The National Guard (French: la Garde nationale) was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army. Initially under the command of the Marquis de la Fayette, then briefly under the Marquis de Mandat, it was strongly identified until the summer of 1792 with the middle class and its support for con...