Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to a presentation that will blow

you away!

Ready? 3…

2…

1…

Colonial Life:Colonial Life:Colonial Life:Colonial Life:Militias & More!

By Rachel Kulik 7A4-ID2

Hear ye, hear ye! A

presentation on colonial military and defense is now being

shown!

Glossary• Militia - military force, often made up of local volunteers

- The French and Indian War by Andrew Santella

• Minuteman - a member of a group of American militiamen just before and during the Revolutionary War who held themselves in readiness for instant military service.

- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/minuteman

• Rifle - a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, which fires a single projectile (bullet) through a barrel which contains spiral grooves in its bore. (The bore is the hole through the middle of the barrel.) Along with shotguns, these are often called "long guns."

- http://hunting.about.com/od/guns/g/rifle.htm

• Saltpeter - the form of potassium nitrate, KNO 3 , that occurs naturally, used in the manufacture of fireworks, fluxes, gunpowder, etc.; niter.

- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/saltpeter

First of All- Defense in Homes

The safety of individual families at home was very important, so the government reinforced laws to warranted homes to have at least one

firearm.

Separate farms and abodes were not recommended, as they made easy targets for

Indian raids.

Villages centered around a meetinghouse were favored. They usually had outposts, small

watchtowers, and at least one station for troops.

LetLet’’s start at the beginning!s start at the beginning!

Well, when one country has control over another territory, that country impacts the culture and way

of life of the people living there. In this case, a certain country’s militia was a great influence.

Now, I wonder what that country was! Hmmm…

Hint

Keep this in mind!

Keep this in mind!

Hint

Many English military institutions were inherited in the American colonies. The militia was one of these

important things; it dated back to Anglo-Saxon times.

English Inheritances-MilitiasEnglish Inheritances-Militias

As settlements were enlarged, there was more brutality between the colonists and neighboring Indians. Colonies

needed a way to defend their land, so they interpreted the ways of English militias and made their own variations.

Immigrants and contact with the British Army kept the colonists informed about the latest technological

developments.

A Few Things on Training:

• Many colonists hunted, but few had ever fought in a formal line of battle.

• Militia training stressed individual marksmanship instead of massed firing at an area, which had been usual in the Old World.

• British colonials in 17th century New England trained in the aspects of quick response and strict obedience to an officer’s commands. These things were helpful when battling from an assigned defensive position in town.

From To

A Continuation of the Previous Page:

• Militiamen were armed with various weapons that ranged from rifles to fowling pieces (aka shotguns). Because of great differences in the weapons used, they could not load and shoot at once.

• Obedience was a necessary factor in militias. The community’s defense was considered more important than any longing of one member, and militiamen could be fined and jailed if they were irresponsible.

I can’t go to jail! I’m

claustrophobic!

In case you have no common sense, in colonial times, there were no:

But…

Things to Keep in Mind…

Advanced guns

Tanks

Camouflage clothes & protective wear

What Minutemen did have:

Cannons-Cannon calibers were made based on the weight of the balls used. The smallest of the standard cannons was called a two-pounder, and the largest was the fifty-pounder.

The choice of weapons was also the effect of European heritage.

Flintlock muskets-The wilderness gave an emphasis to it’s great advantages. By 1675, almost every colony required its minutemen to carry flintlocks instead of matchlocks. The British “Brown Bess” was an acclaimed example of a flintlock musket.Ship and garrison carriages-These carriages were adequate for lighter guns. They were made up of wooden frames, which rested on four trucks, or small wheels. The cannon or gun would lie between the sides of the frame on cross-members called "transoms."

Horses- These creatures were used for transport, height, and speed. Horses also pulled things and came in handy when traveling on uneven land.

See diagrams

Gunpowder-Obviously, you couldn’t have guns without it! Did you know: Gunpowder is chemically considered a mixture. The ingredients are just physically combined. Gunpowder is made up of saltpeter, sulphur, and charcoal (in the same amount by weight). If you increased saltpeter, powder for muskets would be made, and an even greater increase would result in pistol powder.

This is a Cannon:

This is a flintlock

musket/rifle:

1. Breech bolt2. Aft sight3. Vent hole4. Front sight5. First reinforcing ring6. Barrel7. Muzzle8. Second reinforcing ring9. Horizontal rotation axis10. Chock11. Vertical rotation axis12. Wheel13. Mobile pedestal14. Carriage15. Pommel16. Elevation thread

This is a Carriage

holding a cannon:

Remember?

Fun Fact Time!

The Charleville Musket was made in France in 1717. Though it is improbable that it, along with other versions, were used in battles of North America, at least one of

them was discovered with a brand of "US" on the lock.

Soldiers who were able to solve the geometric calculations that were

necessary to place a cannonball on target were considered wizards.

The "Brown Bess" was manufactured for more than a century. It was used in both the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). It weighed fifteen pounds with its bayonet and could

fire a ball that was three quarters of an inch in diameter!

Huzzah! I’m a wizard!

Bibliography:• The French and Indian War by Andrew Santella

• http://www.colonialwarsct.org/colonial_military_experience.htm

• Colonial Militia in the 17th Century | Suite101.com

• http://nicholas-efstathiou.suite101.com/colonial-militia-in-the-17th-century-a223820#ixzz1dLsfWY1A

• http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/winter08/tactics.cfm

• http://www.americanrevolution.org/artillery.html

• http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=marksmanship

• http://hunting.about.com/od/guns/g/rifle.htm

• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/minuteman

• http://replicaweaponry.com/britbrowrif.html• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/saltpeter

• http://www.2ndsc.org/charleville.html

Image URLs:• http://l.thumbs.canstockphoto.com/canstock2778025.jpg• http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/education/large_gold_star.png• http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ESn7-Cn4W94/TclgAtW7bWI/AAAAAAAAAE8/miN_pY000to/

s1600/blackboard.jpg• http://www.bronzecannons.net/cannon_partsx1000.jpg• http://www.hunter-ed.com/images/graphics/gun_parts_muzzleloading_rifle.gif• http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/education/look_it_up_T.png• http://www.flubber.net/Clipart/content/bin/images/large/Book2.jpg• http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960017/posts• http://asjewelers.com/FRstuff/17/LexingtonM4minutemenLG.jpg• http://www.travelamerica2learn.com/images/colonial_soldiers_marching_md_wht.gif• http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/45200/45207/45207_brit_cannon_lg.gif• http://www.clker.com/clipart-cannon-balls.html• http://media.onsugar.com/files/2011/04/16/5/1593/15933885/f1/theatre_curtain_2_.jpg• http://www.clker.com/clipart-6814.html• http://www.sun-windsolutions.com/wind_pic1.jpg• http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_q6qph8tLqX8/SjvuD3ugDYI/AAAAAAAAAoU/AcV8k7o7i_8/s400/

Militia_at_Guilford.jpg• http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RWmA77zbc7s/TgKVLYSl-wI/AAAAAAAAEDc/KR_Cx5nNIEg/

s1600/colonial-minutemen-5.jpg• http://www.concordma.com/magazine/spring05/bhday002.thb.jpg• http://www.clker.com/clipart-14876.html• http://cdn7.fotosearch.com/bthumb/corbis/DGT067/CB005367.jpg

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