North Carolina has maintained a military force since the Revolutionary War. Early on these forces consisted of local militias. In 1877 these militias were restructured into the North Carolina State Guard. These guardsmen consisted of volunteers who were regularly enlisted, uniformed, and equipped; they could be called up at any time. In 1903 the NC General Assembly changed the name of the State Guard to the National Guard in conformity with the Militia Act of 1903. This act reorganized and standardized state militias into the modern National Guard. It formally recognized the Guard as a federal reserve force and established its dual federal-state mission.
Cleveland County has had two National Guard units in its history–one in Shelby, one in Kings Mountain.
Shelby
Company “K” was transferred from Mt. Gilead, NC, to Shelby, May 4, 1923. Peyton McSwain, of Shelby, and Michael Austell, of Earl, were asked by the Adjutant General to organize the Company. McSwain and Austell were made Captain and First Lieutenant, respectively, on June 20, 1923, and Henry C. Long was made Second Lieutenant on August 1, 1923.
Company K was called up for duty at Gastonia April 1, 1929 in response to a massive labor walkout at the Loray Mill. This strike would go down in history as one of the most significant and violent labor conflicts in Southern textile history. (See Wikipedia.)
Company K was again called up in September 1934. “The Uprising of ’34,” saw nearly 500,000 workers across the United States leave their mills to demand better wages, union recognition, and an end to intense “stretch-out” labor practices. At Kings Mountain, nine mills resumed operation under protection of National Guardsmen.
In Shelby, where the strike was 100 per cent effective, no troops were in evidence. The local strike leader explained, “We need no troops, for there is no picketing being done here. The mills are all tied up.”
On September 16, 1940, 4,380 North Carolina Guardsmen reported for active duty after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act that provided manpower to strengthen US Military Forces. The men were members of the 30th Infantry Division, one of the first four National Guard divisions mobilized, and were called from 47 different towns across the state. Company K of Shelby was among those mobilized. The mobilization station for the 30th Division was Fort Jackson, SC.
There were 99 men with Company K during this time. A few of those known were Claude E. Allen, Benjamin T. Blanton, Ted Bumgardner, Wallace A. Earley, Allen I. Thrift, Richmond P. McGraw, Walter R. Palmer, Leroy Richard, Ralph P. Short, John E. Whisnant, and Clyde L. Williams. Nine of the 99 men of Company K died during the war.
In April 1959, the NC National Guard was reorganized and the Shelby unit became Company B of the 105th Engineer Battalion.
Post-World War II, the 120th Infantry was reorganized with the 30th Infantry Division in the North Carolina Army National Guard under the command of Shelby’s own, Colonel Peyton McSwain. Through 1947 and 1948, the remainder of the regiment was reorganized, federally recognized, and based at armories in western North Carolina. The 3rd Battalion, headquartered at Kings Mountain, included Company I at Newton, Company K at Gastonia, Company L at Morganton, and Company M at Shelby.
In 2005, the National Guard Armory in Shelby was officially closed. The unit’s personnel and equipment were integrated into other regional North Carolina Army National Guard branches.
Kings Mountain
The Kings Mountain National Guard unit was organized June 16, 1948 by Samuel Humes Houston. Initially an infantry unit, it became an engineering unit after a the guard underwent reorganization in 1959. Officially known as Company D, 105th Engineering Battalion of the 30th Division, Major Houston served as its commander for its first 14 years.
In the early years, Kings Mountain guardsmen met at a “motor shed” on Phifer Road. A new building was completed in 1962; it was dedicated on February, 3, 1963.
The Kings Mountain National Guard unit is officially designated as the 878th Engineer Company. The unit falls under the 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade within the North Carolina Army National Guard.
Cleveland County History 