Series 2805: Federalization of Mississippi National Guard Files. 1916-1962.
Military Dept. / Adjutant General’s Office (RG 33).
As of 01/23/2018
Series 2805: Federalization of Mississippi National Guard Files. 1916-1962.
Military Dept. / Adjutant General’s Office (RG 33).
Documents the federalization of the Miss. National Guard in September and October, 1962, during the riots at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, upon the registration of James Meredith. Selected units of the state’s Army National Guard were attached to the active Army command established in Oxford as part of the federal Operation Rapid Road. The files include the Presidential executive order and the orders of the Department of the Army that mobilized the entire Army and Air Force National Guard of the state, messages and memoranda concerning the mobilization and release from active duty of the Miss. National Guard, correspondence and messages about the federalization process, unit strength estimates and numbers, certificates of oaths showing names/ranks of individuals and the date of the oath taken, records of state owned property under the jurisdiction of the National Guard, and listings of National Guard units that could be called into Federal Service. Arrangement is roughly alphabetical.
| 1916-1917: Certificates of Federal Oaths | 33908 |
| Commendatory messages from Dept. of the Army and others | 14112 |
| Correspondence and messages concerning federalization | 14112 |
| Sep. 30 – Oct 11, 1962: Headquarters, Miss. National Guard staff journal | 14112 |
| 1950-1951: Induction of National Guard Units for Federal Services | 33909 |
| Initial reports from units deployed to Oxford | 14112 |
| Messages concerning releases of units from active duty | 14112 |
| Presidential executive order and messages federalizing National Guard | 14112 |
| 1940: Records of State Owned Property and Strength Reports | 33908 |
| Release from active duty of units affected by chlorine barge recovery | 14112 |
| Retention of Oxford armory and use of land near Oxford by U.S. Army | 14112 |
Historical Note: At the same time that the federalization was occurring, the state was also contending with the raising of the chlorine tanks from a sunken barge in the Mississippi River just south of Natchez. The governor’s requests to release units from active duty to assist in the evacuation of chronically ill patients from the area are contained in the folder titled “Release from active duty of units affected by chlorine barge sinking.” Further details of this operation may be found in the folder titled “Chlorine barge – sunken” in box 15257 of Series 1010 (Subject Files – State Health Officer), RG 51, Dept. of Health.
See Also:
Series 1670: Mobilization Planning Files. 1898-1937.
Series 2490: Operational Files of State-Directed Missions. 1902-1980.