minutemen history

This instigated a boycott in 1774 of British goods. Most Colonial militia units were provided neither arms nor uniforms and were required to equip themselves. Shooting erupted at A "running fight" began during the retreat. On August 12, 1645, 30% of all militia were made into short-notice groups (minutemen). They were generally younger and more mobile.Some towns in Massachusetts had a long history of designating a portion of their militia as minutemen, with "minute companies" constituting special units within the militia system whose members underwent additional training and held themselves ready to turn out rapidly for emergencies, "at a minute's notice" and hence their name. As a precaution, these items were often hidden or left behind by minutemen in fields or wooded areas. In the following year, Massachusetts again put a force on the field in collaboration with Plymouth and Connecticut. As early as 1645 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, some men were selected from the general ranks of town-based "training bands" to be ready for rapid deployment. Learn more about the minutemen in this article. They were usually drawn from settlers of each town, and so it was very common for them to be fighting alongside relatives and friends. Most used Their experience suited irregular warfare.

On September 7, 1643 the towns were given more tactical control. It is a myth that the British and other professional armies of the 1700s did not practice marksmanship with their muskets; the military ammunition of the time was made for fast reloading and more than a dozen consecutive shots without cleaning. The royal authorities inadvertently gave the new Minuteman mobilization plans validation by several "show the flag" demonstrations by General Gage through 1774.The royal authorities in Boston had seen these increasing numbers of militia appearing and thought that the militia would not interfere if they sent a sizable force to Concord to seize munitions and stores there (which they considered the King's property, since it was paid for to defend the colonies from the American Indian threat).

By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. [[File:Massachusetts … Command and control were decentralized to the extent that individual company commanders could put their troops into a defensive battle if necessary. With a rising number of Minutemen they faced another problem: a lack of gunpowder to support an army for long enough to fight a prolonged campaign against the British. Minutemen was the name given to select members of the militia and they played a major part in the American war of independence. The British and French, each with Indian allies, engaged in various fights beginning in 1689 and dragging on for almost a hundred years. Many simply wore their own farmers' or workmen's clothes and, in some cases, they wore cloth hunting frocks. There was a shortage of ammunition and supplies, and what they had were constantly being seized by British patrols. When the French and Indians raided Massachusetts in 1702, Governor Phips created a bounty which paid 10 shillings each for the scalps of Indians. In many countries the militia is of ancient origin; Macedonia under Philip II (d. 336 bc), for example, had a militia of clansmen in border regions who… The Minutemen were some of the first people to fight the British for independence. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Officers were elected by popular vote, as in the rest of the militia, and each unit drafted a formal written The militia typically assembled as an entire unit in each town two to four times a year for training during peacetime but, as the inevitability of war became apparent, the militia trained three to four times a week. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress found that the colony's militia resources were short just before the The Massachusetts Provincial Congress recommended to the militia to form themselves into companies of minute-men, who should be equipped and prepared to march at the shortest notice. The frequent mustering of the minute companies also built unit cohesion and familiarity with live firing, which increased the minute companies' effectiveness. Two years later he became governor of Massachusetts. Lacking central command, with each company of Minutemen loyal to their own town, they did not pursue the redcoats. Washington : Pergamon-Brassey's International Defense Publisher.

Other towns, such as Members of the minutemen, by contrast, were no more than 30 years old, and were chosen for their enthusiasm, political reliability, and strength. With this rapid mustering of forces, the militia proved its value by augmenting the Continental Army on a temporary basis, occasionally leading to instances of numerical superiority. The British practiced formations with their weapons, focusing on marching formations on the battlefield. The minuteman concept was advanced by the snow shoe men. Other counties followed Worcester's lead, electing new militia officers and appointing Minutemen. Once they got there, they did not know which Indians to fight or why. Men so selected were designated as minutemen. In the British colony of Massachusetts Bay]], all able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to participate in their local militia.