Militias

Definition and Early Examples

Etymologically, the term militia is derived from the Latin miles, implying soldiers; the suffix itia[Page 1579]denotes a state, activity, quality, or condition of being. Hence, the term militia (miles + itia) implies a military service. Although the classical Latin meaning of militia implied soldiers in service of a sovereign or a state, today it means “a military force raised from the civilian population of a country or region, especially to supplement regular army in an emergency, distinguished from mercenaries or professional soldiers” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2002). It is important to distinguish militia composed of professional soldiers in paid service from those made of persons giving voluntary or unpaid service on an ad hoc basis.

Its history can be traced back at least as far as the early colonial period in the United States, when there were many examples of groups of able-bodied males who were ready to fight in any emergency. In fact, the militia was the first permanent armed military force in the 13 colonies. George Washington, then adjutant general of the Virginia militia, called on the militia to respond to a frontier Indian attack. Article VI of the Articles of Confederation (1777) stated,

Similarly, militia turned out with great alacrity in Maryland and Pennsylvania, where they performed the role of internal police and looked out for people with suspect allegiances. Militias continued to be raised following the Revolutionary War but often lacked traditional military values. Officers were commonly selected on the basis of popularity rather than their military training, experiences, or ethos. The public was also reluctant to support the militia through taxation. The militia was seen as a peacetime army outside civilian control. For instance, in 1794, a militia comprising about 13,000 people was raised by President George Washington to quell the Whiskey Rebellion in the state of Pennsylvania. In 1802, the federal academy at West Point was established to rectify some of the flaws in the training of the militia and to inculcate in them a greater sense of discipline.

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