During the Revolutionary War the militia played a major role in the out come. Some people think that the militia hindered more than helped during the war. In this essay I will describe the hardships the Militia faced, how they became organized and why I believe that they helped during the war.
The governments of the colonies created the Militia system so there could be an organized form of armed forces. The militia was referred to as minutemen because they were expected to be ready to answer the call on a minutes notice. During the time of the American Revolutionary War the militia was not a voluntary force you had to belong to it if you were a free white male. If you had to serve in a battle not everyone had to go most of the people who did go fight in the war for the militia were volunteers who used there own weapons and ammunition. Locally elected leaders who were in turn commanded by the new American Government commanded these units. At times during the war people who volunteered in the militia were then drafted into the nation's army. Most of the men who were in the militia were only trained for 2-4 days leading to very immature instincts on the battlefield.
When the Officers of the militia were paid they would pool all the money into a common stock and the officers and recruits would share it equally. Once in awhile though some officers would not hesitate to cheat the government by drawing more money than they had men so they would be able to pocket some of the money for themselves. .
The government put many rules on the militia over the years. Some of the rules are very clear in the Bill of Rights. Amendment number two says "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" and amendment number three says "No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Important Battles Of The American Revolution The American Revolution was a war that changed everything in the history books. ... These two men were minutemen. Minutemen were basically the colonists militia. When the British reached Lexington they came across fifty minutemen. ... The British Army met up with some minutemen at the Old North Bridge. ...
It took place on April 19, 1775, and was fought between roughly 70 colonial minutemen commanded by Captain John Parker, and about 700 British soldiers. ... Gunfire was exchanged and eight Americans were killed before the minutemen retreated. ... In the end about three to four hundred Americans had appeared. ... The minutemen and redcoats exchanged fire across the North Bridge for a few minutes, causing several deaths. ... The Americans quickly ran and hid along the side of the main road. ...
This is a glimpse of what it was like to live during the colonial period in Concord Massachusetts, the starting point of the Revolutionary War in Robert Gross's book The Minutemen and Their World. ... General Thomas Gage was commander in chief of the British Army in North America. ... Gross says the main reason for the American Revolution was the Townshend Acts that were placed on the colonies. ... I found the everyday life of the minutemen intriguing. ...
During the time of the American Revolution, it comes to no surprise that those that hoped for war would not be the first to step onto the battlefield. ... The Minutemen of Concord trained regularly, long before their actual engagement with British troops. ... Concord was never reluctant to do their part for America, at their worst they remained indifferent. Their lack of concern over British laws and their lack of conflict with Britain did not make them pro England, nor did it make them anti-American. Concord remained somewhat neutral during much of Colonial-America's conflicts with B...
American Revolution A. ... Warning given to Mass. militia (minutemen: could be ready to fight in a minute.) ... British soldiers are stopped by colonial minutemen at Lexington (Shot Heard "Round the World). 7. ... The British were stopped at Concord by the colonial minutemen. 10. ... America 1. ...
This war came to be known as the American Revolution. ... The war began on April 19, when British regulars fired on the Minutemen of Lexington, Mass. ... In both wars, Americans did fight fellow Americans; in the case of the American Revolutionary War, Patriots fought Loyalists (as well as the British); in the case of the American Civil War, Americans from the North fought Americans from the South. ... The American Civil War lasted from April 1861 to April 1865). ... The American Civil War produced a change in the political, economical, and social life of Americans and therefore I consider i...
Tension had been growing between the American colonies and their mother country, Britain, ever since the French and Indian War in 1763. ... Paul Revere was part of a committee whose purpose was to spy on the British soldiers and the American loyalists. ... Revere then rode out alerting the minutemen of Medford, then continued on to warn Hancock and Adams. ... Paul Revere is one of America's many heroes who helped bring about victory against Britain in the Revolutionary War. ...
Colonel William Prescott, commander of the American force, shouted to his 1200 minutemen standing upon Breed's Hill. ... Americans hated England for, which lead to sedition. ... Hearing reports of the British plans, the Americans decided to fortify the areas first. ... Howe's first effort to attack the Americans was a wasted attempt. ... It opened the path to several more American victories and independence for the United States of America. ...
The American Revolution is debatably the most prominent defining moment in American history. ... This greed led them to unjustifiably attempting to expand into land owned by the Native Americans and French. ... They boarded the British vessels dressed as Native Americans and dumped all of the tea into the Atlantic. ... When the British reached the town of Lexington, they met a small band of about sixty minutemen. ... Although it is unclear who fired the shot, the band of minutemen had no right to try to oppose the British forces in the first place. ...