National Guard

National Guard

https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/1104/

1104

This organization of citizen-soldiers was created in early July 1789 on the suggestion of the electors of the city of Paris. They wanted to replace the traditional bourgeois militia with an organization that would allow them to resist the massing of regular troops by the King. After 14 July, the Marquis de Lafayette was named the organization’s commander. In July and August, cities and towns throughout France imitated Paris, setting up their troops of the National Guard. The guard chose to “federate” and through an invitation of the Paris Commune, representatives of the regular army and municipal National Guards met in Paris on 14 July 1790. This festival of the federation was one of the high points of the early years of the Revolution.