In July 1812, a manifesto was published in St. Petersburg on the formation of a national militia to fight Napoleon I. Ten days later, the manifesto reached Kostroma, and the creation of the Kostroma militia immediately began.

The Kostroma Governorate, along with the Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Vyatka and Siberia governorates, became part of the 3rd Militia District, the commander of which was Lieutenant General Count Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy.

Lieutenant General Pyotr Grigoryevich Bardakov was elected commander of the Kostroma militia.

In August 1812, the commander of the 3rd district, Count Tolstoy, arrived in Kostroma, and at a meeting of the Kostroma authorities it was decided to create a militia consisting of one cavalry and four infantry (foot) regiments, totaling 11,000 soldiers.

In September, the formation of the regiments began. The cavalry regiment was led by Nikolay Andreyevich Nebolsin, the 1st foot regiment was led by Prince Andrey Nikolaevich Vyazemsky (both regiments were formed in Kostroma). The 2nd foot regiment (led by commander Dmitry Petrovich Cherevin) was formed in Galich, the 3rd foot regiment (commander Pavel Sergeyevich Shchulepnikov) — in Nerekhta, the 4th foot regiment (commander Andrey Ivanovich Makoveev) — in Kineshma, and a separate infantry battalion (commander Ivan Fyodorovich Chagin) — in Kologriv.

Chamberlain Sergey Pavlovich Tatishchev was appointed deputy chief of the militia and commander of the 1st brigade. Ensign P.V. Golubkov was elected adjutant of the militia commander. He handled all the affairs of the militia. Soon there were about 8,000 militiamen.

On November 8, 1812, an order was received from the commander of the 3rd district of the National Militia to advance through Murom, Ryazan, Tula, and Oryol to the town of Glukhov and cover the southern provinces.

In December 1812, the militia set out on the campaign and on February 3, 1813, came to Tula. In April, the militia was not far from Kyiv, in the town of Chernobyl, where more than half of the personnel died due to the outbreak of typhus epidemic. By that time, the French had been expelled from Russia, and the war was continuing in Germany, where the French had strong garrisons in a number of fortresses.

Arriving at the Glogau fortress, the Kostroma militia began its siege. It lasted six months, until April 4, 1814. The fortress capitulated. The cavalry regiment, which did not stop at Chernobyl and therefore did not suffer from the epidemic, having gone far ahead, distinguished itself in the Battle of Dresden, and reached the city of Magdeburg.

In 1815, the Kostroma militia, consisting of no more than 3,600 men, returned to Kostroma and the soldiers were allowed to go home. A solemn celebration and a feast were arranged in the city for the returning soldiers.