Minutemen
Minutemen were civilian colonists who independently organized to form well-prepared militia companies self-trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They were also known for being ready at a …
Why were they known as Minutemen?
Why are they called Minutemen? Minutemen were civilian colonists who independently formed militia companies self-trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies, comprising the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute’s notice, hence the name.
What does Minutemen mean in American Revolution?
Minutemen were civilian colonists who independently organized to form well-prepared militia companies self-trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They were also known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name.
Who are the modern Minutemen?
The Minuteman Project was a vigilante organization started in August 2004 by a group of private individuals in the United States to extrajudicially monitor the United States–Mexico border 's flow of illegal immigrants. Founded by Jim Gilchrist and Chris Simcox, the name derives from the Minutemen, militiamen who fought in the American Revolution. The Minuteman Project describes itself as "a citizens' Neighborhood Watch on our border", and has attracted media attention to illegal immigration .
What did Minutemen do before the American Revolution?
Minutemen were civilian colonists who independently formed militia companies self-trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies, comprising the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War.They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Minutemen provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that enabled the colonies to respond ...
What were the Minutemen?
Minutemen provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that enabled the colonies to respond immediately to war threats. The minutemen were among the first to fight in the American Revolution. Their teams constituted about a quarter of the entire militia. They were generally younger and more mobile.
Why were the Minutemen chosen?
Members of the minutemen, by contrast, were no more than 30 years old, and were chosen for their enthusiasm, political reliability, and strength. They were the first armed militia to arrive at or await a battle.
What was the need for efficient minuteman companies?
The need for efficient minuteman companies was illustrated by the Powder Alarm of 1774. Militia companies were called out to engage British troops, who were sent to capture ammunition stores. By the time the militia was ready, the British regulars had already captured the arms at Cambridge and Charlestown and had returned to Boston.
Why did the Minutemen trade gunpowder?
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. The people of an island controlled by the Dutch, Sint Eustatius, were supportive of the American revolutionaries. As a token of support, they traded gunpowder to the Colonials for other goods needed in Europe. Not only did the Minutemen have political awareness of events in New England, but also of those occurring in Europe, such as Britain's lack of allies.
What is a minute company in Massachusetts?
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. Other towns, such as Lexington, preferred to keep their entire militia in a single unit.
Where were the Minutemen monuments?
Equipment, training, and tactics. Minutemen monument in Hollis, New Hampshire. Most Colonial militia units were provided neither arms nor uniforms and were required to equip themselves. Many simply wore their own farmers' or workmen's clothes and, in some cases, they wore cloth hunting frocks.
Why is the Navy called the Minutemen?
The US Navy VR-55 Fleet Logistic Support Squadron is named "Minutemen" to highlight the rapid deployment and mobility nature of their mission. One of the factions in Bethesda 's 2015 video game Fallout 4, which is set in Massachusetts, is called the "Commonwealth Minutemen".
Who were the Lexington Minutemen?
Rather, standing on the Green with Captain Parker that fateful morning were men who made up, not a minute company, but a traditional New England training band. They were friends, neighbors, and kinsmen; they were the militia and brave men, all.
What were minute companies?
Generally, minute companies were comprised of young citizen-soldiers, 30 years of age or younger, who were quick, agile, and kept ready for deployment “in a minute’s notice.” Like most militia forces, they were armed and equipped at their own expense. By the 1750s during the French and Indian War, some companies began calling themselves “minutemen.” While all minutemen were part of the militia, not all militia troops were minutemen. Despite their designation, local troops were never held in high esteem by most regular officers of the British Army or political statesmen, who considered them at best, ill-trained amateurs and at worst, country bumpkins. In a letter written in 1754, by Lord William Anne Keppel, Earl of Albemarle, colonial troops “may have courage & resolution, but they have no Knowledge or Experience in our profession.” This would continue as an ongoing opinion among the British military until the time of the American Revolution.
Did Massachusetts have a militia?
Although the Provincial Congress acted indeed as the de facto Massachusetts government, town leaders generally saw their requests as suggestions or guidelines rather than mandated orders. So, while many towns decided to follow the guidelines, establishing their own minute companies within their larger militia forces, others did not. One such town that never established a minute company from its ranks of militiamen, was Lexington. According to the town records, Lexington’s leaders made the decision to keep its militia in one large company body and continued to refer to it by the 17th-century term of “training band.” The commander, Captain John Parker, and other members of the company always referred to themselves as militia and not as minutemen.
Overview
History
In the colony of Massachusetts Bay, all able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to participate in their local militia company. 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. Men so selected were designated as minutemen. Their companies were still or…
American Revolutionary War period
In 1770, Samuel Adams had begun agitating for a reform and update of the militia in the provincial legislature. Hutchinson, the Royal Governor, had ignored him, but as tensions mounted, that tactic became less effective. Adams' and his like-minded friends were gaining more traction. In May of 1774, Hutchinson was relieved by General Thomas Gage, the new Governor of Massachusetts, who ar…
Equipment, training, and tactics
While a lot of Colonial militia units did not receive either arms or uniforms and were required to equip themselves, through colonial history both the Crown and local governments had issued arms and sometimes uniforms for provincial soldiers. Many simply wore their own farmers' or workmen's clothes and, in some cases, they wore cloth hunting frocks. Many farmers who owned separa…
Legacy
The Minuteman model for militia mobilization married with a very professional, small standing army was the primary model for the United States' land forces up until 1916 with the establishment of the National Guard.
In commemoration of the centenary of the first engagement of the American Revolution, Daniel Chester French, in his first major commission, produced on…
Notes
1. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (1911), p. 656.
2. ^ Galvin (1989), pp. 27–33.
3. ^ Galvin (1989), pp. 131–134.
4. ^ Gross (1976), p. 59; Tuchman (1988), p. 21.
External links
• Captain Robert K. Wright Jr. Massachusetts Militia Roots: A Bibliographic Study. (1986) 116th Military History Detachment Virginia Army National Guard. Available at the United States Army Center of Military History
• Who Were the Minutemen? (ushistory.org)
• Organization of the Minute-Men