Militia (Military History)

Introduction
In the field of military history, militia is often defined simply as a group of individuals or citizens who serve part-time in military service. It is often differentiated from standing, regular armies. While other, newer uses of the term (such as paramilitary independent citizens’ groups in the United States and elsewhere) exist, it is the traditional “militia” that is the subject of this article. The militia system, it can be argued, has served as the basis of all military systems since Antiquity; in contrast, the regular standing army, with the exception of the Roman legions, is a relatively recent invention, dating from after the era of the Thirty Years’ War. This article is organized by chronological sequence as well as by regional/national focus. Consequently, each section is given a short introduction before discussion of relevant key bibliographic works. The European experience with militias, including European colonial militias, is the subject of the first section of this survey. The second section focuses on the American (United States) experience. Given the relatively large body of work in American military history on the subject of militias, the section is further divided into several parts. After the general introduction, four sections address the Colonial and Revolutionary War Eras, 1600 to 1783, the Early Republic and Antebellum Era, 1783 to 1861, and the American Civil War to 1920, 1861 to 1920, and the Modern United States, 1920 to the Present, and a section specifically focused on Militias and the Second Amendment (gun rights) debate is included. The final section covers non-Western militia systems, and it is subdivided into India, China, Central Asia and Middle East and Islamic sections, from 4000 BCE to 1900 CE, followed by a summary of modern works (see Noncolonial Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, 1900 to the Present). The state-organized militia, not the unorganized militia or armed gang, is the focus and subject of this article. However, given the spread of armed militia groups, especially in Africa and Asia, a section is provided that addresses non-nation-state and semiofficial state militias in the modern world (see Modern Non-Nation-State, 1900 to Present).
Europe, Ancient to Renaissance Era, 5000 BCE to 1500 CE
From the beginnings of recorded European history to the Renaissance, armed and organized violence among tribes, city-states, empires, and kingdoms was based largely on militias. Few actors could afford the expense, and the political threat, of large, long-service, standing armies, yet they had a permanent requirement for military forces. Consequently, with the exception of the Roman imperial legions, and arguably the Macedonian armies of Phillip II and Alexander, all armies of the period had their basis in some type of militia system. These systems varied greatly, from the brutal discipline of the Spartans to the loose feudal system of the Middle Ages, and they ended with the semiprofessional and semipermanent militia companies of the Renaissance.
Ancient Greece
The entire military system of ancient Greece, from the democratic system of Athens to the oligarchy of Sparta, was effectively based on a militia system. Few city-states could afford to train, pay, equip, and maintain a standing army sufficient for their defensive needs, as noted in de Souza 2008, de Souza and France 2008, and Kagan 2004. Consequently, the Greek city-states concentrated on a trained and ready militia force that could be called up during times of war, as described in Ashley 1998. The Spartan system, with its harsh discipline and military focus, was still a hoplite (heavy infantry) militia; however, it was a highly effective and efficient one, and studies of the Spartan system, as noted in Cartledge 2003 and in popular culture, reinforce that fact. The texts noted in this section constitute just a sampling of the vast academic literature available on the subject of the ancient Greek military system. Of the survey works, few can compare with the excellent Saban, et al. 2007.
Ashley, James R. The Macedonian Empire: The Era of Warfare under Philip II and Alexander the Great, 359–323 B.C. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While battle studies and political focus are often the centerpiece of many studies, Ashley’s work looks at the era of Philip II and Alexander, especially the development by these rulers of a semistanding army from the Macedonian (and later Greek) hoplite militias.
Find this resource:
Cartledge, Paul. The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece, from Utopia to Crisis and Collapse. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 2003.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Thanks to centuries of study, the Spartans are often seen as an army with a state attached. However, Cartledge takes a different approach, noting the militia-based system as well as its greater impact on Spartan (and Greek) culture and on later civilizations.
Find this resource:
de Souza, Philip. The Ancient World at War: A Global History. London: Thames & Hudson, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In this highly regarded and comprehensive look at warfare in the ancient era, de Souza examines the nature of conflict from both the Western and non-Western perspectives. Military systems, including pure militia systems and semistanding armies, are discussed in detail.
Find this resource:
de Souza, Philip, and John France. War and Peace in Ancient and Medieval History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511496301Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An edited work of the top scholars in the field of ancient and medieval military history, this work focuses on the interrelationship between politics and war in the period. While tending to a general view, this volume is highly recommended as a solid basis for understanding the role of militias and other military forces before 1500.
Find this resource:
Kagan, Donald. The Peloponnesian War. New York: Penguin, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Kagan’s award-winning work is not only well written, but it provides an excellent background on the military systems of the conflict.
Find this resource:
Saban, Philip A. G., Hans van Wees, and Michael Whitby. The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A wide-ranging and scholarly, but highly readable, survey of the Greek and Roman military systems and major military operations.
Find this resource:
Roman Republic and Empire
The early Roman Republic, much like the Greek city-states, was entirely militia-based. The poor performance at the beginning of the Punic Wars is often credited to the relatively untrained and untried Roman soldiers facing combat experienced Carthaginian troops and their allies, as described in Goldsworthy 2003 and Mackay 2004. Most general works, especially those focusing on the manipular legions of the Roman Republic, go into great detail on how these militia-based armies were trained, led, and equipped. General scholarship on the Roman Empire, in contrast, tends to look at the standing Roman legions and their impact on politics, military science, and the conduct of campaigns, as noted in Erdkamp 2007. However, some scholars have written works (Rushworth 1992, Southern 2006) in which attention is given to the use and employment of auxilia (auxiliaries) as supplements to the standing legions, which were often no more than locally raised militia and volunteer forces that were provided with better equipment and training. Worth noting is the long-term impact of the Roman militia experience, which was used as a basis for the development of militia systems in the Renaissance and later (Lipsius 1596, Sackville 1752).
Erdkamp, Paul, ed. A Companion to the Roman Army. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007.
DOI: 10.1002/9780470996577Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In this anthology of noted Roman military historians, authors note that, even in the era of the Roman Republic, Rome was a militarized culture and the requirement of civic membership in militias is a key point in the evolution to a standing army.
Find this resource:
Goldsworthy, Adrian K. The Complete Roman Army. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2003.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Goldsworthy’s collective works outline the evolution of the Roman military system from militia to imperial legion to scattered local forces by the fall of the Roman Empire. An excellent overview from a top historian.
Find this resource:
Lipsius, Justis. De Militia Romana. Antwerp, Belgium: Viduam, 1596.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The study of the Roman Republic’s militia system has been used historically to justify (or counter) arguments for (or against) a militia system or standing army. As with many classic works republished in the digital age, De Militia Romana is available online from major universities, such as the University of Salamanca and the University of Zaragoza.
Find this resource:
Mackay, Christopher S. Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Mackay’s work is but one example of the numerous grand overviews of Roman history available to researchers. Mackay does good service in describing the military structures of the Roman Republic to the late Roman Empire, and he notes how the evolution of the political situation forced the change from militia to standing army.
Find this resource:
Rushworth, Alan. “Soldiers and Tribesmen: The Roman Army and Tribal Society in Late Imperial Africa.” PhD diss., University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1992.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
As the Roman Empire collapsed, the Roman army became more dependent on locally raised militia forces to hold back potential enemies.
Find this resource:
Sackville, Charles, Duke of Dorset. A Treatise concerning the Militia: In Four Sections. I. Of the Militia in General; II. Of the Roman Militia; III. The Proper Plan of a Militia, for This Country; IV. Observations upon This Plan. Dublin, Ireland: George Faulkner, 1752.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
As noted under Lipsius 1596, at various times in the past scholars, politicians, and military leaders have used the Roman militia experience to justify contemporary arguments concerning the development of a militia system. Digital copies of Sackville’s treatise are available, including from Queen’s University, as well as from research companies, such as Gale.
Find this resource:
Southern, Pat. The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Southern’s work stands out as providing a view of the Roman military system as seen by the individual soldier over the period from the Roman Republic to the late Roman Empire. The focus includes such topics as military culture, technology, and organization.
Find this resource:
Medieval and Renaissance
The European medieval and Renaissance eras were periods of long stability in political and military organization, punctuated by episodes of activity and reform, as described in Rogers 1995. In general, the collapse of the Roman Empire in the late 400s CE left the scattered militias and remnants of the imperial legions in hostile, lawless areas. Consequently, civic life in Western Europe more closely resembled a standing militia with occasional civilian duties than the reverse that is common in militias found in the modern era. Ultimately, the medieval military system emerged, with its focus on the mounted and armored knight backed by substantial vassal levies (militias). The desire to keep weapons out of the hands of the lower classes during peacetime periods, while important for social and political stability also prevented medieval levies from gaining the level of military proficiency that had been a notable feature of the Greek and Roman eras. In major conflicts, such as the First and Third Crusades and the Hundred Years’ War, these vassal levies would gain experience earned on long campaigns. Over time, they became hardened veterans, as outlined in Rogers, et al. 2010. The Renaissance, in contrast, saw a move away from the noble/vassal levy structure and toward standing armies. Machiavelli 2003 stands alone among works by early writers on the subject and should be the first reference for any scholar. Initially, these armies tended to be made up of mercenaries, but by the late Renaissance they were true national armies, such as those of France and Spain, as noted in Bayley 1961 and Mallett and Hale 1984. Only England, the scattered nobility of central Europe, and the city-states of Italy still depended on militia-based armies by the end of the Renaissance, as described in Hale 1985 and Gunn, et al. 2007.
Bayley, Charles C. War and Society in Renaissance Florence: The De militia of Leonardo Bruni. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1961.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A detailed study of the military system and conflicts of Florence, which was based on a semiprofessional militia.
Find this resource:
Gunn, S. J., David Grummitt, and Hans Cools. War, State and Society in England and the Netherlands, 1477–1559. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199207503.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A comparative study of military systems, predominantly militia-based, in England and the Netherlands in the early modern period as well as the impact of war on the evolution of political systems in the two nations.
Find this resource:
Hale, J. R. War and Society in Renaissance Europe, 1450–1620. New York: St. Martin’s, 1985.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Hale addresses the impact of the change from use of medieval vassal levy organizations to mercenaries as well as the impact of artillery and fortress systems and of standing armies in the era.
Find this resource:
Machiavelli, Niccolò. Art of War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This is classic study not only of political history (see also The Prince [1532]) but also one that makes a solid argument for a citizen-based military loyal to the state over mercenaries. Originally published in 1519–1520.
Find this resource:
Mallett, Michael, and J. R. Hale. The Military Organization of a Renaissance State: Venice, c. 1400 to 1617. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511562686Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Mallett and Hale focus on the military structure of Venice over two centuries to include militia and militia-type organizations.
Find this resource:
Rogers, Clifford J., ed. The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1995.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A collection of essays on the technological, social, and battlefield impact of the revolutions in military affairs in early modern Europe. Insightful and detailed discussion that includes the evolution from medieval militia-type levies to modern professional armies written by the top scholar in the field.
Find this resource:
Rogers, Clifford J., William Caferro, Shelley Reid, et al. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. 3 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A grand overview from experts in the field, this three-volume work provides the best available single-point resource for medieval military structures, organizations, technology, and doctrine.
Find this resource:
Europe, Early Modern and Colonial Era, 1500 to 1789
The European exploration and expansion into the East Indies and the New World dictated the concordant use of locally raised militia forces for defense. Simply put, it was cheaper and more efficient to arm and maintain a militia in the New World than it was to sustain regular forces from the mother country, as noted in Black 1999 and many others. However, scholarship on the militias that were retained in Europe is more difficult to find. Luckily for researchers, several fine examples that outline the evolution of militia systems, predominantly in the British Isles, exist. Beckett 1991, for example, covers the entire modern era in Great Britain and provides an excellent resource. McCormack 2007 uses the tools of new social history, specifically gender studies, in the author’s study of British militias in the 1750s. Robertson 1985 and Western 1993 follow the more focused studies pattern that is rarely seen in scholarship on European militias. Tlusty 2011 provides one of the few non-English studies on the topic. On the subject of colonial European militias, two distinct fields developed: the American field (covered in a separate section) and the non-American experience, noted below. In the latter, the Machuca text from 1603 should be required reading. Few texts from the period on the subject of militias survive, and the excellent work of Kris Lane and Timothy Johnson in reprinting the Machuca text (Machuca 2008) should be noted. Naylor and Polzer 1986 serves as a starting point for any serious scholarship on New Spain and its militias. Hack 2006 provides a solid overview of the European military experience in Asia that includes the use of native militias, conscripts, and mercenary forces.
Beckett, Ian F. W. The Amateur Military Tradition, 1558–1945. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1991.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A sweeping overview of the militia and volunteer military system of the British Isles; Beckett’s work serves as a baseline reference for any research on the evolution of British militia and auxiliary forces.
Find this resource:
Black, Jeremy. European Warfare, 1453–1815. New York: St. Martin’s, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Much like many other of Black’s works, this book is a general overview. The shift from a medieval militia-based system to by 1815, the standing professional armies of the age of limited war is a key part of the work.
Find this resource:
Hack, Karl. Colonial Armies in Southeast Asia. London: Routledge/Curzon, 2006.
DOI: 10.4324/9780203414668Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While a general work, Hack’s description of the process of building colonial armies in Asia discusses the development of local militia organizations along with volunteer and standing professional forces.
Find this resource:
Machuca, Berando de Vargas. The Indian Militia and Description of the Indies. Translated by Kris E. Lane and Timothy F. Johnson. Reprint. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Originally published 1603. Written by Captain Bernardo de Vargas Machuca, a famous explorer and conquistador, this work served as a field manual for militia units during the Spanish conquest of the New World. A work that covers subjects ranging from basic survival and organization to unit discipline and officership, this book stands as one of the few accounts on militia activities written by a participant at the time.
Find this resource:
McCormack, Matthew. “The New Militia, Politics and Gender in 1750s Britain.” Gender & History 19.3 (2007): 483–500.
DOI: 10.1046/j.1466-822X.1998.00313.x-i1Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In this intriguing essay, McCormack posits that the British defeats during the Seven Years’ War led to a rejuvenation of the militia system as part of an attempt to fortify British notions of manhood, provide a viable defense system, and enforce Georgian social mores in a period of change.
Find this resource:
Naylor, Thomas H., and Charles W. Polzer. The Presidio and Militia on the Northern Frontier of New Spain: A Documentary History. 2 vols. Phoenix: University of Arizona Press, 1986.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A substantial work of scholarship that describes the development and operations of the Spanish and local militias in New Spain.
Find this resource:
Robertson, John. The Scottish Enlightenment and the Militia Issue. Edinburgh: J. Donald, 1985.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The impact of the Enlightenment in Scotland, and issues of English control over Scotland’s defense counterbalanced with Scottish desires for independence, is the focus of this work.
Find this resource:
Tlusty, B. Ann. The Martial Ethic in Early Modern Germany: Civic Duty and the Right of Arms. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
DOI: 10.1057/9780230305519Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While this is work that is less about actual militia organizations than the role of the commoner as warrior, it constitutes one of the few non-British studies in the field. The importance of the “martial ethic” in the daily lives of male urban citizens in early modern Germany and the influence of that ethic on the development of German culture and warfare is the subject of this work.
Find this resource:
Western, J. R. The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century: The Story of a Political Issue, 1660–1802. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate and Gregg Revivals, 1993.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
One of the few books to actually address the development of militia organizations; Western’s focus on the political, cultural, and military issues of England (and later Great Britain) on the militia issue makes this a work well worth examining. Originally published in 1965.
Find this resource:
Europe, Modern Era
The European experience with militias following the French Revolution (1789) can be divided into two major fields of study. The first focuses on the experience in Europe itself and the second deals with the actions and operations of the European nation-states in their overseas empires. The former tends to focus on citizen’s militias or on Home Guard–type forces, while the latter is often confused with colonial armies, such as the British India army (originally directed by the British East India Company) and the extensive use of standing conscript forces in the European colonial holdings. The following sections focus on these two fields; note that while some texts are primarily directed toward subjects such as the citizens armies or the colonial conscript armies of the Napoleonic era, they are worthy of study in the field of post-1789 militia history. Much like the militia history of the United States, most pure militia forces (with the sole exception of Switzerland) disappeared by the beginning of the 20th century, replaced by mass conscription and organized reserve armies, both of which would play crucial roles in the great global conflicts of that century.
European, 1789 to Present
The use of militias in Europe in the years after the French Revolution is often overlooked by scholars, who tend to see the period as one marked by a division between the impact of nationalism on war (such as the levée en masse) and the growth of large standing armies. The impact of the Napoleonic Wars, the wars of German unification, and the world wars of the 20th century has led scholars to further focus attention on the wars, campaigns, and battles of the armies of Europe after 1789. Consequently, many of the best detailed studies of militias and militia organizations in Europe are found in dissertations and theses and not in major published works. The exceptions include Anderson 1982, which provides an overview of the British militia in the 19th century, and Cookson 1997, which constitutes an outstanding study of the British military system during the Napoleonic Wars. Several solid essay collections, most notably Foot 1973 and Moskos, et al. 2000, discuss civil-military and militia relations in the modern era. However, references to specific militia issues are often glossed over in being seen as part of the evolution of Europe’s armies after the French Revolution. Scholarship tends to do so with good reason for, simply put, European militias became an adjunct to the standing armies after 1789 and they continued to do so throughout the modern era. Hippler 2008, a study of the military systems of France and Germany, perfectly describes the change from militiamen to mass conscripts led by trained professionals. Smith 1984 adds another element to the mix, as the author notes how militia membership served as a reflection of popular support for Great Britain’s struggle against Napoleon. Alexander 2002, in contrast, shows how the fédérés, a popular militia that supported Napoleon, played a crucial role in the survival of the régime; of special import is the evolution of militias from simple regional/local defense organizations to political-paramilitary forces. The examination of German militarism and its role in national unity in Frevert 2004 notes the importance of mass participation of civilians in military service, but they do so as the arm of a standing force and not as the main means of defense.
Alexander, R. S. Bonapartism and Revolutionary Tradition in France: The Fédérés of 1815. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A study of the fédérés, a political faction as well as a paramilitary militia, that supported Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815. For the scholar, the work is important as it demonstrates the resilience and survivability of a politicized militia in the 19th century.
Find this resource:
Anderson, D. “The English Militia in the Mid-Nineteenth Century.” PhD diss., University of Oxford, 1982.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Anderson’s work is one of the few generalist texts on the subject and provides an excellent basis for further study.
Find this resource:
Cookson, J. E. The British Armed Nation, 1793–1815. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206583.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A wide-ranging work on the militarization of Great Britain and Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars. Cookson’s focus includes militia forces, as well as regular and volunteers, that provided the home defense of the British Empire in its struggles against Napoleonic France.
Find this resource:
Foot, M. R. D. War and Society: Historical Essays in Honour and Memory of J. R. Western, 1928–1971. London: Elek, 1973.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While this work is focused predominantly on the 20th century and civil-military relations, some discussion of militia and militia-based military systems in Europe from 1800 to 1973 is included.
Find this resource:
Frevert, Ute. A Nation in Barracks: Modern Germany, Military Conscription and Civil Society. Oxford: Berg, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Frevert outlines the evolution of German militarism and the role that militias and conscription played in national unification and violence in German political and military relations.
Find this resource:
Hippler, Thomas. Citizens, Soldiers and National Armies: Military Service in France and Germany, 1789–1830. New York: Routledge, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A solid overview of the different politicomilitary systems of France and Germany in the Revolutionary, Napoleonic, and post-Napoleonic eras. Substantial discussion on the role of the individual citizen in national military service.
Find this resource:
Moskos, Charles, John Allen Williams, and David R. Segal. The Postmodern Military: Armed Forces after the Cold War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An outstanding series of essays, led by one of the great scholars in civil-military relations. Essays address the possibility of a Swiss-style national militia system in most Western countries. Worth noting, however, is that this work was written prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the global military conflicts that subsequently ensued.
Find this resource:
Smith, S. C. “Loyalty and Opposition in the Napoleonic Wars: The Impact of the Local Militia, 1807–1815.” PhD diss., University of Oxford, 1984.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Smith’s thesis deals with the later years of the Napoleonic Wars when the direct threat to Great Britain of invasion had passed. The key point is how the militia became both a haven for those wanting to avoid active service and a place for the patriotic as well.
Find this resource:
Colonial, 1789 to Present
The European colonial military experience, while it drew on lessons learned from organization in the mother countries, differed substantially from operations in Europe. A handful of grand overviews, such as Killingray and Omissi 1999, provide a solid basis for further examination. However, most studies tend to be nationally or regionally focused, with India (Gupta and Deshpande 2002, Marston and Sundaram 2007, Muir 1969, Roy 2006) being one of the better explored subjects. Worth noting in many of these studies is the fact that few specifically address the topic of militias; rather, they fold the subject into the greater study of specific colonial (or national) military histories. Some exceptions do apply. Morris 1983, a work on the Canadian militia and Echenberg 1991, a book that looks at French colonial troops in Senegal, are excellent; however, because it is easy to confuse true militia-type formations with the conscript and standing forces of the colonial armies care must be exercised in any study. The impact of militias in Latin America has been a growing field of study; Brazil is the topic of Kraay 2001. This work is not a pure military history but rather a broad-ranging examination of the social, political, and military influence of citizen militias in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Sadly for scholars, much good work has been done at the regional and national collegiate (thesis and dissertation) level, but only a small portion has been translated into English. For a detailed look at non-European militia organizations and history, see Asia, Noncolonial, 4000 BCE to 1900 CE and Noncolonial Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, 1900 to Present.
Echenberg, Myron J. Colonial Conscripts: The Tirailleurs Sénégalais in French West Africa, 1857–1960. London: J. Currey, 1991.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A solid study of the fate of most colonial militias in the 19th and 20th centuries, this book outlines the establishment of local militias in the French colony of Senegal in 1857 and their slow conversion to a French expeditionary force by the 20th century.
Find this resource:
Gupta, Partha Sarathi, and Anirudh Deshpande. The British Raj and Its Indian Armed Forces, 1857–1939. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Grand overview of the military system of British India, including its cultural and societal influences.
Find this resource:
Killingray, David, and David E. Omissi. Guardians of Empire: The Armed Forces of the Colonial Powers, c. 1700–1964. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
One of the few overviews of the military structure during the Age of Empires that includes nontraditional areas such as the American empire in the Pacific and the Dutch colonial military organizations. Major work in the field.
Find this resource:
Kraay, Hendrik. Race, State, and Armed Forces in Independence-Era Brazil: Bahia, 1790’s–1840’s. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Kraay takes a holistic approach toward the military of postindependence Brazil, specifically the Bahia region; the role of the militia as a tool of national liberation is discussed.
Find this resource:
Marston, Daniel, and Chandar Sundaram. A Military History of India and South Asia: From the East India Company to the Nuclear Era. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While not focused on the colonial era alone, this book examines the differing military systems, including militias, in the region, from the European presence into the modern era.
Find this resource:
Morris, David A. The Canadian Militia from 1855: An Historical Summary. Erin, ON: Boston Mills Press, 1983.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Similar to developments in early US history, Canada’s militia tradition dates from the earliest days of British involvement in North America. Much like the United States, Canada has long debated the issue of the size, formation, and existence of a militia force.
Find this resource:
Muir, Ramsay. The Making of British India, 1756–1858. Lahore, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1969.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Primary source material of dispatches, treaties, and other key documents, some of which address the issue of militias and other military forces in British India.
Find this resource:
Roy, Kaushik. War and Society in Colonial India, 1807–1945. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A comprehensive view, to include militias, on war and conflict in colonial India.
Find this resource:
United States
Many facets of American militia history are folded into larger, more general works on wars, campaigns, and battles, such as militia involvement in the Mexican-American War of 1846–1847. The latter general works are not discussed in this section; instead, this entry focuses on those works specifically addressing militia organizations, debates, and systems in the American colonies and the United States. In general, most scholarly works that address militias in American history period fall into three categories. The first includes broad-reaching social-political-military works, such as Huntington 1957, Shy 1976, and Chambers and Piehler 1999, that attempt to include the study of militias in wider examinations of society, culture, and war. The second focus is on microstudies of individual states and often individual organizations. Of these, Whisker 1997 provides the broadest overview of the colonial era, with a focus on New England militia development. While discussing the evolution of the US Army as well, Cress 1982 does a fine job of examining the role of militias in colonial and Revolutionary America. A final category of works on the subject should be included in scholarly studies, namely, the state, organizational, and individually published works on state militias, local unit histories, and organizational rosters. While these works normally of use to genealogists or general readers, they provide hard data for any researcher or a good overview for further investigation. Hendler and Price 1939, Hawk 1987, Walsh and Ruehl 1991, Sandel 1994, and the State of Virginia 2001 are excellent examples of works that contain large amounts of data that are available in official histories and that are normally forgotten by academic historians.
Chambers, John Whiteclay, and G. Kurt Piehler. Major Problems in American Military History: Documents and Essays. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A collection of essays on key issues in US military history that includes a serious discussion of the American militia experience as well as debates.
Find this resource:
Cress, Lawrence D. Citizens in Arms: The Army and the Militia in American Society to the War of 1812. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1982.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A mixture of both the broad view of American society and the militia with a focus on a single period of time. A good secondary source and interesting approach.
Find this resource:
Hawk, Robert. Florida’s Army: Militia, State Troops, National Guard, 1565–1985. Englewood, FL: Pineapple Press, 1987.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Much like the official state militia histories, this work provides an overview that can serve as the basis for deeper research in the subject.
Find this resource:
Hendler, Charles J., and William G. Price. Official History of the Militia and the National Guard of the State of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Charles J. Hendler, 1939.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The history of the Pennsylvania militia and Pennsylvania National Guard; dated but a good source for pre-1939 information.
Find this resource:
Huntington, Samuel. The Soldier and the State. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1957.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The classic work on American civil-military relations; includes discussion of the militia versus standing army debate.
Find this resource:
Sandel, Edward. Black Soldiers in the Colonial Militia: Documents from 1639–1780. Roseland, LA: Tabor-Lucas, 1994.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A fine example of focused, data-based resources available to researchers.
Find this resource:
Shy, John W. A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A collection of essays, several of which focus specifically on the militia organizations of the Revolution and pre-Revolutionary periods.
Find this resource:
State of Virginia. Virginia Militia in the War of 1812: From Rolls in the Auditors’ Office at Richmond. Baltimore: Genealogical, 2001.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Reprint of the state of Virginia’s rosters of Virginia militiamen who served in the War of 1812. Most states have detailed materials for the militia rosters from the colonial era to 1903 and they are a key source for detailed studies.
Find this resource:
Walsh, Mark C., and John S. Ruehl. Free Men Shall Stand: The Story of Connecticut’s Organized Militia from 1636. Hartford: Connecticut National Guard Officers Association, 1991.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A solid study of one state’s militia and National Guard system. One of the better examples of pseudo-official American militia histories.
Find this resource:
Whisker, James B. The American Colonial Militia, 1606–1785. 5 vols. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 1997.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Perhaps the best single series focused on the militia in the colonial era; a priceless resource for serious study.
Find this resource:
Colonial and Revolutionary War Eras, 1600 to 1783
The American militia tradition begins with the first European colonists in present-day Virginia, near Jamestown (then James Fort). Given the impracticability of a standing armed force, a militia system provided the only viable means of defense from native tribes and other European powers in the region, as noted in Shea 1983. Zelner 2009 and Selesky 1990 note the same phenomenon in New England, demonstrating a basic need for armed, but part-time, local defense. Ahearn 1989 adds an additional layer of complexity to the militias, noting how they also played a social, political, and cultural role in the colonies. With the spread of European wars in the Americas, it was not too surprising to find the colonial militias involved in these greater conflicts, as noted in Anderson 1984; worth noting is the impact that this armed involvement would have in the coming American Revolution (1775–1783) as it aided in promoting political and social bonds among the American colonies. During the Revolution, the militia played a central role both in local defense and in maintaining the field armies of the forces of both Loyalists and Patriots, as described in Johnson 1992 and Kwasny 1996. However, Resch and Sargent 2007 states clearly that the social and political role of the militias did not stop with battle but spread into the local communities throughout the colonies; Rosswurm 1987 adds that even within the Patriot cause, militia membership followed class lines and became more than just a form of military service. The American colonial and Revolutionary eras marked the period that served as the crucible of development for the US military system, despite the many shortcomings that would become evident and the diverse issues that would arise in the coming Industrial Age.
Ahearn, Marie L. The Rhetoric of War: Training Day, the Militia, and the Military Sermon. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1989.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Ahearn’s multifaceted study became a classic soon after its release; she adroitly weaves Christian theology, the colonial militia experience, and nascent American nationalism into a single volume. Of particular note is how training-day sermons were used to encourage aggressive responses to potential adversaries and how this may have aided the shaping of the American way of war.
Find this resource:
Anderson, Fred. A People’s Army: Massachusetts Soldiers and Society in the Seven Years’ War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1984.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A groundbreaking work that combines not only official records and rosters, but also includes diaries and other firsthand accounts. Backing up his case with considerable evidence, the author contends that American colonial differences with Great Britain began in the French and Indian War and worsened after the conflict.
Find this resource:
Johnson, James M. Militiamen, Rangers, and Redcoats: The Military in Georgia, 1754–1776. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1992.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
One of the best studies focused on the militia in the American Revolution. While a short volume, it is solidly researched and very well written. Highly recommended for both reading and as a template for further studies.
Find this resource:
Kwasny, Mark V. Washington’s Partisan War, 1775–1783. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1996.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Often tied closely to the subject of civilian militias, especially after the national liberation movements of the 20th century, guerrilla and partisan warfare studies often have a substantial portion devoted to militia organizations and operations; this work is no exception.
Find this resource:
Resch, John P., and Walter Sargent. War and Society in the American Revolution: Mobilization and Home Fronts. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A collection of essays discussing the experience of the American Revolution on the home front. The role of the militia, for both internal and external defense, is a theme of the work.
Find this resource:
Rosswurm, Steven. Arms, Country, and Class: The Philadelphia Militia and “Lower Sort” during the American Revolution, 1775–1783. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1987.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An interesting and important study of the role of class in the Philadelphia militia during the American Revolution. In a work that moves beyond the normal organizational military histories, Rosswurm contends that the working class became empowered and radicalized through their militia service, and this development served a threat to the pre–Revolutionary War ruling classes in Philadelphia.
Find this resource:
Selesky, Harold. War and Society in Colonial Connecticut. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Selesky’s excellent work discusses the key role of the militia in local defense as well as its role in serving as a tool of societal cohesion in colonial Connecticut.
Find this resource:
Shea, William L. The Virginia Militia in the Seventeenth Century. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1983.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In this solidly researched and well-written work, Shea relates the development and major campaigns of the Virginia militia following the establishment of the colony of Jamestown.
Find this resource:
Zelner, Kyle F. A Rabble in Arms: Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen during King Philip’s War. New York: New York University Press, 2009.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Based on Zelner’s academic work on the same subject, the author contends that the upper classes avoided military service from the early colonial era, putting the responsibility of defense on the shoulders of the poor, criminals, and the less fortunate.
Find this resource:
Early Republic and Antebellum Era, 1783 to 1861
In the seventy-eight years from the end of the American Revolution to the beginning of the Civil War, the American Republic and its militia-based military system grew and evolved past the vision of the original 1607 settlers. Mahon 1960, while dated, provides one of the finest overall views of what would become known as the “Militia Debate” in American historiography. Critical to understanding American military history, this argument focused on the same issues that animate debates in other nations from Europe to China, namely, should a nation-state depend upon a cheap, but relatively ineffective militia system or on an expensive (and potentially politically threatening) standing army? The American response, according to Mahon 1960, was to choose elements from each system and hope for the best; the result led to a small standing force backed by a large, but poorly equipped and trained, force. The growth of federal power, as noted in Coakley 1989, constituted part of the reason for the slow decline in dependence by the new nation upon militias for defense. The part played by the militia in dealing with potential foreign enemies is described in Skeen 1999 and Grenier 2008. This is not to say that the importance of the militia in American society was lessened; in many ways, it became even more important as a tool for regional and national cohesion, as described in Laver 2007 and Smith 2011. Mitchell 2003 and Bennett and Black 2010 add political and religious uses of the militias, respectively, in their works.
Bennett, Richard E., and Susan Easton Black. The Nauvoo Legion in Illinois: A History of the Mormon Militia, 1841–1846. Norman, OK: Arthur H. Clarke, 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The Mormon militia was one of the first independent (nonstate or territory) militias in US history, and this history of the Mormon militia in Mississippi, Missouri, and later Utah is well worth reading.
Find this resource:
Coakley, Robert W. The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1789–1878. Washington, DC: US Army, Center of Military History, 1989.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While Coakley is primarily concerned with the use of federal troops in this work, he also spends substantial time discussing the role of state militias in enforcing federal and state laws, and he includes use of militia forces in the South as part of slave patrols and in the North as strikebreakers.
Find this resource:
Grenier, John. The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier, 1607–1814. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A wide-ranging analysis of American frontier conflicts, in which the militia played the crucial role in both war and peace. Excellent secondary overview of the topic.
Find this resource:
Laver, Harry S. Citizens More than Soldiers: The Kentucky Militia and Society in the Early Republic. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Lavor makes a counterargument in asserting that the post-1792 militia system was inefficient, disorganized, and ineffective. Highly recommended as a view that differs from that of many other authors.
Find this resource:
Mahon, John K. The American Militia, Decade of Decision, 1789–1800. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1960.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While dated, Mahon’s work is a core reading on the topic of American militia history and attendant political arguments, especially those relating to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Find this resource:
Mitchell, Thomas G. Indian Fighters Turned American Politicians: From Military Service to Public Office. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Mitchell’s work addresses the fact that “Indian fighter” was nearly an electoral requirement in the antebellum American West, and that nearly all the famous politicians who claimed the title came from the militia.
Find this resource:
Rowe, Mary Ellen. Bulwark of the Republic: The American Militia in the Antebellum West. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A solid overview of the local, territorial, and state militia systems in the American West.
Find this resource:
Skeen, Carl E. Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Key work on the topic as it outlines many of the reasons that the American militia system began to atrophy and disappear before the Civil War in favor of a professional standing army.
Find this resource:
Smith, Joshua M. “The Yankee Soldier’s Might: The District of Maine and the Reputation of the Massachusetts Militia, 1800–1812.” New England Quarterly 84.2 (June 2011): 234–264.
DOI: 10.1162/TNEQ_a_00088Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A fine discussion of the Massachusetts Militia in the decade prior to the War of 1812.
Find this resource:
American Civil War to 1920, 1861 to 1920
The American Civil War and its aftermath forever changed the US militia system. The effective existence of at least three different armies in the North (the state militias, the volunteer militia units, and the regular army) often led to confusion and complicated issues related to command. The militias during the Civil War were of varying quality and success, as noted in Current 1992 and McMurry 1996. Of especial note are the nontraditional studies of the Civil War, such as Hollandsworth 1995, Scaife and Bragg 2004, Sutherland 1999, and Leeke 1999. The change in Civil War historiography from great man history to the stress placed on social and cultural impact is worth noting, as is the major role played by militia forces of both the Union and the Confederacy. The postwar era resulted in reforms that stemmed from a variety of reasons. These militia reforms—the subject of Hannah 2007, a study of the Illinois National Guard—changed the social makeup of the militia organizations when compared to the period before the war. Cooper 1998 and Doubler 2003 both note that the reformist impetus after the war was meant to mitigate the problems involved with having a 17th-century militia system in the early 20th century, and that these problems became clearly evident during the confusion that marked mobilization for the Spanish-American War of 1898. These issues would finally be resolved with the 1920 National Defense Act and the formal end of the militia system that had been established in 1792.
Cooper, Jerry. The Rise of the National Guard: The Evolution of the American Militia, 1865–1920. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An outstanding overview of the development of the National Guard and the demise of the militia system. Required reading for any student of the topic.
Find this resource:
Current, Richard. Lincoln’s Loyalists: Union Soldiers from the Confederacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In this reprint of his classic work, Current notes the contribution made by more than one hundred thousand white Southerners who fought for the Union in the Civil War, with special emphasis on the locally raised Union volunteer militia organizations in the South.
Find this resource:
Doubler, Michael. Civilian in Peace, Soldier in War: The Army National Guard, 1636–2000. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2003.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Doubler’s work provides an excellent overview of the US militia, volunteer, and National Guard systems from their beginning in colonial Virginia to the nation-building operations of the 1990s.
Find this resource:
Hannah, Eleanor. “Soldiers under the Skin: Diversity of Race, Ethnicity, and Class in the Illinois National Guard, 1870–1916.” American Nineteenth Century History 8.3 (2007): 293–323.
DOI: 10.1080/14664650701505141Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An insightful and interesting study of social impact (race, class, and ethnicity) in the Illinois National Guard after the Civil War.
Find this resource:
Hollandsworth, James G. The Louisiana Native Guards: The Black Military Experience during the Civil War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A solid new military history study of the African-American militia forces in Louisiana during the Civil War.
Find this resource:
Leeke, Jim. A Hundred Days to Richmond: Ohio’s “Hundred Days” Men in the Civil War. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Leeke’s work is a fine example of a focused study on one of the short-term militia units of the Civil War; literally hundreds of works on the topic, of varying quality, exist for every region and state (both Federal and Confederate).
Find this resource:
McMurry, Richard. Two Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
McMurry argues that one of the main reasons that the main Confederate field forces differed in combat ability was the simple fact that the Army of Northern Virginia inherited the best militia forces in the seceded states.
Find this resource:
Scaife, William R., and William Harris Bragg. Joe Brown’s Pets: The Georgia Militia, 1862–1865. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
One of the only works on the American Civil War to deal with only a militia topic, the book is considered a core text on the subject.
Find this resource:
Sutherland, Donald, ed. Guerrillas, Unionists and Violence on the Confederate Home Front. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In this collection of essays, noted historians focus on the Confederate home front. A substantial portion addresses the role of local militia and Home Guard units in the Confederacy.
Find this resource:
Modern United States, 1920 to Present
The demise of the militia system in 1920 following establishment of the National Guard and Reserves effectively ends studies of state-sponsored militia systems in the United States. State National Guard histories abound; nearly all states and territories have published official histories of their organizations. A few works, however, do cover American militia and National Guard history in the 20th century. Stentiford 2002 is an excellent study of the state militia of Texas, and the author notes the particular relationship that Texas has with the rest of the United States. Mahon 1960 (cited under Early Republic and Antebellum Era, 1783 to 1861) provides a solid discussion of changes that resulted from the 1903 Root reforms and the 1920 National Defense Act. Army and Air National Guard military operations and civil support missions after 1920 are described in such works as Boehm, et al. 2010; Goldstein and Dillon 1992; Gross 1985; and Gross 2000. Sligh 1992 and Donnelly 2001 are worth noting, as they describe the difficulties involved in federalizing the National Guard during wartime and effectively note the final demise of the militia system in the United States.
Boehm, William, Renee Hylton, and Thomas W. Mehl. In Katrina’s Wake: The National Guard on the Gulf Coast, 2005. Arlington, VA: National Guard Bureau, Office of Public Affairs, 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Official report and history of the National Guard response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Find this resource:
Donnelly, William M. Under Army Orders: The Army National Guard during the Korean War. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2001.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Excellent academic study of the issues surrounding control by the regular army over the National Guard during the Korean War.
Find this resource:
Goldstein, Donald M., and Katherine V. Dillon. The Williwaw War: The Arkansas National Guard in the Aleutians in World War II. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1992.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A solid example of State Guard history during World War II.
Find this resource:
Gross, Charles J. Prelude to the Total Force: The Air National Guard, 1943–1969. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1985.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Official history of the Air National Guard to 1969.
Find this resource:
Gross, Charles J. Turning Point: The Air National Guard and the Korean War. Arlington, VA: National Guard Bureau, 2000.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Focused official history of the Air National Guard in the Korean War.
Find this resource:
Sligh, Robert B. The National Guard and National Defense: The Mobilization of the Guard in World War II. New York: Praeger, 1992.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Overview of the difficulties and challenges involved in 1940 in the federalization of the National Guard combined with national mobilization and conscription.
Find this resource:
Stentiford, Barry M. The American Home Guard: The State Militia in the Twentieth Century. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Interesting study of the Texas State Militia and the nature of US military affairs in the 20th century.
Find this resource:
Militias and the Second Amendment
Since the end of World War II in 1945 debate has been ongoing in the United States over private ownership of firearms and the ability of local, state, and federal governments to control gun violence. This argument plays a key role in understanding many of the wide-ranging historical arguments concerning the American militia system that are centered on the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, and how those debates are related to the historical militia system in the United State and modern discussions on gun control. Given that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution addresses the topic of both militia and private firearm ownership, it is not surprising that the arguments over militias versus a standing army that were made in the early years after independence reemerged in the particular points advanced by both supporters and opponents of gun control. Consequently, works on the subject tend to be bias toward one position or the other, and they are of little use to students of American militia history. One of the few exceptions is the balanced approach found in Churchill 2009. Bogus 2000 outlines many of the primary legal and historical precedents in the debate and should be considered a basic tome in any discussion of the issue. Uviller and Merkel 2003 falls on the side of the historical militia system debate, noting that the Second Amendment was intended not to serve as a protection for individual gun owners but rather as a constitutional requirement for military service to be performed by all able-bodied men of military age. Cornell 2000 takes a somewhat more balanced approach in an edited work from scholars who focus on both sides of the argument. Cornell 2006 takes an even more neutral approach, noting how present-day pundits on both sides of the gun control debate have failed to fully understand, or have purposefully ignored, key historical evidence concerning the intent of the framers of the Constitution and of military and political leaders of the period.
Bogus, Carl T., ed. The Second Amendment in Law and History: Historians and Constitutional Scholars on the Right to Bear Arms. New York: New Press, 2000.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A legal and historical look at the Second Amendment; recommended for a basic understanding of the legal outlines of the Second Amendment and how it relates to both militia organization and private gun ownership.
Find this resource:
Churchill, Robert H. To Shake Their Guns in the Tyrant’s Face: Libertarian Political Violence and the Origins of the Militia Movement. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2009.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While this is not an organized militia history, Churchill provides a solid historical description of the modern militia movement in the United States based on historical case studies, with an emphasis on libertarian political ideology and independent, unorganized militia organizations.
Find this resource:
Cornell, Saul. A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A well-researched and well-written examination of the gun control debate in the United States, with a focus on the role of the militia.
Find this resource:
Cornell, Saul, ed. Whose Right to Bear Arms Did the Second Amendment Protect? Historians at Work. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An edited work by one of the top scholars in the field, very balanced and a solid introduction to both sides of the Second Amendment debate.
Find this resource:
Uviller, H. Richard, and William G. Merkel. The Militia and the Right to Arms, or, How the Second Amendment Fell Silent. Constitutional Conflicts. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2003.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Scholarly and detailed, a well-researched book on the weaknesses in the Second Amendment and the role of the militia in the early years of the American Republic.
Find this resource:
Asia, Noncolonial, 4000 BCE to 1900 CE
A substantial body of material exists on non-Western military systems, including militias. Sadly, only a small proportion of these works have been translated into English, limiting their impact on academia in the United States and Great Britain. The following sections, divided by region or nation, outline the major English-language (or translated) works in the field that are most applicable to the study of militia and militia-type forces, such as volunteers or peasant militias.
India
The ancient military systems of South Asia, specifically the Indian subcontinent, have been the subject of serious academic study for decades. The Western focus on discussions on civil-military, to include militia, relations has been dominated by the Italian Renaissance thinker Niccolò Machiavelli. Unknown to most Westerners, Kautilya (Chanakya), the teacher to the Maruyan emperor Chandragupta during the 4th century BCE, argued many of the same points in his Arthasastra; Kautilya 1969 provides probably the best translation of his thoughts. Much the same, his work was later followed by that of Kamandaki in circa 800 BCE, the Nitisara (see Kamandaki 1982), which drew extensively from the Arthasastra, focuses on the political and military problems of a king or emperor in its discussion of the role of mercenaries, standing armies, and militias in a successful state. Singh 2010 offers an excellent overview of the main issues of the work. For the scholar, works such as Barua 2005 provide excellent overviews of this often neglected field of study. Many of the best works, however, are available only in the native languages of India, as are several fine journals. Rosen 1996 notes many of these past issues, while Roy 2006 uses the British imperial era (1807–1947) as a bridge to explain the evolution of the Indian military system, including militia systems.
Barua, Pradeep. The State at War in South Asia. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Covering a period of three thousand years, Barua’s survey and analysis of South Asian military systems should be the basis of any study in the field.
Find this resource:
Kamandaki, Pandita. The Nitisara, or the Elements of Polity. Edited by Rajendralala Mitra and Sisir Kumar Mitra. Calcutta: Asiatic Society, 1982.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Considered one of the better translations of the Nitisara, this volume includes editorial notes and comments to assist the reader.
Find this resource:
Kautilya. The Kautilya Arthasastra. 3 vols. Translated by R. P. Kangle. Bombay: University of Bombay, 1969.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
In a study often compared with the later works of Machiavelli, Kautilya debated the type of army (militia, mercenary, or standing army) that the absolutist rulers of premodern India should employ. Just as Machiavelli 2003 (cited under Europe, Ancient to Renaissance Era, 5000 BCE to 1500 CE: Medieval and Renaissance) is considered a basic work for understanding Western militia debates, the Arthasastra should be the first step for any scholar studying Indian militias.
Find this resource:
Rosen, Stephen Peter. Societies and Military Power: India and Its Armies. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A highly regarded study of the difficulties India (and its predecessor states before 1947) has faced in generating a viable military system in conjunction with a complex social system; includes a detailed discussion on the differing military systems, including those that are militia-based, that have been attempted by Indian political and military leaders over the centuries.
Find this resource:
Roy, Kaushik. War and Society in Colonial India, 1807–1945. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An excellent study of the military systems of colonial India, with a focus on the political and social ramifications of the British Indian military system in conjunction with the existing military systems of India before the arrival of the British.
Find this resource:
Singh, Upinder. “Politics, Violence and War in Kamandaka’s Nitisara.” Indian Economic and Social History Review 47.1 (October 2010): 29–62.
DOI: 10.1177/001946460904700102Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A scholarly essay that describes the complex interrelationships in early modern Indian politicomilitary affairs, with a special emphasis on comparing Kamandaka’s work with that of Kautilya’s earlier work.
Find this resource:
Central Asia
Unlike studies of ancient India, Western scholars have access to a wide variety of works on the military culture and systems of the regions of Central Asia, especially those concerning Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan) and the Mongol armies. May 2007, Saunders 1971, and Amitai 1999 provide excellent and insightful analyses and descriptions of the Mongol military system, including the use of militia and militia-like military forces. Jackson 2005 takes a different focus, examining the military clashes and interactions between the Mongols and Westerners and is worth noting. Often overlooked in studies of the militaries of Central Asia are those of present-day Afghanistan and the Central Asian republics. Several solid works on the subject, such as Dale 2004, Johnson 2011, and Haidar 2004, provide insights on the issues involving the military systems and structures of these regions in the pre-modern eras. Haidar 2004 is one of the few works to fully discuss the complexity of non-Mongol military culture in Central Asia, and it is worth noting in any study on the subject. Davies 2007 provides an excellent study of the Black Sea tribal military organizations, and it should be on reading lists for both Central Asian and European studies as well as Russian history. No examination of the material on Central Asian military systems would be complete without considering the body of work on Amir Timur, known in the West as Tamerlane, the founder of the Timurid dynasty. Of the many works on him, Manz 1989 stands out as it is less a biography of a great general than it is a scholarly analysis of the system that enabled his victories and the survival of his dynasty. Lastly, the Afghan experience, and the militia-based military system that has characterized the country, is often neglected in favor of studies focused on the Mongol and Timurid armies; luckily Johnson 2011 is a work that covers this important field of study.
Amitai, Reuven, ed. The Mongol Empire and Its Legacy. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An edited work that encompasses the entire subject area, including military organization and operations.
Find this resource:
Dale, Stephen Frederic. The Garden of the Eight Paradises: Babur and the Culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India, 1483–1530. Boston: Brill, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A biography of Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, founder of the Timurid-Mughul Empire (1494–1530) and one of the most influential political leaders in history; includes the debates over standing versus militia armies that were closely paralleled by Western discussions in the same era.
Find this resource:
Davies, Brian L. Warfare, State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe, 1500–1700. London: Routledge, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
One of the few academic works to focus on what would one day form the Russian heartland, this excellent study adds greatly to understanding the militia-like military systems of the tribes and communities of the Black Sea Steppe.
Find this resource:
Haidar, Mansura. Medieval Central Asia: Polity, Economy and Military Organization (Fourteenth to Sixteenth Centuries). New Delhi: Manohar, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
One of the few comprehensive studies of the complexity of Central Asian medieval systems, with a strong focus on military (including militia-type) forces.
Find this resource:
Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West, 1221–1410. Harlow, UK: Pearson Longman, 2005.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Jackson provides a predominantly Western view of the Mongols in a solid work that focuses on the interactions, including military systems, between the West and the Mongols in a period that spans more than two hundred years.
Find this resource:
Johnson, Robert. The Afghan Way of War: How and Why They Fight. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While focusing mainly on the post-1840 era, Johnson includes a substantial discussion of the Afghan militia system of the medieval and early modern periods.
Find this resource:
Manz, Beatrice Forbes. The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Often considered the first serious academic study of Amir Timur [Tamerlane], the great conqueror and leader of the Timurid dynasty; the discussion on Timur’s military forces and organization is well worth reading.
Find this resource:
May, Timothy Michael. The Mongol Art of War: Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Military System. Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
May’s highly readable study provides a detailed description of Chinggis Khan’s military forces, including the uses of militia and volunteer forces in his campaigns.
Find this resource:
Saunders, J. J. The History of the Mongol Conquests. London: Routledge, 1971.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While this work is dated, Saunders still provides one of the best overviews of the Mongol Empire and its military.
Find this resource:
Middle East and Islamic
Studies of military systems in the Middle East, covering a huge geographical area (from the Atlantic Ocean to India), tend to be focused on dynasties, kingdoms, periods, or specific nations. Consequently, only a handful of quality overviews exist for the scholar and, among these, only a few discuss militia-based military systems. Dale 2010, Kennedy 2001, and Crone 2008 are outstanding in the analyses, source materials, and focus provided. Outside of wide surveys, many works concentrate on the Ottoman experience, Pipes 1981 and Murphey 1999 are excellent. The former is especially of note, as it established Pipes as one of the major scholars on Middle Eastern history early in his career. Compared with Greek and Roman military studies, examinations of the organizations, doctrine, and equipment of the Middle East in the ancient era are sparse; luckily, quality studies such as Bar-Kochva 1976, while dated, provide scholars with a solid grounding in the field. As discussed in Medieval and Renaissance, the impact of the Crusades and the military doctrinal transfer between the Islamic East and the Christian West cannot be ignored in discussing militia forces. France 1994 and France 1999 provide a fine analysis and introduction to the topic, including Islamic militia organization and employment.
Bar-Kochva, Bezalel. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511665721Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
This work focusing on the Seleucid era (312 BCE to 129 BCE) is one of the first serious works on the armies of the ancient period not devoted to the Roman or Greek systems.
Find this resource:
Crone, Patricia. From Arabian Tribes to Islamic Empire: Army, State and Society in the Near East, c. 600–850. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A collection of essays by one of the top scholars in the field, it provides a strong overview of the Islamic military system and the state it supported.
Find this resource:
Dale, Stephen Frederic. The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A comparative study of the three empires, concluding in 1923, that addresses the military systems of each.
Find this resource:
France, John. Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511562426Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A political-military examination of the First Crusade, with emphasis on the comparative military systems and their strengths and weaknesses.
Find this resource:
France, John. Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000–1300. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A highly regarded study of Western military systems, as they related to Islamic systems, during the Crusades. Required reading by scholars studying either military system.
Find this resource:
Kennedy, Hugh. The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State. London: Routledge, 2001.
DOI: 10.4324/9780203458532Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Using solid resources, Kennedy outlines the complexity and size of the early Islamic military system and discusses how this system maintained a gigantic empire.
Find this resource:
Murphey, Rhoads. Ottoman Warfare, 1500–1700. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1999.
DOI: 10.4324/9780203166024Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A powerful and comprehensive work, which covers nearly every facet of the Ottoman military system from accounts by individual soldiers to grand strategy.
Find this resource:
Pipes, Daniel. Slave Soldiers and Islam: The Genesis of a Military System. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1981.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Based on Pipes dissertation, this work brought him to international attention as one of the top Islamic military historians. The book is focused on the Ottoman use of captured slaves as soldiers and the impact of such use on the existing Islamic military system, including militias.
Find this resource:
China
Ancient China experienced long periods of warfare, beginning before the Warring States period to the final unification of China under the Sui-Tang dynasty (approximately 2100 BCE to 589 CE), and warfare was based on a variety of military systems, including militia systems. Di Cosmo 2004 ties the events of pre-Ming (1368–1644 CE) China closely to both the internal and the external military struggles that shaped the nation. Graff 2002 is a much more focused look on the methods and systems of China, circa 300–900 CE, while Hsu 2010 notes the close ties between state and military throughout the ancient period. Sawyer and Sawyer 2011 goes into great detail on the doctrine and organization of Chinese military forces in the era, and it is well worth reading for the overview provided. Lorge 2005 serves as a good starting point for further research on the Chinese militia system and its ties to the social, cultural, and political life of ancient and medieval China. Di Cosmo 2009 provides a broader view, encompassing the entire imperial era (post-1368), as does Worthing 2007 and Graff and Higham 2012.
di Cosmo, Nicola. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A strong scholarly account of the political-military aspects of China’s long conflict with nomadic tribes on its borders; while not a specific military history, it provides a good discussion of what political decisions would shape ancient China’s army.
Find this resource:
di Cosmo, Nicola. Military Culture in Imperial China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A series of essays focusing on the changes to, and the impact of, the military systems of imperial (pre-1912) China.
Find this resource:
Graff, David Andrew. Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300–900. London: Routledge, 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Study of the growth of imperial Chinese military power and systems that would last until the 20th century.
Find this resource:
Graff, David Andrew, and Robin D. S. Higham. A Military History of China. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2012.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An accessible and clear overview of all of Chinese military history; a good starting point for further study.
Find this resource:
Hsu, Cho-yun. “Changes in the Relationship between State and Society in Ancient China.” Chinese Studies in History 28.1 (October 2010): 19–70.
DOI: 10.2753/CSH0009-4633280119Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
While it does not address the subject of militias alone, this excellent article notes the evolution of the Chinese political system and the military system that enabled it to prosper.
Find this resource:
Lorge, Peter Allan. War, Politics and Society in Early Modern China, 900–1795. London: Routledge, 2005.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Lorge’s focus is less on the military power of imperial China than on the role that local leaders, and their militia forces, had in maintaining the imperial system; one of the few works in English on the subject.
Find this resource:
Sawyer, Ralph D., and Mei-chun Sawyer. Ancient Chinese Warfare. New York: Basic Books, 2011.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Focusing on the events, technology, and doctrines of ancient China, the authors discuss the military systems, many of which were based on militias.
Find this resource:
Worthing, Peter M. A Military History of Modern China: From the Manchu Conquest to Tiananmen Square. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The importance of conflict and military systems to state stability are the main themes of this comprehensive overview.
Find this resource:
Noncolonial Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, 1900 to Present
The end of colonialism effectively meant the end of European-sponsored state militias. The free countries of Asia and Africa, for example, have tended to favor standing armies, preferably supportive of the government, in lieu of citizen’s militias, from which potential political and military rivals might emerge. Exceptions have occurred, such as the Israeli experience noted in Herzog 1982 and the Chinese Communist use of people’s militias described in Perry 2007. Edgerton 2002 and Reno 2011 provide excellent overviews of African military history, including the use of colonial and noncolonial militias. The impact of the Cold War and the collapse of many of the national liberation movements, combined with the rise of terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime in the developing world, has resulted in numerous issues involving militia forces. Payne 2000 notes the use and sponsorship of right-wing militias in Latin America, while Picard 1999 describes the difficulties encountered in demobilizing organized semistate militias in Lebanon. Many of these same themes are treated in Koonings and Krujit 2004.
Edgerton, Robert B. Africa’s Armies: From Honor to Infamy, a History from 1791 to the Present. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2002.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
One of the few serious general studies on the colonial and noncolonial armies in Africa, the majority of which were militia-based organizations.
Find this resource:
Herzog, Chaim. The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East. New York: Random House, 1982.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Dated and with a bias distinctly in favor of Israel, the work does a solid job in covering the development of the Zionist militias in pre-1948 Israel.
Find this resource:
Koonings, Kees, and Dirk Krujit. Armed Actors: Organised Violence and State Failure in Latin America. New York: Zed, 2004.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A solid work on state-controlled and independent militias, including armed drug groups and urban gangs, and their impact on democratization and freedom in Latin America.
Find this resource:
Payne, Leigh A. Uncivil Movements: The Armed Right Wing and Democracy in Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Focused exclusively on right-wing armed militias, Payne contends that the groups are adaptive and violent, capable of overthrowing democratic governments that often directly or indirectly support them.
Find this resource:
Perry, Elizabeth J. Patrolling the Revolution: Worker Militias, Citizenship, and the Modern Chinese State. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
The role of Communist militias, beginning in the 1920s, is the subject of this work, which ties the militias closely to Marxist/Maoist ideology, revolution, and the militia’s part in enforcing Communist Party doctrine.
Find this resource:
Picard, Elizabeth. The Demobilization of the Lebanese Militias. Oxford: Centre for Lebanese Studies, 1999.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Survey of the difficulties involved in disarming and demobilizing armed militia groups in Lebanon.
Find this resource:
Reno, William. Warfare in Independent Africa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511993428Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A fine survey of postcolonial African military history, including the organization and development of militia-based forces.
Find this resource:
Modern Non-Nation State, 1900 to Present
The rise of nonstate militias has created a substantial problem for modern nation-states. While some are legitimate insurgent groups, the majority of modern militias are armed gangs, often with ties to elements involved in international crime and transnational terrorism. This phenomenon is not new, as noted in Cribb 1991, Jaffrelot and Gayer 2009, and Shultz and Dew 2006, but it is one that is often confusing for international organizations and traditional nation-states. Ahram 2011 and Alden, et al. 2011, much like Picard 1999 (cited under Noncolonial Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, 1900 to Present), attempt to navigate the issue and suggest potential solutions. From the citizen-soldiers of ancient Greece to those of the American colonies, the militia served essentially as a state’s main line of defense. How to deal with the emergence of nonstate militias, however, will be one of the great issues of the 21st century. If left unaddressed and unresolved, the existence of these groups will lead to further conflict.
Ahram, Ariel. “Learning to Live with Militias: Toward a Critical Policy on State Frailty.” Journal of Intervention and State-Building 5.2 (2011): 175–192.
DOI: 10.1080/17502977.2011.566479Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Discussion of the potential options in dealing with nonstate militias, with a specific focus on finding nonviolent means of coexistence.
Find this resource:
Alden, Chris, Monika Thakur, and Matthew Arnold. Militias and the Challenges of Post-Conflict Peace: Silencing the Guns. London: Zed, 2011.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A political-military discussion of the issues surrounding independent militias in the developing world and the need to disarm them.
Find this resource:
Cribb, R. B. Gangsters and Revolutionaries: The Jakarta People’s Militia and the Indonesian Revolution, 1945–1949. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An in-depth study of the insurgency and revolution in Indonesia and on the role of independent “people’s militias” in post-1945 conflicts.
Find this resource:
Jaffrelot, Christophe, and Lauren Gayer. Armed Militias of South Asia: Fundamentalists, Maoists, and Separatists. London: Hurst, 2009.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A survey of the ideology, organization, and goals of modern armed militias (non-nation state) in South Asia.
Find this resource:
Shultz, Richard H., and Andrew J. Dew. Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Overview of the impact of nonstate actors in the post–Cold War world.