Existing comment:
Colonial Military Forces:
British colonies raised provincial regiments and called out citizen militias to advance their interests -- often against neighboring Indians. These local forces also saved Britain the trouble of dispatching large numbers of its own troops to the colonies. Provincial units were comprised of long-term regional volunteers equipped by each colony. Militias were comprised of local white men, and sometimes free black men, between the ages of sixteen and sixty who trained irregularly and were mustered, or called out, only as needed. They provided their own weapons. Citizen-soldiers were highly valued by the colonists. |