Franklin Guards

The Franklin Guards were a unit of the Florida Army National Guard, stationed in Apalachicola.

The company was founded in 1861 as Company B "Beauregard Rifles", 4th Florida Infantry during the American Civil War. After the war, the company reorganized as Franklin Guards, a local militia company, under the command of its previous commander, Captain Robert Knickmeyer. The Guards served as an infantry unit for most of their existence, including in the Civil War and World War I. The Guards had reorganized into an engineer company after World War I and deployed as such to the Pacific Theatre with the 31st Infantry Division in World War II. After the end of World War II, the company became an artillery and then infantry company of the 124th Infantry. It served with that unit until 1963 when it became part of the 261st Engineer Battalion as an armored engineer company. In 1968 it was reorganized into two platoons of Company C of the 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry, and two years later became Detachment 1 of the Company. After transferring to Company A in 1998, it consolidated with the company in 2007 to become Troop C, 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry.

American Civil War
The predecessor to the Franklin Guards was Company B "Beauregard Rifles", 4th Florida Infantry, mustered into Confederate service on July 1, 1861. The company was originally commanded by Captain Adam W. Hunter and organized from men of Apalachicola. After completing its organization, Company B guarded the Florida Gulf Coast at St. Marks alongside Companies E and I. In May, 1862 the 4th Florida reorganized in Chattahoochee and held elections for their officers. The 4th Florida was assigned to the Army of Mississippi, commanded by General Pierre G. T. Beauregard. Company B may have adopted the name "Beauregard Rifles" when, on June 25 1862, General Beauregard inspected the Florida Regiments as they were in Mobile, Alabama. After the 4th Regiment's assignment to the Army of the Mississippi they had their first engagement at Nashville. Then they went returned to Murfreesborough and went into camp until late December 1862 when on the 28th they were ordered to Lebanon Pike and engaged Union forces. On that day the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Florida along with a couple other units were brigaded under General William Preston's command. The 4th Florida fought again on December 31, 1862 at Stone River and unsuccessfully assaulted the Federal center. The 4th Florida then fought at Murfreesborough where the 4th lost 163 men killed or wounded and 31 missing out of 458.

In May 1863, the 4th Florida was transferred to Mississippi to relieve the sieged city of Vicksburg. On July 1 the Florida Brigade struck the Union flank and captured some 200 prisoners and the colors of the 28th, 45th, and 53d Illinois Regiments. The 4th Florida's next battle was Chickamauga, where the 4th lost so many men at Missionary Ridge they had to consolidate with the First Florida Cavalry, who lost all of its officers. The two regiments consolidated at Dalton, Georgia and remained with the Florida Brigade until the Army of the Mississippi's surrender.

Post-Civil War Reorganization through World War I
The Franklin Guards were established in Apalachicola shortly after the Civil War by the former commander of Company B, Fourth Florida Infantry, Captain Robert Knickmeyer as local militia company. By 1883 the Franklin Guards are listed in the Adjutant General's Report as a volunteer company under command of Captain William T. Orman with 1LT A. F. Myers. William Orman was listed as far back as 1870 as a Lieutenant, presumably under Captain Knickmeyer's command. By 1885, the unit was commanded by J. H. Coombs and Fred Butterfield as a "detached company of infantry" in the Florida militia. When a vacancy in the Florida State Troops opened in 1890, the Franklin Guards were accepted as Company C, Third Battalion. On June 17, 1891, they participated in a parade for the dedication of the Confederate monument on Lee Square in Pensacola along with the rest of the battalion. The Franklin Guards were ordered to Tampa in 1898 in preparation for service during the Spanish-American War. They were one of the last four companies of state troops to arrive at the camp there on May 14, with 76 men under Captain A.S. Mohr's command. The company was released and did not enter federal service, but many individuals from the company volunteered to serve in the twelve Florida companies selected. Those that remained returned to Apalachicola on the night of 19 May. After the war, the Florida State Troops reorganized into two regiments of infantry and the Franklin Guards became Company L, First Regiment on August 18, 1899, still part of the 3rd Battalion.



Their first permanent armory in the city was built of wood, simulated as brick, in 1898 and was destroyed by a fire that damaged much of downtown Apalachicola on May 25, 1900. A new brick armory, known as Fort Coombs after one of their commanders, was quickly completed in 1901 at the cost of $12,000 and was the home of the Franklin Guards for the rest of their service. In a 1903 report of inspection the armory was described as, "without question the finest armory in the State."

The report also described Company L and its officers and 33 men: "The ceremonies of inspection and muster were correctly executed and the company made an excellent appearance. The arms were in fair condition, and clothing clean, neat and uniform, except as to collars, of which there was a great variety of styles. Accouterments were in good condition and brasses, buttons and leather had been well polished. Proficiency in drill was shown, both in field movements and in manual of arms. Administrative work with this company is fair; money and property accounts are kept, but letter books were not posted. There is a Summary Court which is properly conducted, and discipline is good." The company encamped with all of the Florida State Troops at Camp Jennings in Jacksonville from September 8 to 15, 1903.

The Guards were called to service during street car strikes in October 1907 and in 1912. Company L entered service for World War I on August 5, 1917.



Interwar period and World War II
On February 3, 1927 the Guards were reorganized as Company E, 106th Engineer s, part of the engineer unit of the 31st Infantry Division. The company became part of the regiment's Florida-based 2nd Battalion. During the interwar period, Company E held regular drills at their armory every Wednesday night and participated in a two-week annual summer training camp. In 1929 they were called up to enforce the Mediterranean fruit fly quarantine at Fort Meade with road patrolling duties and on July 14 were relieved by Company A of the 124th Infantry. When the National Guard was mobilized due to World War II, the company departed Apalachicola and left Panama City by train on December 17 with four officers and 69 men. On December 18, 1940, it arrived at Camp Blanding with other units from the battalion. It later served in WWII under the 31st Infantry Division. After WWII the company was reorganized as Cannon Company, 124th Infantry, then redesignated as Heavy Mortar Company, 124th Infantry on November 1, 1948.

Post World War II
On November 1, 1955 the company was redesignated Company A, 124th Armored Infantry Battalion.



In 1963 the company converted into Company A, 261st Engineer Battalion, an armored combat engineer company. The unit reorganized into second and third infantry rifle platoons of Company C, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry on January 20, 1968. The headquarters and 1st rifle platoon for Company C were stationed in Live Oak, and then transferred to Chipley in December of the same year. In January 1970, the unit became Detachment 1, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry. The Detachment was realigned with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry out of Tallahassee in March, 1998. The Detachment deployed with its Company A to Iraq in 2003 and was officially consolidated with its parent company in Tallahassee to create Troop C, 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry on September 1, 2007.

Unit designations

 * "Franklin Guards", an independent company (1884 - )
 * Company C, 3rd Battalion, Florida State Troops (December 31, 1890 - )
 * Company L, 1st Infantry Regiment (1898 through WWI)
 * Company E, 106th Engineers (February 3, 1927 - )
 * Cannon Company, 124th Infantry (July 22, 1948 - )
 * Heavy Mortar Company, 124th Infantry (November 1, 1948 - )
 * Company A, 124th Armored Infantry Battalion (November 1, 1955 - )
 * Company A, 124th Infantry (April 15, 1959 - )
 * Company A, 261st Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Armored) (February 15, 1963 - )
 * Company A, 261st Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Armored) (minus Engineer Plt) (May 1, 1963 - )
 * 2d and 3d Rifle Platoons, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry (January 20, 1968 - )
 * Detachment 1, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry (January 1, 1970 - )
 * Detachment 1, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry (March 1, 1998 - )
 * Consolidation with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 124th Infantry to create Troop C, 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry (September 1, 2007)

Commanders
The following officers are known to have commanded the company during its existence:
 * Captain Adam W. Hunter (1 June 1861–c. 1862)
 * Captain Robert Knickmeyer (c. 1862–1865, c. 1870s)
 * Captain William T. Orman (c. 1881–1885).  Previously 1LT in Company B, 1st Florida during the Civil War.
 * Captain J.H. Coombs (c. 1885–1888)
 * Captain Robert Knickmeyer (c. 1889–1890)
 * Captain Patrick S. Hickey (c. 1891–1894)
 * Captain A.S. Mohr (September 9, 1895–1896)
 * Captain John P. Lovett (December 23, 1899–Unknown)
 * Captain Domonick Brown
 * Captain T. J. Moore
 * Captain Joseph P. Hickey
 * Captain J. Farley Warren
 * Captain R. R. Rice
 * Captain James Percy Coombs
 * Captain William J. Glasgow
 * Captain John Marshall
 * Captain George A. Dodd (c. 1929)
 * Captain Hiram W. Sperry (c. 1935)
 * Captain Herbert O. Marshall (c. 1939)
 * Captain Jerry Watkins (c. 1964)