This is a rare group and could be a centerpiece of a State Guard collection. The 13th Regiment, Massachusetts State Guard was formed in 1917 under the authority of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety. The regiment was administratively headquartered in Boston, but its companies were primarily dispersed throughout Middlesex and Worcester Counties. During this period the regiment was commanded by Louis A. Frothingham, and then Col. Raymond H. Oveson. These items belonged to Oveson. Oveson was born in Newton, Iowa. He attended the Kansas Normal School and, at some point, served in a Kansas Militia unit. He eventually moved East and graduated from Harvard (class of 1905) and later Harvard Law School. Oveson was a prominent Progressive Republican in Massachusetts. He served as an executive secretary for the Progressive Republicans and worked closely with Theodore Roosevelt during the 1912 presidential campaign. Oveson was appointed a major, commanding the 3rd Battalion, 13th Regiment, Massachusetts State Guard. He eventually made colonel and succeeded Frothingham as comnanding officer of the 13th Regiment.

The group includes everything shown. The large and small major insignia include sets with both silver and gold tone outer circles. This type of insignia is unique to the S.G.. The colonel's version of these insignia are extremely rare. The bullion (officer's) brassard is gorgeous. No moth nips. The bullion shoulder boards are sew-on types and show some age. they are also quite rare. There are two Kansas Militia buttons in this group. The Pettibone maker mark style dates them to the 1872-1893 period. These were not shown in the main photo, but are included. One is a full size jacket flap size and the other is cuff size. These are obviously from his time in Kansas, before he migrated to Mass. The button devices with ribbons fascinate me. They will be fun to research. I reached out to the Friends of the Massachusetts National Guard Museum, but no response yet. I am guessing that the rosette (the round yellow and black lapel ribbon) is for a Mass. State / Mass. National Guard medal, but I am still trying to identify it. The Massachusetts State Guard War Service lapel button is pretty neat too (actually, there were three in this group, but I'm keeping two). The starting bid is quite low. The officer version of the brassard, alone, is usually in the 275.00 range.