This peasant army had four commanding officers, in accordance with the ancient precedent from back in the days where the region was a shoen (private estate), and was split into two companies, the Western and Eastern Companies, which were composed with different goals in mind; both companies assembled and were formed on February 4, 1868 at Yamaguni Shrine.
農兵隊には荘園時代の古例により四沙汰人を置き、第一陣「西軍」・第二陣「東軍」の2軍が目的別に編成され、両軍が慶応4年1月11日山国神社に集結し出陣した。