First chartered in 1788 as the Governor’s Independent Volunteer Troop of Horse Guards, the unit was composed of prominent Hartford men. Many were veterans of the War of Independence, who banded together to form a mounted honor guard for the Governor, and ceremonial escort to prominent visitors to Connecticut’s capital city. Through much of the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, the Horse Guard provided a colorful and dignified escort to Governors, Presidents, military heroes and other dignitaries including George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Commodore Thomas McDonough, and Lafayette.

The unit came to be better known as the First Company Governor’s Horse Guard and they regularly escorted the State’s chief executive to his inaugural ceremony and parade. Early commandants included prominent businessman John Caldwell and Thomas Y. Seymour, a hero of the Revolution.

Commandant John Caldwell                    1829

Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, the First Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was mustered into duty in Meriden with Major Henry Boardman of the Governor’s Horse Guard as its commandant. Although neither Boardman nor the Horse Guard as a unit traveled to the seat of the fighting, a number of the troopers served in the conflict.

Hartford, CT 1907

In 1911, the status of the unit changed dramatically when its members voted to become Troop B Cavalry, Connecticut National Guard. Five years later the unit was sworn into Federal service and joined troops from other states patrolling the Arizona/Mexico border, during a period of tumultuous revolution south of the border. Losing only one man to blood poisoning, the unit returned to an enthusiastic Hartford homecoming parade, and settled into its new armory on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford.

In 1917, the unit was again sworn into Federal service, this time on foot, as Company B, 101st Machine Gun Battalion. The unit saw hard fighting in France as part of the 26th “Yankee Division” and participated in some of the war’s major campaigns, including the Meuse Argonne and St. Michiel offensives. Meanwhile, veteran Horse Guard members back in Connecticut served as members of the State Home Guard and participated in efforts to safeguard munitions plants, round up draft dodgers, and discourage subversive elements from hampering the war effort.

Following the armistice and a victorious 1919 return to Hartford, Troop B regained its status as mounted cavalry as part of the reorganized 122^nd Cavalry Squadron, and through the 1920s and 30s sponsored polo matches, mounted drills, gymkhanas and horse shows. The highlight of the Governor’s annual review of the National Guard in Niantic was often the mounted drills and thundering charges on horseback by Troop B members.

In the late 1930s mechanization and economic realities doomed the horse cavalry of the US Army. However, a group of veteran horse soldiers were reviving the old First Company Governor’s Horse Guards to continue the unit’s cavalry traditions.

Shortly before the start of World War II, the unit was Federalized for a third time, to become part of  the 208^th Coastal Artillery Regiment, manning the heavy guns which defended America’s wartime coastline and in the Pacific theatre. At the same time, veteran troopers of the Governor’s Horse Guard, as they had during the First World War, served as part of Connecticut’s State Guard, performing internal security and civil defense functions.

As the veterans came back to Connecticut after the War, the First Company Governor’s Horse Guard was revitalized and reorganized as a State Militia unit, serving at the pleasure of Governor of the State. The unit has participated in presidential and gubernatorial inaugurals and special events all over the Eastern United States.  The following photograph is Major Everett H. Kandarian leading the troop at the Inauguration of President Eisenhower in Washington D. C., 1957.

Eisenhower Inauguration, Washington D. C., 1957

Today, the troop is part of the Organized Militia of the State. Operating from its facility in Avon, the traditions of Connecticut’s cavalry are demonstrably alive and kicking. Currently, the membership is some 62 active troopers and staff veterans. Thirty-five horses are ridden and cared for in addition to the requisite McClellan saddles and other equipment needed to support a troop of cavalry.

 Men and women serve equally, drilling every Thursday evening in formation riding, search and rescue and crowd control techniques. The whole troop moves down to the National Guard's Camp Rowland for one week every year.  This annual training combines bivouacs, weapons training, route marches and other exercises that keep the troop fit and recall the glory days of the horse cavalry. The Troop also participates in civic projects, youth drug prevention programs, parades and other ceremonial events.

Among the collections of the State Library are numerous historical manuscripts and photographs pertaining to this unique military group. The Dudley Collection of photographs contains over two hundred images of the Connecticut troopers on the Mexican border, while the Annual Reports of the Adjutant-General routinely include the activities of the State Militia including both the Horse Guard and Foot Guard units. Origin and Fortunes of Troop B, is a comprehensive published history of the Horse Guard, authored in 1921 by one of its commanders, James L. Howard. Newspaper accounts of inaugural parades going back to the late 18^th century include descriptions of this colorful unit.

The unit welcomes visitors to its facility on West Avon Road. The troop trains new volunteers every year.    For more information on visiting or joining, call (860) 673-3525.  The best time to call is any Thursday between 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM.

This history was compiled by Sergeant Howard L. Miller, Troop Historian of the First Company Governor’s Horse Guard in the year 2000.

Attention!  The troop is always looking for old photos or other paraphernalia associated with the troop.  If you might have something to donate, sell, or allow us to make a copy of, we would very much appreciate hearing about it.  You may contact us by calling (860) 673-3525, or by emailing to govhorseguard@yahoo.com.

More Historic Pictures

Entire "Origin and Fortunes of Troop B" historical book.

Program from 1GHG Centennial Banquet, 1888.