A tricorn hat with a sprig of pine is said to have been a distinguishing mark of the Green Mountain Boys, a militia first formed in 1770 in the area between the colonies of New York and New Hampshire. Called the New Hampshire Grants when the militia was formed, the area went on to become the Vermont Republic before being admitted to the Union in 1791 as the 14th State.
Although the Green Mountain Boys main reason for banding together in the first place was to put a halt to the attempts by New York to seize territory it had been granted by the British crown as the result of a legal verdict, its guiding principles of liberty and freedom invariably led it to become involved in the Revolutionary War. Arguably its brightest moment was the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775, with Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold serving as commanders.
Though the militia disbanded in 1779, it would be reformed on several occasions over the decades, with its concept of citizen-soldiers serving as the basis for Vermont’s Army National Guard, which carries the nickname “Green Mountain Boys” to this day.
This insignia was approved for wear on 1 October 2003 for the Vermont Army National Guard (ARNG) Element of the Vermont National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters (HQ). It had previous been approved for wear for the twenty years between 1983 and the October 2003 redesignation by the HQ, State Area Command, Vermont Army National Guard.
It was originally designated back in February 1952 for HQ and HQ Detachment, Vermont National Guard, but that was a different insignia that was rescinded on 3 January 1957; the second design was cancelled on 26 July 1976 and the original design approved and redesignated for the HQ and HQ Detachment, Vermont Army National Guard.
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Vermont ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ Unit Crest (DUI)