The Militia of the County York (ePub)

Little is known about the how and why of the establishment of a militia in Pennsylvania and the frontier in the 1700s. An incident in Delaware started the movement to secure a military organization to defend Philadelphia. This organization, known as associators, organized to learn the military art and defend the colony. This movement made its way to the frontier county of York. This small initial militia became engrained into the fabric of liberty of the inhabitants in the years leading up to the declaration of the colonies for independence.

Establishing a militia in a Quaker-dominated state was very difficult. Arms had to be procured, training rules set, and expenses paid. No easy task, with the Assembly opposed to supporting the militia on religious grounds.

York County was no different. The largest population were Germans, who opposed to bearing arms against anyone, who joined with the Quaker leadership, who supported their religious beliefs. Several other ethnic groups were willing to bear arms to defend their homeland against foreign intervention. That combination of differences started the discord that was an issue for the years leading up to the revolution and continued through to the end of the war.

There have been attempts to write this story and clarify the history and the records. This is the latest attempt to explain the issues of the associators and the eventual founding of a state-supported militia during the darkest days of the revolutionary era.