The New Hampshire Militia was a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

of what is now the U.S. state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. First organized in 1631, it was redesignated as the New Hampshire National Guard in 1879.

History

The Militia was first organized within the Province of New Hampshire, a colony of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

, in 1631. That instance of the militia lasted until 1641, when the area came under the jurisdiction of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

. After New Hampshire became an separate colony again in 1679, Provincial Governor John Cutt reorganized the militia on March 16, 1680, with one foot-

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

apiece for the four major settlements in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, and Hampton, and an artillery and cavalry company in Portsmouth.Gabriele Esposito, ''Armies of Early Colonial North America'', 1607–1713 ''History, Organization and Uniforms'' (Pen & Sword Books, 2018) The

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

authorized the Provincial Governor to give commissions to persons who shall be best qualified for regulating and discipline of the militia. President Cutt placed Major Richard Waldron of Dover in command of the Militia.

Colonial era

The New Hampshire Militia served in all of the Colonial Wars, and was part of expeditions that captured the

Fortress of Louisbourg The Fortress of Louisbourg () is a tourist attraction as a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century Kingdom of France, French fortress at Louisbourg, Nov ...

in 1745 and Port Royal, Nova Scotia in 1710. During the last four wars of the French and Indian Wars, the New Hampshire Militia furnished about 5,000 men for six different campaigns, including men who served with Major Robert Rogers and his Rangers. Regiments of the New Hampshire provincial soldiers were at the Battle of Lake George, the Siege of Fort William Henry, the Siege of Louisbourg (1758), the 1758 Battle of Carillon and the fall of Fort Carillon (subsequently Fort Ticonderoga) in 1759, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Battle of Sainte-Foy near

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and were present at the final capitulation of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. They also saw action in countless small battles from the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. The Militia was also heavily involved in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

when it furnished men for the New Hampshire regiments in Washington's

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. John Stark, an officer in Rogers' Rangers, raised the 1st New Hampshire Regiment and took it to the Siege of Boston in 1775 and fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, along with James Reed's 3rd New Hampshire Regiment. These two regiments along with Enoch Poor's 2nd New Hampshire Regiment entered service with the Continental Army and saw action all through the war. In 1777 John Stark led a force of 1,500

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

militia at the Battle of Bennington in a surprise attack against over 1,400 Hessian,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

and Indians and won a stunning victory that helped the Continental Army win the Saratoga Campaign. Two New Hampshire militia regiments were at the Battle of Saratoga serving in Ebenezer Learned's Brigade helping to defeat General John Burgoyne. New Hampshire militia helped in Gen. John Sullivan's unsuccessful Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

Civil War era (1860–1880)

At the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the Militia was virtually nonexistent. The state had to raise volunteer regiments, such as the 6th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, to aid in the war. In 1879, New Hampshire designated the Militia as the New Hampshire National Guard, decades before the mandatory name change required by the National Defense Act of 1916.

Units

References

External links

*
The ranger service in the upper valley of the Connecticut, and the most northerly regiment of the New Hampshire militia in the period of the revolution : an address delivered before the New Hampshire Society of Sons of the American Revolution at Concord, N.H., April 26, 1900State Builders: An Illustrated Historical and Biographical Record of the State of New Hampshire. State Builers Publishing Manchester, NH 1903
compiled by the

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

{{Authority control 1680 establishments in New Hampshire Military units and formations established in 1680