A Rabble in Arms: Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen during King Philip’s War

Appendix 4. An Examination of the Age of Essex County Soldiers and Officers in King Philip’s War, 1675–1676

235 Appendix 4 An Examination of the Age of Essex County Soldiers and Officers in King Philip’s War, 1675–1676 Active-Duty Enlisted Men, 1675–1676 Total Number of Enlisted Men: 357 Number with Known Age: 195 (55% of total men) Average Age: 26.6 years old Modal Age: 25 years old Median Age: 25 years old Enlisted Soldiers’ Ages by Decade Cumulative Age Group Number Percentage Percentage 16–20 33 16.9% 16.9% 20–29 106 54.3% 71.2% 30–39 43 22.0% 93.2% 40–49 10 5.1% 98.3% 50–52 4 2.0% 100.3% Note: Deviation in percentage totals from 100.0 is a function of rounding. Breakdown of Men by Age during King Philip’s War, 1675–1676 Age during War 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 Number of Men 1 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 2 0 3 4 2 4 0 3 4 Age during War 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 Number of Men 6 7 6 7 11 4 7 5 18 10 17 12 8 14 11 10 8 3 In comparison to the numbers for King Philip’s War above, Fred Anderson’s study of eighteenthcentury soldiers of the French and Indian War reports an average of 26.3 years old for enlisted volunteers during the war, with a median age of 23 and a modal age of 18.1 These numbers are very close to the soldiers considered in this study. In his section on the soldiers of New England who fought during the American Revolution, Charles Neimeyer reports that 72 percent of the men were in their teens and twenties, an almost identical finding to the men of King Philip’s War.2 236 Appendix 4 Active-duty Officers, 1675–1676 Total Number of Officers: 12 Number with Known Age: 10 (83% of total officers) Average Age: 46.2 years old Modal Age: 30 years old Median Age: 48 Years old Breakdown of Officers by Age during King Philip’s War, 1675–1676 Age during War 65 50 49 47 45 31 30 Number of Officers 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 In comparison to the study of officer ages for King Philip’s War above, Harold Selesky’s examination of the officers of Connecticut during the French and Indian War reports that the field officers (those above the rank of captain) averaged forty-two years of age, while captains on average were thirty-nine. While the averages are similar to those for King Philip’s War described here, Selesky mentions few officers over fifty years old.3 Appendix 4 237 Active-duty Noncommissioned Officers, 1675–1676 Total Number of Noncommissioned Officers: 12 Number with Known Age: 8 (67% of total) Average Age: 29.9 years old Modal Age: None Median Age: 23 years old Breakdown of Noncommissioned Officers by Age during King Philip’s War, 1675–1676 Age during War 52 32 30 23 22 21 19 Number of Noncommissioned Officers 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Unfortunately, none of the studies of eighteenth-century soldiers make a separate study of noncommissioned officers’ ages, so no comparison data is available. 1. Fred Anderson, A People’s Army: Massachusetts Soldiers and Society in the Seven Years’ War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1984), 53, 231 table 10. 2. Charles Patrick Neimeyer, America Goes to War: A Social History of the Continental Army (New York: New York University Press, 1996), 18. 3. Harold E. Selesky, War and Society in Colonial Connecticut (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990), 194–215, esp. 196. ...