The "common" Militia was first established by the various colonies of
all able-bodied men between roughly the ages of 16 and 60 for
protection against Indian attack. These militiamen were required by
law to be enrolled in the unit of their township or county, furnish
their own arms and equipment, and appear periodically for training.
They were civilian soldiers who had little or no taste for things
military, as their performance in both peace and war almost invariably
demonstrated. They were not uniformed and contributed little or
nothing to the field of military dress.
The "volunteer" or "independent" Militia companies, on the other hand,
were something else again. These units, composed of men who enjoyed
military life, or rather certain aspects of it, appeared rather early
in the Nation's history. The first of these, formed in 1638, was The
Military Company of the Massachusetts, later and better known as the
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. By 1750
there were a number of independent companies in existence--many of
them chartered--and membership in them had become a recognized part of
the social life of the larger urban centers.
The concept of volunteer Militia units was confirmed in the Uniform
Militia Act of 1792, which prescribed flank companies of grenadiers,
light infantry, or riflemen for the "common" Militia battalions and a
company of artillery and a troop of horse for each division, to be
formed of volunteers from the Militia at large and to be uniformed and
equipped at the individual volunteer's expense. Thus, from within the
national Militia structure emerged an elite corps of amateur--as
opposed to civilian--soldiers who enjoyed military exercise, and the
pomp and circumstance accompanying it, and who were willing to
sacrifice both the time and the money necessary to enjoy it. Since the
members were volunteers, they were ready to submit to discipline up to
a point; they trained rather frequently; many of the officers made an
effort to educate themselves militarily; they chose their own
officers; and their relative permanency gave rise to an excellent
esprit de corps. In actuality, these organizations became private
military clubs, and differed from other male social and fraternal
groups only in externals.
The great urban growth of the Nation during the period 1825-1860 was
the golden age of the volunteer companies, and by 1845 these units had
all but supplanted the common Militia. It would be difficult to even
estimate the number of volunteer companies during this period. They
sprang up almost everywhere, more in answer to a demand by the younger
men of the Nation for a recreation that would meet a social and
physical need and by emigrant minorities for a group expression than
for reasons military. It was a "gay and gaudy" Militia, with each unit
in its own distinctive and generally resplendent uniform. If the
"Raleigh Cossacks," the "Hibernia Greens," the "Velvet Light Infantry
Company," or the "Teutonic Rifles" were more "invincible in peace"
than visible in war, they were a spectacular, colorful, and exciting
integral of the social and military life of the first half of the 19th
century.