While the St. Louis National Guards were an "Engineer Corps" they were just as polished on parade as the St. Louis Greys. The unit was founded in August of 1852, by Capt. Robert M. Renick, 1st Lt. J.N. Pritchard, and 2nd Lt. E.S. Wheaton. It was one of the units called
upon to combat the 1854 "Know-Nothing" Riots in St. Louis. In 1861 at Camp Jackson,
the National Guards were under the command of Capt. William B. Hazeltine. There they
and a newly formed second company were incorporated into the 2nd Regiment of Missouri Volunteer Militia, which was commanded of Col. John S. Bowen (later to become leader
of the famed "Bowen's Brigade" of Missouri Confederate troops). An account by one
member of the National Guards can be found in the book, "Missouri Brothers in Gray:
The Reminiscences and Letters of William J. Bull and John P. Bull", edited by
Michael E. Banasik (1998, Camp Pope Bookshop, Iowa City, Iowa).