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Associators | |
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Active | 1689-1784 |
Country | British America United States |
Allegiance | Great Britain United States |
Branch | colonial militia, independent volunteers, military association, refugees, partisans, (auxiliary troops) |
Type | infantry, dragoons (mounted infantry), artillery |
Size | company-regiment |
Engagements | Maryland Protestant Rebellion (1689) King George's War (1744-1748) French and Indian War (1754-1763) Contents
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Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
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Associators were members of 17th- and 18th-century volunteer military associations in the British American thirteen colonies and British Colony of Canada. These were more commonly known as Maryland Protestant, Pennsylvania, and American Patriot and British Loyalist colonial militias. But unlike militias, the associator military volunteers were exempt from regular mandatory military service. Other names used to describe associators were " Associations ", "Associated", " Refugees ", "Volunteers", and " Partisans ".
The term Non-Associators was applied to American colonists who refused to support and sign "military association" charters. They were not affiliated with associators, or would choose instead, to pay a fine and suffer possible retaliation. During the American Revolutionary War, some associator units were said to operate more like, or were in fact loose-knit criminal gangs, taking advantage of the disruption of warfare.
The present-day U.S. Army 111th Infantry Regiment Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division is nicknamed the "Associators", helping to preserve the volunteer associators' ancestral legacy in Pennsylvania.
During King George's War, Benjamin Franklin, in 1747, wrote and published the pamphlet, "Plain Truth", calling for a voluntary association to defend Philadelphia. This was in line with his earlier formation of volunteer fire-companies. This organization was formed and approved by the council and the officers would be commissioned by the Council President. [1] In 1755 these groups were re-established in response to Braddock's defeat. [2] The 103rd Engineer Battalion (United States) and the U.S. Army 111th Infantry Regiment Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, nicknamed the "Associators", traces their lineages to these Pennsylvania Associators.
In 1776, Pennsylvania, Patriot, volunteer, military groups, in the tradition of earlier, colonial, associator militias, used the name the Pennsylvania Associators and in 1777, were renamed the Pennsylvania State Militia.
Many Loyalist irregulars who fought with the British in the American Revolutionary War were "associators". These units were sometimes commissioned by the commander in chief but could also be commissioned by the commander of a garrison or a royal colonial governor. They received no pay, and often no uniforms; they were usually issued provisions, but relied on labor or looting to earn money. Loyalist Associators often served in mixed-race units, composed of whites, escaped slaves, and even American Indians.
Perhaps one of the most famous Loyalist associators was Colonel Tye, a former slave and leader of the infamous "Black Brigade". He was the first known black officer in North American military history.
The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War (1775–83). It was one of the few units in the Continental Army to serve through the entire war, from the siege of Boston to the disbanding of the Continental Army on November 3, 1783.
The 5th Maryland Regiment is a designation which has been held by several units over the years, not all of which necessarily share the same lineage and honors. The term "5th Maryland" has most frequently been connected to militia units in Baltimore, even though the first unit to bear the designation was formed in 1776 from volunteers in rural Maryland. The "5th Maryland" designation is the officially recognized traditional designation of the 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard. This entry refers to the rural 5th Maryland, whose lineage is separate and distinct from the Baltimore 5th Maryland perpetuated by the 175th Infantry Regiment.
The Hillsborough District Brigade of militia was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia established on May 4, 1776. Brigadier General Thomas Person was the first commander. Companies from the eight regiments of the brigade were engaged in 55 known battles and skirmishes in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. It was active until the end of the war.
Major-General Oliver De Lancey was a merchant and Loyalist politician and soldier during the American Revolutionary War. His surname is also sometimes written as de Lancey or Delancey.
The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War. Formed in 1776, they were named for Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. The Queen's Rangers was a light corps in the tradition of British rangers during the Seven Years' War, operating on the flanks and in advance of Crown forces, manning outposts, conducting patrols, and carrying out reconnaissance and raiding operations.
The Pennsylvania Archives are a 138 volume set of reference books compiling transcriptions of letters and early records relating to the colony and state of Pennsylvania. The volumes were published in nine different series between 1838 and 1935 by acts of the Pennsylvania legislature. Contents of the archives include:
The British Colonial Auxiliary Forces were the various military forces of Britain's colonial empire which were not considered part of the British military proper.
The Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment, also known as the Loyal Regiment of Nova Scotia Volunteers and Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers, from 1775-1780, the Royal Regiment of Nova Scotia Volunteers, from 1780-1783, and the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment and Nova Scotia Volunteers, was a British Loyalist provincial battalion, of infantry, raised in 1775, to defend British interests, in the colony of Nova Scotia. The unit was commanded by Col. Francis Legge, until replaced by Col. John Parr in 1782. The Royal NS Volunteers never saw combat, but did play an important role in the defense of the colony of Nova Scotia, in the later years, of the American Revolution.
Francis Locke Sr. (1722–1796) was a plantation owner, businessman, politician, and a participant in the American War of Independence, where he led the American Patriots to the decisive victory at Ramseur's Mill, which turned the tide of the American War for Independence in the south.
The Province of Nova Scotia was heavily involved in the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). At that time, Nova Scotia also included present-day New Brunswick until that colony was created in 1784. The Revolution had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia, "almost the 14th American Colony". At the beginning, there was ambivalence in Nova Scotia over whether the colony should join the Americans in the war against Britain. Largely as a result of American privateer raids on Nova Scotia villages, as the war continued, the population of Nova Scotia solidified their support for the British. Nova Scotians were also influenced to remain loyal to Britain by the presence of British military units, judicial prosecution by the Nova Scotia Governors and the efforts of Reverend Henry Alline.
The Salisbury District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disbanded at the end of the war.
The Edenton District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disbanded at the end of the war.
The New Bern District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disbanded at the end of the war.
The Orange County Regiment was authorized on September 9, 1775 by the Province of North Carolina Congress. On April 22, 1776, the unit was split into the Northern Orange County Regiment and the Southern Orange County Regiment, which retained most of the original men. Both regiments were subordinated to the Hillsborough District Brigade of militia on May 4, 1776. When the North Orange County Regiment was renamed the Caswell County Regiment on May 9, 1777, the Southern Orange County Regiment name reverted to the Orange County Regiment. The regiment was engaged in battles and skirmishes against the British during the American Revolution in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia between 1776 and 1782. It was active until the end of the war.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the American Revolutionary War.