Understanding Enlistments
To understand the service of Natick’s soldiers in the American Revolution, it is important to know how their roles and lengths of enlistment varied. Read below for information on types of military service.
All soldiers were paid according to their rank regardless of their status (ie. free, indentured, enslaved or apprenticed) at the time of enlistment. Free soldiers were paid directly for their military service. The masters of the apprenticed, indentured, and enslaved soldiers often chose to receive payment for their military services.
Types of Military Service
Militia
Who Served
All able-bodied men, ages 16 to 60 Exceptions: political leaders, judges, constables, ministers, and others
Training
Trained six days per year. Fines were levied for men who did not train
Minute Men
Who Served
A specialized part of the militia, expected to respond to an alarm with only a “minute’s notice”
Training
Trained two days per week and were paid
Equipment
Many received arms and equipment from the town
Continental Army
Who Served
On June 14, 1775, the Continental Army was officially established with George Washington as Commander-in-Chief.
The Draft
(Feb 1778)
Instituted to fill the dwindling army: Massachusetts instituted a levy and gained substantial numbers of soldiers
Substitutes
Monetary inducements meant that wealthier men could send substitutes in their place