A Rabble in Arms: Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen during King Philip’s WarWhile 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. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
A Note on Method | 15 |
English Military Precedent and the Early Massachusetts Bay Militia | 19 |
2 The Massachusetts Bay Militia and the Practice of Impressment during King Philips War | 40 |
Impressment in Essex Countys Thriving Towns | 70 |
Impressment in Essex Countys Small Towns | 109 |
The Social Identity of the Soldiers of King Philips War | 141 |
War and Peace in Essex County | 181 |
Topsfields 1668 Tax List Ranked by Family with Soldiers Families Highlighted | 233 |
An Examination of the Age of Essex County Soldiers and Officers in King Philips War 16751676 | 235 |
The Occupations of the Soldiers of Essex County 16751676 | 239 |
Abbreviations Used in Notes | 241 |
Notes | 243 |
Selected Bibliography | 297 |
Permissions | 313 |
Index | 315 |
The Military of Massachusetts Bay Transformed | 213 |
The Soldiers of Essex County in King Philips War 16751676 | 219 |
Rowleys 1662 Tax List Ranked by Family with Soldiers Families Highlighted | 229 |
About the Author | 325 |