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Compulsory Military Training 1771

In the Colonial towns of New England, military service was compulsory for men between the ages of sixteen and sixty. Each town had its militia company and members of the country horse troop.

A military clerk listed four times a year all those who were required by law to bear arms and attend the town musters. This clerk collected fines from those who failed to answer the roll calls.

Those who did not pay the fines were:

...punished by being made to lie neck and heels together, or to ride the wooden horse.

These small town militia were picturesque gatherings as they met on the training green, which was usually in the center of the town, Here they clumsily and reluctantly went through their drills.

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