Existing comment:
The Militia:
County militia units, consisting of armed citizens rather than professional soldiers, were established in Virginia in the early 1600s. They were a mainstay of the patriot cause in the American Revolution. The Second Amendment of the US Constitution, drafted in 1791, declared "a well regulated militia" to be "necessary to the security of a free state."
In a nation born out of resistance to taxation, however, appeals for quality arms for the militia often fell on deaf ears. Anti-Federalist Virginians, in particular, favored small and cheap government. It took foreign threats from Britain and France in the 1790s to modify these attitudes. Nonetheless, certain problems with the militia were chronic. Officers were regularly chosen for their social standing or popularity rather than military competence, and the troops often would not muster at all unless induced by free liquor, which then spoiled their drills. |