This article is about 16th to 18th century militias. For the musical group Train, see Train (band).
Look up trainband in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Trainbands or Trained Bands were companies of militia in England or the Americas,[1][2][3] first organized in the 16th century and dissolved in the 18th. The term was used after this time to describe the London militia. In the early American colonies the trainband was the most basic tactical unit.[4] However, no standard company size existed and variations were wide. As population grew these companies were organized into regiments to allow better management.[4] But trainbands were not combat units. Generally, upon reaching a certain age a man was required to join the local trainband in which he received periodic training for the next couple of decades. In wartime, military forces were formed by selecting men from trainbands on an individual basis and then forming them into a fighting unit.
A march of the train bands
The exact derivation and usage is not clear. A nineteenth-century dictionary says, under "Train":
train-band, i.e. train'd band, a band of trained men, Cowper, John Gilpin, st. I, and used by Dryden and Clarendon (Todd)
— Skeat's Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (Oxford 1879)[5]
The issue is whether the men "received training" in the modern sense, or whether they were "in the train" or retinue or were otherwise organized around a military "train" as in horse-drawn artillery.
In 17th Century New England colonial militia units were usually referred to as "train bands" or, sometimes, "trained bands".[3] Typically, each town would elect three officers to lead its train band with the ranks of captain, lieutenant and ensign. As the populations of towns varied widely, larger towns usually had more than one train band. In the middle 1600s train bands began to be referred to as companies.
On December 13, 1636 the Massachusetts Militia was organized into three regiments - North, South and East. As there are National Guard units descendants of these regiments, this date is used as the "birthday" of the National Guard, despite the fact that citizen militias in the American Colonies date back to the Jamestown settlement in 1607.
Referencesedit
^The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: The Century dictionary ... prepared under the superintendence of William Dwight Whitney ... rev. & enl. under the superintendence of Benjamin E. Smith. Century Company. 1911.
^Jonathan Worton: Ludlow's Trained Band: A Study of Militiamen in Early Stuart England, Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol. 91, No. 365 (Spring 2013), pp. 4–23, JSTOR 44232985, last accessed 27 Oct 2018: "Two dozen militiamen—12 equipped as musketeers, 12 as pikemen—who dutifully assembled at Ludlow for the muster on 8 May 1632 constituted the town's Trained Band, a unit maintained at the charge of Ludlow's inhabitants with its ranks filled by local men."
^ abConnecticut (1894). The Public Records of the State of Connecticut ... with the Journal of the Council of Safety ... and an Appendix: Pub. in Accordance with a Resolution of the General Assembly, by Charles J. Hoadly. Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company.
^ abAllan R. Millett and Peter Maslowski: For the common defense: A military history of the United States of America, New York: Free Press; London: Collier Macmillan, 1984, Library of Congress bibliographic record, http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/simon052/94005199.html, last accessed 27 Oct 2018: "Although the basic tactical unit in all the colonies was the company, or trainband, regional variations and changes over time were as important as the superficial uniformity. No standardized company size existed, some companies containing as few as sixty-five men and others as many as two hundred. Some trainbands elected their officers, but in others the governors appointed them. Southern colonies, with widely dispersed populations, often organized companies on a countywide basis, while in New England, with its towns and villages, individual communities contained their own trainbands. As populations increased and the number of trainbands grew, colonies organized companies into regiments to preserve efficient management."
trainband, this, article, about, 16th, 18th, century, militias, musical, group, train, train, band, look, trainband, wiktionary, free, dictionary, trained, bands, were, companies, militia, england, americas, first, organized, 16th, century, dissolved, 18th, te. This article is about 16th to 18th century militias For the musical group Train see Train band Look up trainband in Wiktionary the free dictionary Trainbands or Trained Bands were companies of militia in England or the Americas 1 2 3 first organized in the 16th century and dissolved in the 18th The term was used after this time to describe the London militia In the early American colonies the trainband was the most basic tactical unit 4 However no standard company size existed and variations were wide As population grew these companies were organized into regiments to allow better management 4 But trainbands were not combat units Generally upon reaching a certain age a man was required to join the local trainband in which he received periodic training for the next couple of decades In wartime military forces were formed by selecting men from trainbands on an individual basis and then forming them into a fighting unit A march of the train bandsThe exact derivation and usage is not clear A nineteenth century dictionary says under Train train band i e train d band a band of trained men Cowper John Gilpin st I and used by Dryden and Clarendon Todd Skeat s Etymological Dictionary of the English Language Oxford 1879 5 The issue is whether the men received training in the modern sense or whether they were in the train or retinue or were otherwise organized around a military train as in horse drawn artillery In 17th Century New England colonial militia units were usually referred to as train bands or sometimes trained bands 3 Typically each town would elect three officers to lead its train band with the ranks of captain lieutenant and ensign As the populations of towns varied widely larger towns usually had more than one train band In the middle 1600s train bands began to be referred to as companies On December 13 1636 the Massachusetts Militia was organized into three regiments North South and East As there are National Guard units descendants of these regiments this date is used as the birthday of the National Guard despite the fact that citizen militias in the American Colonies date back to the Jamestown settlement in 1607 References edit The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia The Century dictionary prepared under the superintendence of William Dwight Whitney rev amp enl under the superintendence of Benjamin E Smith Century Company 1911 Jonathan Worton Ludlow s Trained Band A Study of Militiamen in Early Stuart England Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research Vol 91 No 365 Spring 2013 pp 4 23 JSTOR 44232985 last accessed 27 Oct 2018 Two dozen militiamen 12 equipped as musketeers 12 as pikemen who dutifully assembled at Ludlow for the muster on 8 May 1632 constituted the town s Trained Band a unit maintained at the charge of Ludlow s inhabitants with its ranks filled by local men a b Connecticut 1894 The Public Records of the State of Connecticut with the Journal of the Council of Safety and an Appendix Pub in Accordance with a Resolution of the General Assembly by Charles J Hoadly Case Lockwood amp Brainard Company a b Allan R Millett and Peter Maslowski For the common defense A military history of the United States of America New York Free Press London Collier Macmillan 1984 Library of Congress bibliographic record http catdir loc gov catdir samples simon052 94005199 html last accessed 27 Oct 2018 Although the basic tactical unit in all the colonies was the company or trainband regional variations and changes over time were as important as the superficial uniformity No standardized company size existed some companies containing as few as sixty five men and others as many as two hundred Some trainbands elected their officers but in others the governors appointed them Southern colonies with widely dispersed populations often organized companies on a countywide basis while in New England with its towns and villages individual communities contained their own trainbands As populations increased and the number of trainbands grew colonies organized companies into regiments to preserve efficient management Walter W Skeat An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language Dover Publications Inc Mineola N Y an unabridged republication of the work originally published in 1910 p 658 https books google com books id jeeGAAAAQBAJ amp q Train band v snippet amp q Train band amp f false last accessed 27 Oct 2018 External links edit nbsp Media related to Trainbands at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Trainband amp oldid 1182627077, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
