Existing comment:
1607 Jamestown Settlement:
The heritage of the militia in America began in the early colonies in the New World. English settlers brought their country's militia tradition with them beginning with their landing in Virginia in 1607 and the creation of the settlement at Jamestown. As the English settlers began to develop a permanent settlement, they encountered Native American tribes who had inhabited the area for centuries.
In 1622, fearful that the settlers were encroaching on tribal hunting grounds with newly planted tobacco fields, Chief Opechancanough led the Pamunkey tribe in an attack that killed over 350 English settlers. The attack seriously curtailed the settlement's growth at Jamestown and led to a period of colonial Indian Wars in North American (1622-1676). The attack at the Jamestown Settlement alerted colonists to Indian threats to their survival and established a role for the militia in the New World. |