Title
A Rabble in Arms : Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen during King Philip's War / Kyle F. Zelner.
ISBN
9780814797464
Published
New York, NY : New York University Press, [2009]
Copyright
©2009
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource
Other Standard Identifiers
10.18574/nyu/9780814797181.001.0001 doi
Call Number
E83.67 .Z455 2016
Dewey Decimal Classification
973.24
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.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 29. Jun 2022)
Series
Warfare and Culture ; 5
Available in Other Form
print 9780814797181
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
