Four hundred and fifty-three years ago, on September 16, 1565, Admiral Don Bartolomé Menéndez de Avilés, Don Pedro’s older brother and San Agustín’s first mayor, mustered the first militia troops in the continental United States.  Their task was to defend the newly founded Spanish pueblo of San Agustín de la Florida (present-day St. Augustine, FL - the oldest continuously occupied, European city, port, and parish in the continental United States) against pending attack by the French.

On Friday, September 14^th, 2018 - in conjunction with National Hispanic Heritage Month - volunteers from nonprofit Florida Living History, Inc., in partnership with the Florida National Guard and Florida Department of Military Affairs, will commemorate the 453^rd anniversary of the first mustering of America’s original citizen-soldiers and the 453^rd “birthday” of the National Guard of the United States.