Re: What is a "Class" in the Militia
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In reply to:
Re: What is a "Class" in the Militia
Lester Dietterick 4/02/08
Lester,
I would only add a couple of notes regarding Gayle's great description of Militia organization.
First, the item regarding 'two months' active duty' on a rotating basis may have occurred as a rule in some places, but not all or even most.The more generally applicable rule was that the Militia was in general not supposed to serve outside the County.Congress enacted legislation to the effect that Militiamen could be turned out for duty elsewhere, but not all localities adhered to this.On the other hand, some militiamen were sent for duty far from home.
Second, the Militia consisted in all able-bodied white males aged roughly 16-65 (varying by time and place).One would not really 'enlist' in the militia but would be expected to appear for regular drill musters.
Third, another reason for arrangements by 'Class' was to avoid wiping out all the white males in a given family or neighborhood if something happened to one or two squads.While some places may have populated particular classes by lot, in general they were intended each to have men from a different specific neighborhood, although in general Companies consisted in folks from a general area of the County, and would often include kin.
The Northampton Co. Militia was quite stressed during 1778-1779.The County had the usual mix of Tories and Rebels, and some areas had been subject to attacks by Native Americans.If you look in earlier series of the published Pennsylvania Archives, searching for Col. Jacob Stroud, you will find some correspondence between Stroud and the Supreme Executive Council in Philadelphia about the situation on their section.Many families sent women and children for safety across the river to NJ, such as the Hackettstown area.The S. E. C. roundly criticized Col. Stroud for filling officer vacancies without getting approval first.Stroud complained of lack of resources, such as powder and shot.Look it up, it's very interesting.
Unfortunately the published muster rolls in _Pennsylvania Archives_ for Northampton Co. do not indicate active-duty service, but if you look for pension application files for men in your target persons' Class and Company, you may find some duty descriptions.
Good hunting,
Jade