The Greenfield Guards were a militia unit based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, officially designated Company G of the 10th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Regiment during the Civil War (1861-1865). They were a volunteer unit that had long awaited service by the time the call came in June of 1861. Between April and June they were given uniforms through a grant from a leading citizen of Greenfield, Henry Clapp. Prior to that, they had drilled in civilian clothes. The new uniforms were gray in color rather than blue. In the early months of the war, there was a great deal of confusion as to uniforms, and units often fought in all varieties and colors. When the unit was sent to Washington, DC as a part of the Army of the Potomac, they were issued the regulation blue uniforms and their gray uniforms were put into storage, later to be captured in 1864, by Confederates under the command of Gen. Jubal Early. The Guards served for three years and fought in most of the battles of the Army of the Potomac. By the time they returned to Greenfield they had lost around fifteen percent of their number.
Greenfield Gazette and Courier. “The News From Home.” April 22, 1861. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l02-125/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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