The Old Guard State Fencibles was a militia organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that existed between 1813 and 1981.
The Old Guard State Fencibles, "a military organization raised in Philadelphia in 1813 as part of the Pennsylvania militia and continued as a unit in the National Guard until independent battalions were abolished around 1900. The unit then was chartered as a Philadelphia quasi-military unit and continued as a social club. Today, the lineage of the State Fencibles is carried on by Troop B, 1-104th Cavalry of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. "
Organization
"A gentleman whose abilities and virtues, domestic and public, are the theme of universal applause and who received the undivided homage of citizens of later days, that gentleman was Joseph R. Ingersoll, Esq. He may therefore be called, with pride, the father of the Fencibles."
Philadelphia nativist riots
The Old Guard State Fencibles participated in the Philadelphia nativist riots as part of the First Infantry Regiment of the First Brigade, composed of the State Fencibles, Captain Page; Washington Blues, Captain Patterson; National Grays, Captain Fritz, and other companies, were under the command of Col. Joseph Murray.
Mexican War
The State Fencibles offered their services to the governor, but the quota for Pennsylvania troops had already been met, and as a body the Fencibles were not called to active service. Many of the members then entered into the service with other units. They were: Capt. William F. Small. Capt. R. B. ]\raeey, Lieut. R. Crittendon, Lieut. Orlando Griffith, Sergt. William Rice; Privates — George Gardner, Charles B. Packer, B. P. Button, Andrew Butler, Samuel Brown, Theodore Hesser. David B. Scheble, Jacob Stapleton, James Anderson, Thomas Punston, Thomas McClintock.
1859 target practice illustration
There is an illustration of the Old Guard State Fencibles marching to a target firing exercise held by the Library Company of Philadelphia. "Scene showing the State Fencibles militia marching past the Wetherill mansion on the Fatland estate. The men march in seven lines, led by the Fencibles marching band, followed by officers, and then four lines of enlisted men fronted by a single Fencible. All the men wear uniforms and the officers wear Hardee hats, while the enlisted men wear tall, Bearskin hats. In the left foreground, a group of well-dressed men, women, and children watch the militia. In the background, other guests line the portico and verandas of the mansion. near clusters of Fencibles and spectators lining the grounds in front of the mansion. The scene also includes the trees and bushes that surround the grounds and mansion. During the 1850s, Dr. Charles M. Wetherill, partner in the Wetherill & Brother White Lead Works, annually invited the Fencibles to his estate for spring target firing. The June 1859 excursion included seventy-four muskets and five officers, a lunch, dinner, and dance. The State Fencibles was a military organization raised in Philadelphia in 1813 as part of the Pennsylvania militia. In 1871, the military company, recruited under James Page, became attached to the Eighth Regiment National Guard of Pennsylvania. The Fatland (Audubon, Pennsylvania) seat was owned by gentleman William Bakewell beginning in 1803 before being sold to the Wetherill Family about 1821 and his death. Fatland, named for the estate's great soil fertility, remained in the Wetherill family through the early 20th century."