Members of the minutemen, in contrast to the regular militia, were no more than 30 years old, and were chosen for their enthusiasm, political reliability, and strength. They were the first armed militia to arrive at or await a battle.
Minuteman, in U.S. history, an American Revolution militiaman who agreed to be ready for military duty ‘at a minute’s warning.’ The first minutemen were organized in Worcester county, Massachusetts, in September 1774. Learn more about the minutemen in this article.
Minutemen were a small hand-picked elite force which were required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly. Minutemen were selected from militia muster rolls by their commanding officers.
Like most militia forces, they were armed and equipped at their own expense. By the 1750s during the French and Indian War, some companies began calling themselves “minutemen.” While all minutemen were part of the militia, not all militia troops were minutemen.
Minutemen were the American Revolution militiaman who agreed to be ready for military duty “at a minute’s warning”.
Explore how Minutemen formed, their role at Lexington and Concord, and why they became symbols of American resistance and readiness.
MINUTEMEN were citizen soldiers in the American colonies who volunteered to fight the British at a "minute's" notice during the years before the American Revolution.
The Minutemen were a right-wing paramilitary organization formed in the 1960s, primarily by Robert Bolivar DePugh. DePugh, inspired by a mix of personal ideologies and various right-wing literature, envisioned the group as a response to an anticipated communist takeover in the United States.
The militia established before the beginning of the American Revolution in Massachusetts and others colonies were called Minutemen because they were ready for any emergency "on a minute's notice." This organization was set up to bypass the regular militia, many of officers of which were Tories.