What is the difference between militia and minutemen

The uniformed Independent Companies that were found mostly in New York City and Albany were a sort of early-form of 19th century Marching and Chowder societies. Mostly they were for show, but when NYC was attacked in , they took an active role and were formed into their own battalions. There were also unnumbered regiments, with only the name of the colonel.

I am not at all trying to discourage you. By any stretch of the imagination it is a daunting to figure it all out…and this is only the basics for one colony.

Plus, to add to the confusion, family historians can get unit names, battalions, regiments, brigades, and other such designation so buggered up that future generations of the family are looking for a non-existent Continental Regiment. They could be looking for, say, a member of the 1st company of the 5th Anywhere regiment, but he was actually in the 1st regiment of the 5th Militia Brigade….

Your best bet is get fundamental understanding of the Continental Regiments in the area of your concern. For militia units in the Carolinas and Georgia, I am out of my league there. One could serve in one unit and when their enlistment was up, join another unit across the border. I even know of an entire company that swapped from New York to Connecticut.

One officer, I am going to write a brief article for the JAR, migrated from a New York unit to Connecticut and then another, and finally the 2nd Dragoons, a Connecticut based unit. Have fun. As far as New York goes, the levies, in all forms, were full time. There length of service would vary depending on the mission they were formed to accomplish. They also generally wore their own clothes, so looked like militia, even though they were part of the Continental Army.

Which brings me to ask another question. My question is… at the beginning of the war in , my ancestor was 21 years old and lived in Cumberland County which was in the Wilmington Military District, but by the end of the war in , he acquired acres and was found in Montgomery County which was designated in the Salisbury District.

I am being told differently…that he would be paid from the Salisbury District or his current county of residence at the time. Accounting logic tells me he was an expense of the Wilmington District and they would have his pay voucher records…not Salisbury.

Lisa; Your next question is clouded by a myriad of confusing pay, bounty, and pension schemes which pertained to Revolutionary soldiers. Pay: Soldiers, whether militia men, State Line enlistees or continentals, were supposed to be paid each month during their service. Frequently they were not paid on time because of fiscal shortages or the shortage of actual currency. There are any number of stories regarding pay issues with the Continental Army, but in cases where men reached the end of their enlistment and were owed back pay, they were either paid at the time of discharge or given certificates for the amount of their pay.

The certificates, in theory, could be cashed by a congressional paymaster or by a state or local governmental official who would then be reimbursed from Congressional coffers in practice the states simply deducted the amount of the certificates from the payments they were sending to Congress. There were also speculators who would offer men pennies on the dollar for their certificates — men would accept these paltry sums because they were often discharged great distances from home and needed money for their trip.

So, the bottom line to the answer to this part of the question would be that your ancestor would have been paid by his continental paymaster for Continental service, and by the town which sponsored the militia unit for any militia service, or by the state for State service.

If you are certain that his militia unit was raised in Cumberland County, then he should have been paid by them and should be found in their muster rolls. Finding your ancestor on a muster roll and determining what type of unit he served in and where it was formed, are the first step to finding his pay records and will probably simultaneously return his pay records.

Bounties: Debt that was not paid during the period of enlistment primarily included bounties. Cash enlistment bounties were paid at the time of enlistment. There were continental land bounty programs and state land bounty programs; and most of the state land bounty programs were not conceived until after the war had ended. North Carolina had an incremental land bounty system drafted in late which began paying men land upon completion of 24 months not necessarily continuous and incrementally increased the land for increased service, peaking at 84 months of service.

These land debts were paid after the war. These ceded lands eventually made up the states of Tennessee and parts of Kentucky. Georgia had a land bounty system that was created after the war ended. Is was noticeably broad and not only provided land for military service of any type , it even provided land in compensation for confiscations made during the war — even to loyalists. As previously mentioned, Georgia was a new, little populated state but land-rich. Land bounties were a way to keep current residents and attract more; especially to the western regions being contested with the native populace.

The book I linked in the previous post includes a wealth of Georgia land bounty recipients. You may well find reference to your ancestor among the Georgia Revolutionary War land bounty records Google that phrase. The final payment that soldiers became eligible for was a pension; either congressional or state.

Pension programs were not established until decades after the war ended. The most prominent, and also the broadest, was the congressional program enacted in — almost 50 years after the war. Pension programs provided an annual stipend to Revolutionary War veterans and surviving spouses were eligible to claim on behalf of their veteran husbands. The process involved the veteran or claiming dependent to appear before a judge and make a sworn statement regarding their service; and to offer proofs enlistment or discharge papers, etc.

Many of the pension claims contain fantastic accounts of their service! Searching by name for your ancestor in Revolutionary war pension records may turn up a wealth of information. Since you think that he served with the Georgia Continental Line, he would have been eligible for a congressional pension. Some dedicated souls have worked hard over recent years to digitize pension records. Jim: Thank you so much for this information.

I hope my questions also help others with their research. I know it will definitely help me. My understanding about Militia is that they may or may not have had proper military arms and accoutrements.

I think it is a myth that every Militia unit wore civilian clothing and used hunting rifles. But the militia was far from a professional and well trained force.

Colonies, such as Massachusetts, began to create select companies of men chosen from the local militia regiment. These companies would train more often and be better equipped.

Also, these men would be required to respond to an emergency at a short notice. In response to an Indian tribe disturbance, the Massachusetts Council of War created a new regulation. These units became a source of local pride. Along with the militia forces, towns and counties created a complex network of communication via riders that could notify hundreds if not thousands of militia units of possible threats. On the morning of April 19, riders rode out to a very well prepared countryside west of Boston.

Paul Revere, William Dawes and many others connected each town with the news that the British regulars were marching on Concord to capture provincial military stores and possibly capture colonial leaders. As they formed up in two lines on the Lexington Green, the British quickly came onto the Green to confront the armed colonials.

What happened next set off a shockwave not just through Massachusetts, but the entire British colonies in North America. After the skirmish at the North Bridge in Concord, more and more colonials answered the call and began to confront the British column as it made its way back to Charlestown.

Because of the great response of these men, there was no turning back after April 19 th. What is the difference between militia and Minutemen? Category: news and politics war and conflicts. Although the terms militia and minutemen are sometimes used interchangeably today, in the 18th century there was a decided difference between the two.

Militia were men in arms formed to protect their towns from foreign invasion and ravages of war. The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle. Did Minutemen get paid? What is a synonym for Minutemen? What did Minutemen wear? What happened to the Minutemen Watchmen?

How do I stop being a Minuteman in bed? Are there still Minutemen? What weapons did the minutemen use? Who actually warned that the British were coming? Where were the warning lanterns hung? How many Minutemen fought for the Continental Army? Who were the members of the Minutemen? Exceptions were made for political leaders, judges, and "President, Fellows, Students, and Servants of Harvard College Company-level training was required by law 6 days each year: two days in April, one day each in May and June, and two days in October.

Those who failed to appear when required were fined. Minute man companies were raised by volunteer. Whereas militia companies trained 6 days each year, minute man companies trained two days each week. Minute men were also paid for training days, on average 1 shilling for each half day.

Again, training with the militia was a requirement of law. Minute men also sometimes received arms and equipment from the town. Thus they tended to be better equipped than the militia.

For example, many towns purchased cartridge pouches for their minute man companies, and sometimes bayonets. However, they were required to be armed and to turn out in an alarm emergency. During wartime, whenever enlistments lagged, it was not uncommon for Black men to be enlisted for active duty.

Sometimes this was done as a substitute for their enslaver who wished to avoid serving himself. This practice continued into the American Revolution as both enslaved and free Black men served. Most often, military service was given in exchange for their freedom, though there were no hard and fast rules about that.

On April 19, about 20 Black men, both enslaved and free, answered the alarm and fought.