, with the same commendable earnestness that has given this regiment its reputation for cheerful and effective accomplishment of any task set it.”
Dakota Datebook by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Dr. Carole Butcher. Army Magazine. December, 2017. “Company B Rides Free: The North Dakota Volunteer Infantry and the Philippine-American War.”
- State Historical Society Foundation. “Today in ND History.” https://www.statehistoricalfoundation.org/todayinndhistory/?&offset=300Accessed 8/12/2025.
- National Guard. “NDNG celebrates its origins and 150 years of service.” https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Article/576067/ndng-celebrates-its-origins-and-150-years-of-service/Accessed 8/12/2025.
