Which governor considered sending 10,000 National Guard troops to Woodstock?

Nelson Rockefeller considered sending 10,000 National Guard troops to Woodstock. Rockefeller was New York’s governor in August 1969 and became concerned about the festival’s immense crowds and deteriorating logistics.

On the morning of August 17, he contacted festival organizer John P. Roberts and said he was thinking about ordering the troops to the site. Roberts persuaded him not to take that step. The decision avoided a dramatic military presence at an event already associated with counterculture and opposition to established authority.

The concern was not simply about music. Woodstock had drawn a population far beyond what the rural infrastructure could comfortably support, producing traffic congestion, shortages, sanitation problems, medical emergencies, and difficult access for performers and supplies.

Rockefeller’s contemplated deployment is sometimes confused with the actual assistance provided by personnel from nearby Stewart Air Force Base. Those personnel helped maintain order and transported performers by air, but the proposed National Guard deployment did not occur.