A rabble in arms : Massachusetts towns and militiamen during King Philip's War / Kyle F. Zelner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zelner, Kyle F.

Series:

Warfare and culture series.

The warfare and culture series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Massachusetts. Militia--History.

Massachusetts.

King Philip's War, 1675-1676.

Impressment--History.

Impressment.

Essex County (Mass.)--History--17th century.

Essex County (Mass.).

New England--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.

New England.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (342 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

While it lasted only sixteen months, King Philip’s War (1675-1676) was arguably one of the most significant of the colonial wars that wracked early America. As the first major military crisis to directly strike one of the Empire’s most important possessions: the Massachusetts Bay Colony, King Philip’s War marked the first time that Massachusetts had to mobilize mass numbers of ordinary, local men to fight. In this exhaustive social history and community study of Essex County, Massachusetts’s militia, Kyle F. Zelner boldly challenges traditional interpretations of who was called to serve during this period.Drawing on muster and pay lists as well as countless historical records, Zelner demonstrates that Essex County’s more upstanding citizens were often spared from impressments, while the “rabble” — criminals, drunkards, the poor— were forced to join active fighting units, with town militia committees selecting soldiers who would be least missed should they die in action. Enhanced by illustrations and maps, A Rabble in Arms shows that, despite heroic illusions of a universal military obligation, town fathers, to damaging effects, often placed local and personal interests above colonial military concerns.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Figures, Maps, and Tables

Acknowledgments

Introduction

A Note on Method

1 “For the best ordering of the militia”

2 The Massachusetts Bay Militia and the Practice of Impressment during King Philip’s War

3 Many Men, Many Choices

4 Few Men, Few Options

5 The Pressed Men of Essex County

6 The Effects of Impressment

Afterword

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

Appendix 5

Abbreviations Used in the Notes

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Permissions

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-311) and index.

ISBN:

0-8147-9746-6

OCLC:

779828436