Muskets and Minutemen: Arms of the Colonial Soldiers  April 17th, 2025
7:00 pm at the Harvard Historical Society, 215 Still River Road
 
Militias before the Revolution: A Little Background
 
Each town in Massachusetts, from the earliest years of the colony,  was required by law to maintain one or more companies of part-time militia, consisting of men ages 16-60, and see to their training four days per year.
The "History of the Town of Harvard," by Henry S. Nourse,  says "under the militia system the martial spirit of the people was kept aglow by the annual autumn musters and the May trainings.  The uniformed, or independent companies were the pride of the town."   The militias played a crucial role in the early conflicts in the colonies, including the French and Indian war. These wars honed the militia's skills and exposed them to different forms of warfare.
 
 
Militiamen were primarily farmers and tradesmen, not professional soldiers.They were expected to provide their own weapons and equipment.The militia was largely under local control, which contributed to its independent spirit. In the years leading up to the Revolution, as tensions between the colonies and Britain escalated, The provincial Congress asked all towns to organize minute companies, to be ready to march “at the shortest notice."
Minute companies would, however, comprise only about a part of each town’s militia force. Overall, the elite, highly mobile companies were very well trained in the art of maneuver, usually the first to arrive at the scene of action, and in the use of their flintlock weapons, mainly smoothbore muskets, and fowling pieces
 
 
 
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