In this Book

  • A Rabble in Arms: Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen during King Philip’s War
  • Book
  • Kyle F. Zelner
  • 2009
  • Published by: NYU Press
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.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. pp. ix-x
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. List of Figures, Maps, and Tables
  2. pp. xi-xii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. xiii-xv
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Introduction
  2. pp. 1-13
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. A Note on Method
  2. pp. 15-18
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 1. “For the bestordering of the militia”: English Military Precedent and the Early Massachusetts Bay Militia
  2. pp. 19-39
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 2. The Massachusetts Bay Militia and the Practice of Impressment during King Philip’s War
  2. pp. 40-69
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 3. Many Men, Many Choices: Impressment in Essex County’s Thriving Towns
  2. pp. 70-108
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 4. Few Men, Few Options: Impressment in Essex County’s Small Towns
  2. pp. 109-140
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 5. The Pressed Men of Essex County: The Social Identity of the Soldiers of King Philip’s War
  2. pp. 141-180
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 6. The Effects of Impressment: War and Peace in Essex County
  2. pp. 181-212
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Afterword: The Military of Massachusetts Bay Transformed
  2. pp. 213-217
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Appendix 1.The Soldiers of Essex Countyin King Philip’s War, 1675–1676
  2. pp. 219-227
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Appendix 2. Rowley’s 1662 Tax List: Ranked byFamily with Soldiers’ Families Highlighted
  2. pp. 229-231
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Appendix 3. Topsfield’s 1668 Tax List: Ranked by Family with Soldiers’ Families Highlighted
  2. pp. 233-234
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Appendix 4. An Examination of the Age of Essex County Soldiers and Officers in King Philip’s War, 1675–1676
  2. pp. 235-237
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Appendix 5. The Occupations of the Soldiers of Essex County, 1675–1676
  2. p. 239
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Abbreviations Used in the Notes
  2. p. 241
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 243-296
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Selected Bibliography
  2. pp. 297-311
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Permissions
  2. p. 313
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 315-324
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. About the Author
  2. p. 325
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.