[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 127 (Friday, October 8, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H8862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD CELEBRATES 200TH ANNIVERSARY

  (Mr. SNYDER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, it was my honor last week to attended the 
200th anniversary of the Arkansas National Guard.
  In 1804, Arkansas was part of the District of Louisiana which was 
attached to the Indiana territory for administrative purposes. On 
October 1, 1804, the governor and judges of the Indiana Territory met 
to pass the laws of the newly acquired District of Louisiana. One of 
those laws established the requirement for the establishment of a 
militia which stated ``all the male inhabitants in the district shall 
be liable to and perform militia duties.'' The Arkansas guard has grown 
from that.
  The first use of the Arkansas militia was during the territorial 
period when one company of the Miller County militia was called out in 
1828 to settle a dispute between local settlers and Native Americans. 
The situation was resolved without the use of force.
  Arkansas units have served in every American war from the war with 
Mexico in 1846 to the current war on terrorism. Currently, over 3,000 
members of the Arkansas National Guard are serving in Iraq with the 
39th Brigade, and a number of other units, and over 40 percent of the 
Army Guard in Arkansas is currently employed in Iraq or in the war on 
terror.
  Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers are with these troops today as 
we celebrate the 200 years of service of the Arkansas National Guard.

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