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The "Act to Regulate the Militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" passed 17 March 1777, and the the subsequent Militia Act passed March 20, 1780, together with their amendments, required all white men between the ages of 18 and 53 capable of bearing arms to serve two months of militia duty on a rotating basis. Refusal to turn out for military exercises would result in a fine, the proceeds from which were used to hire substitutes. Though the act provided exemptions for members of the Continental Congress, Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council, Supreme Court judges, masters and teachers of colleges, ministers of the Gospel, and indentured servants, as a practical matter anyone could avoid serving either by filing an appeal to delay their service for a period of time or by paying a fine to hire a substitute. (It should be noted, however, that a person serving as a substitute for someone else was not thereby excused from also serving in their own turn.) The act called for eight battalion districts to be created in Philadelphia and in each of the eleven extant counties. The geographical boundaries for each district were drawn so as to raise between 440 to 680 men fit for active duty as determined by information contained in the local tax rolls. A County Lieutenant holding the rank of colonel was responsible for implementing the law with the assistance of sub-lieutenants who held the rank of lieutenant colonel. Though they held military titles, these were actually civilian officers not to be confused with the military officers holding the same ranks in the Continental Army. The County Lieutenants ensured that militia units turned out for military exercises, provided the militia units with arms and equipment at the expense of the state, located substitutes for those who declined to serve, and assessed and collected the militia fines. It should be noted that these fines were not necessarily intended to be punitive. Recognizing that personal circumstances might in some cases make it inconvenient or even impossible for a particular individual to serve, the fine system was in part devised to provide money in lieu of service in order to hire substitutes. It also provided an avenue for conscientious objectors to fulfill their legal obligation to the state without compromising their religious convictions.
These were organized in local ?training companies? and each man was assigned to one of eight ?classes.? When militia services were needed, the members of one or more classes from specified counties were ordered into service for a maximum of two months. Although the militia of a given company might be called up more than once, the second call would not apply to a class that had already served until an entire cycle of all eight classes had been completed. The system had the advantages of equalizing the obligation of military service and of avoiding the depopulation of any particular area of military age men. It had the disadvantage of insuring that men called for military duty not only had no military experience from previous call ups but also, as they came from the same class but from different localities, had never trained or worked together before.
The men in each battalion elected their own field officers who carried the rank of colonel, lieutenant colonel and major and these officers were then commissioned by the state and expected to serve for three years. Within each county, the colonels drew lots for their individual rank, which was then assigned to their battalion as First Battalion, Second Battalion, Third Battalion, etc. When new elections were held for field officers in 1780 and 1783, the colonels elected at that time again drew lots for their rank and this resulted in a new order for the battalions. The names of men in each company of each battalion were listed on a roll called "General Returns of the Battalion" together with the names of any substitutes that were provided. On these permanent billet rolls the men in each company were listed as being either part of the first class, second class, third class, etc. and were required to show up for their two months of active duty at the time and in the order that their class was called up. When several classes were called up for active duty, a separate roll for each company listed the names of the men who actually served, either in person or as substitutes. This active-duty roll was therefore a completely different roll from the permanent billet roll. These active duty rolls could be distinguished from the permanent billet rolls by the fact that instead of being listed by individual classes as they were in the permanent rolls, the names of the men were here listed under the name of the company captain. Under the provisions of the Militia Law, the men called up for active duty were automatically assigned to companies whose numbers were different from their own company numbers on the permanent billet rolls. They were instead the numbers of the battalions from which the men came! For example, men listed on the permanent roll as belonging to the 2nd Class of the 7th Company of the 6th Battalion would in the active duty battalion be automatically placed in the 6th Company of the 2nd (Active Duty) Battalion. Since the company captain and lower officers were also called up, their identities provide a clue to the permanent class, company, and battalion to which a particular individual belonged. The battalion colonels, lieutenant colonels, and majors were called to active duty in a specific order. For example, when the 1st Class was called up, the colonel of the 1st Battalion, the lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Battalion, and the major of the 3rd Battalion entered into service commanding the 1st Class active-duty Battalion. For the 2nd Class, the colonel of the 2nd Battalion, lieutenant colonel of the First Battalion, and major of the 4th Battalion entered service in command of the 2nd Class active-duty battalion. For the rotation of field officers on active duty, it was therefore necessary to substitute Colonel for Captain, Lieutenant Colonel for 1st Lieutenant, Major for 2nd Lieutenant, etc in the column under each Battalion for Company. After each tour of duty was completed, all of the privates and the company and field officers were returned to their permanent battalion billets. For this reason, a separate permanent billet record and an active duty record would have existed for each individual who saw active duty.
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