Colonial Militia

In America, militias - a military force, usually voluntary, created from a civilian population to supplement a regular army during a conflict - was not a novel event isolated during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Since the start of the English colonization of the New World, the civilian settlers found it necessary to prepare for hostile engagements, especially with indigenous peoples. As the movement for American independence intensified, militia groups became more prevalent and professionalized. How were militias used leading up to the American Revolution? Who were the “minutemen”? What are the Continental Army militia's origins?

Colonial Militia American Revolution

As mentioned, even the earliest English settlers in North America along the east coast needed able-bodied males to help defend their villages and colonies. These militia units were core to the settlement's defense in case of conflicts with indigenous peoples, such as during the Pequot War in 1636, and against foreign enemies, such as the French during the French and Indian War (1754 - 1763). For example, during the French and Indian War, a militia of Virginians was mustered and placed under the command of a young George Washington to attack French fortifications in the Ohio River Valley.

Colonial Militia Definition

Militias were not alien to the colonies; they were a part of community life. They created a community identity between neighbors.

Colonial Militia Clothing

Nevertheless, militia members were not full-time defenders, as most were farmers, traders, or trappers. They were non-standardized or professional, meaning they all mustered different rifles, weapons, ammunition, and clothing. Most colonial militia clothing was nothing more than the typical colonial male dress; a shirt, coat, waistcoat, and breeches, with the addition of any necessities for their weapon of choices, such as a powder horn and ammunition pack.

As events such as the Boston Massacre in 1770, the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and the Intolerable Acts in 1774 increased tensions between the Americans and the British, communities in Massachusetts adopted a more regularly trained militia, minutemen. Most colonial militias trained seasonally. However, the minutemen trained almost weekly as the British occupation of the colony increased.

Minutemen played a pivotal role in the early conflicts of the American Revolution. A few units engaged the British at the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775). A mix of militiamen and minutemen put up a staunch opposition to professional British forces during the Battle of Bunker Hill. However, by 1776, many minutemen militia groups had disbanded due to many of their members enlisting in professional roles in the newly created Continental Army.

Fig. 1 - An artist depicts the Massachusetts militia and minutemen at the Battle of Bunker Hill. This image shows a good and accurate sample of the clothing and weaponry used by the militias.

Colonial Militia and the Continental Army

As a full-scale war erupted between the Americans and the British, most colonies adjusted their military defenses. A non-professional, part-time militia group would not be able to consistently withstand engagements with the professional and experienced infantry of Great Britain. From 1774 to 1777, there was a transformation from local militias to better-trained minutemen and finally to a professional Continental Army.

Washington knew in the long run that a European-trained professional army was the only way to defeat the British. Former British officers such as Horatio Gates and Charles Lee assisted Washington in the early stages of the Continental Army in organizing and training militiamen into soldiers. An experienced European military professional, Frederich Wilhelm von Steuben created a rigorous and standardized training system during the Continental Army’s winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Colonial Militia Flags

A celebration of their colony’s history, a symbol of what they were protecting from the British, and a method of identifying their units on the battlefield, the flags of the colonial militias are as varied, unique, and distinctive as the colonies themselves. Below are some examples of the flags flown by Revolutionary War militias.

The Bedford Flag - Massachusetts

The Bedford Flag is the oldest known flag used in battle in the United States. It is the flag of the Bedford Minutemen of Massachusetts, carried during the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775.

Fig. 3 - The Bedford Flag

The origins of the flag date back further than the Battles of Lexington and Concord, as the flag was used by Massachusetts Bay cavalry during the French and Indian War.

The Green Mountain Boys Flag - Vermont

The Green Mountain Boys were a militia regiment formed in 1770 in New York and New Hampshire territory to become present-day Vermont eventually.

Fig. 4 - The Green Mountain Boys Flag

The Green Mountain Boys participated in the American capture of Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775 and the invasion of Canada later that year. The flag is currently the symbol of the Vermont National Guard.

Guilford Courthouse Flag - North Carolina

Though not confirmed, the Guilford Courthouse Flag is the flag of the North Carolinian militia that mustered out of Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1781.

Fig. 5 - The Guilford Courthouse Flag

It is reported that the flag was flown during the Battle of Guilford Courthouse (March 15, 1781).

Fort Moultrie Flag - South Carolina

Also known as the Liberty Flag, the militia of South Carolina adopted the Fort Moultrie flag after successfully defending Sullivan’s Island in June 1776.

Fig. 6 - The Fort Moultrie Flag or Liberty Flag

The South Carolina militia used the flag for the American Revolution southern forces under the command of Nathaniel Greene.

The Culpeper Flag

The Culpeper Minutemen mustered out of several counties in Virginia in July 1775. The Culpeper Minutemen fought as a militia unit in the Battle of Hampton in October of 1775 and the Battle of Great Bridge in December 1775.

Fig. 7 - The Culpepper Minutemen Flag

The revolutionary war regiment was disbanded in 1776 as most men enlisted with the Continental Army. The company reformed as a Confederate Army of Northern Virginia unit during the American Civil War.

Colonial Militias Summary

Though vital at the beginning of the American Revolutionary war, and with relatively successful engagements with the British forces at the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill, colonial militias found themselves quickly outnumbered and out of their military depth against the professional British Army. In June 1775, the Second Continental Congress created the Continental Army to train an American army into a European-style continental fighting force. By the time of the Battles of New York in late 1776, many colonial militias began to disband their members formally enlisted into the Continental Army. In some cases, such as the Vermont and Culpeper militias, the groups remained intact, fighting forces as part of Vermont's state national guard and as a regiment during the American Civil War for the South, respectively.

Colonial militias had not only a military impact on the creation of the United States but also a social influence as well. The nation's early years, under the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution, were embroiled in conflicts over federalism (which level of government, state or national, held the most power). Many states held onto their militias during this tumultuous time, and the states perceived notion of needing these civilian fighting forces had a heavy influence on the creation of the Bill of Rights, specifically, the creation of the 2^nd Amendment protecting the right to both militias and the owning of firearms. Though deemed a necessity then, today, this legacy of colonial militias is fiercely contested in modern U.S. politics and culture.