Osprey Men-at-Arms 366 : Colonial American Troops (1) 1610-1774

This first of a three-part study includes a general introduction and chronology, and chapters on Crown troops in North America; and begins a colony-by-colony review of militias and provincial units. The text is illustrated with rare early images and with eight specially commissioned full colour plates. Almost from the first arrival of French and English colonists in eastern North America in the 16th century the settlers were forced to raise militias to protect themselves from the Indians. French and English soon made alliances with different tribes, and fought alongside them against their Native American and European enemies during a long series of frontier wars, as each struggled for expanded territories and trading advantages in the new continent. In the absence of more than tiny forces of European troops it was the colonists themselves who had to bear the brunt of the periodic fighting. Remote forts were planted on the vital waterways and along the advancing frontiers, and these were often the objectives of long, dangerous expeditions through the wilderness. Other columns were formed to seek revenge for Indian attacks on frontier settlements. Eventually, in the mid-1700s, the Seven Years' War between Britain and France in Europe spilled over into America. Larger European forces were shipped out to settle forever the colonial dominance of North America, leading to such dramatic clashes as Braddock's Massacre, the failed British attack on Montcalm's Fort Ticonderoga, the massacre at Fort William Henry, and Wolfe's decisive victory at Quebec in 1759. (This is the historic background to the popular epic film 'The Last of the Mohicans') All these campaigns involved locally raised 'provincial' troops, such as the Virginia Regiment (in which George Washington served), and the 'Ranger Companies' of forest guerrillas such as that led by the legendary Robert Rogers. These units were the seeds from which grew the future American army of the Revolutionary War. Text by René Chartrand with illustrations by David Rickman.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chronology
• Royal Troops
• Regular Regiments Raised or Organized in America
• Colonial Militias Provincial Troops
• Virginia - Militia and Provincials
• New Netherlands
• New Sweden