USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute’s notice, hence the name.

Detailed explanation-2: -Training initially varied in quantity and quality from one regiment to another based on how much experience their leaders had. Congress hired Prussian Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben to direct the army’s training at Valley Forge. He published a training manual containing the regulations for order and discipline in 1779.

Detailed explanation-3: -Militia existed in the colonies long before the American Revolution. With the exception of Pennsylvania, colonies required most able-bodied men to own weapons, to be willing to be called for periodic training, and to defend their communities from attack, primarily by Indians. This was the colonial militia.

Detailed explanation-4: -The term “militia” derives from Old English milite meaning soldiers (plural), militisc meaning military and also classical Latin milit-, miles meaning soldier. The Modern English term militia dates to the year 1590, with the original meaning now obsolete: “the body of soldiers in the service of a sovereign or a state".