殖民地民兵的士兵

许多英国正规军士兵认为殖民地民兵是由来自社会渣滓的素质低下的士兵组成的。大多数人都确信，民兵组织对战争的结果不会有什么影响。在现实生活中，殖民地民兵来自各行各业，吃苦耐劳，为战争作出了巨大贡献。所有这些都是根据殖民者制定的严格条款进行的。殖民地民兵的队伍通常由普通公民组成。他们来自各行各业和不同的民族。他们中的许多人是土生土长的殖民者，英国移民，以及自由黑人。然而，大多数士兵都是苏格兰-爱尔兰人，就像在宾夕法尼亚军团中看到的那样(stephson -205)。民兵的普通士兵与游骑兵、高地人、易洛魁印第安人和英国正规军(Dillard-50)一起服役。很多英国正规军都是从社会最底层招募的。 The enlisted were often petty criminals, beggars, common laborers or subsistence farmers (Anderson-499). Because the British officer's own troops often consisted of these types, they were more than willing to believe the same about the colonial soldier. British officers showed contempt for both the colonial enlisted soldiers and colonial officers alike (Anderson-501). While it was true that many of the militia came from the lower social classes, more than a few were from middle income families. A soldier's social status and civilian occupation depended greatly upon where he was recruited. Soldiers who came from Pennsylvania were usually laborers. The surviving muster rolls show that about sixty percent of the soldiers listed were laborers. The remaining forty percent were either artisans or skilled workers (Stephenson-206). The majority of the artisans from the Pennsylvania colony worked in the cloth, wood, or leather trades. Most of the artisans were cloth workers, while the remainder came from the cooper and carpentry trades. Evidence of this can be seen from the statistics for those soldiers recruited from the Philadelphia area (Stephenson-206). Those who were recruited from outside Philadelphia had a higher percentage of manual laborers in their ranks. Only about half the number of skilled trades seen in the city were present in the rural areas. About twice as many skilled artisans came from the cities of colonial America. (Stephenson-207). Those who enlisted from other parts of the colonies had almost the exact opposite percentage of laborers versus artisans. Only twenty six percent of those soldiers who came from the colony of Massachusetts were listed as laborers before entering the militia. About fifty two percent of the Massachusetts soldiers were skilled artisans before enlisting. Quite the opposite of those from Pennsylvania (Anderson-512). Many of the colonial soldiers came from landed families. These were not men who saw the army as a steady source of income. In fact, they certainly did not need a military income to survive.

入伍原因

如果这是真的，那么为什么有那么多年轻人参军呢?这个问题的答案可能在于马萨诸塞殖民地的继承实践(Anderson-519)。许多东部城镇的平均人口密度为每平方英里60到100人(Anderson-519)。由于一块可耕种的农场不得少于四五十英亩，许多父亲都不愿把农场平均分给儿子们。最合理的做法是保持土地完整，在父亲死后将其传给一个继承人。其他儿子以不同的方式继承了遗产，从现金到获得学徒资格(Anderson-520)。这种做法使农场完好无损，并确保他的儿子有机会过上更好的生活(Anderson-520)。因为获得土地是一个年轻人从家庭中独立出来的主要方式，他需要一种手段来购买土地，而不必等待他的遗产。其中一种方法是加入殖民地军队。虽然一个年轻人不会变得富有，但他可以存足够的钱买一块好地。 A colonial soldier usually served eight months in the military. He was not paid until his enlistment was completed (Anderson-523). In addition to receiving eight months pay in a lump sum, the colonial soldier usually received a bonus upon enlistment. The amount of this bonus varied from one to eight months pay. A private usually earned a total of fifteen pounds by enlisting. This sum could buy thirty acres in Andover, Massachusetts, or as much as one hundred fifty acres in less populated areas (Anderson-523). Although many of the colonial soldiers did come from the lowest ranks of society, they were by no means the only ones who enlisted. Many of the sons of middle class colonial families enlisted as well. In fact, many young men saw enlistment as an opportunity to gain early independence from their families. During the course of the war thirty percent of those who were born between 1725 and 1745 served in the military (Anderson-526). Between the years 1755 and 1762 Massachusetts alone supplied over 15,000 men for the colonial army (Morgan-512).

入伍条款及条件

殖民地士兵与英国正规军士兵在不同的条件下服役。殖民地军人的服役期限通常以月为单位，而不是以年为单位。在战争早期，殖民地的任期通常为6个月或更短(斯蒂芬森-201)。在整个战争期间，殖民地士兵最常见的服役期是8个月(Anderson-406)。在殖民地士兵看来，入伍是他和他的军官之间的一种契约或契约(Anderson-400)。殖民者对契约有着深刻的忠诚，这可以在男女之间的婚姻中看到，教会成员之间的契约，最重要的是人与上帝之间的救赎契约(Anderson-401)。英国军官不理解这种契约心态，并发现他们无法阻止这种心态(Anderson-414)。殖民地士兵把征兵合同看作是他和他服役的军官之间有约束力的协议。该合同涉及一个特定的服务期限，士兵获得特定的补偿(Anderson-414)。如果任何一方试图改变合同条款，那么协议就失效了。 If this occurred, the colonials saw themselves as no longer bound by their contract, and therefore free to leave (Anderson-414).

军人的艰辛

尽管省里的士兵在认为自己没有受到公平对待时提出强烈抗议，但他们在战斗中的表现令人钦佩。与与英国人一起服役的美国殖民者类似，法国军队也有加拿大的非正规部队作为补充。这些非正规军帮助法国人在战略战役中击败英国人，如威廉·亨利堡围城战(尼古拉-58)。美国殖民地士兵在威廉·亨利堡围城期间忍受了许多苦难。法国将军蒙特卡姆和他的部队在1757年8月9日击败了英国人，占领了这座堡垒。蒙罗上校和他的部队收到了慷慨的投降条件(Purvis-71)。作为投降的回报，英国人被允许带着他们的武器和个人装备离开堡垒，只要他们同意在18个月内不携带武器对抗法国人(Purvis-71)。许多英国士兵没有他们的战友那么幸运。法国人的印度盟友——因为投降条款而被骗走了他们的战利品——在门罗的人离开堡垒后开始骚扰他们(Purvis-71)。一些印第安人的愤怒通过谋杀受伤的士兵和留在堡垒的印第安人来发泄(Purvis-71)。 The black soldiers who fought for the British were not killed, but they fared no better in the end. They were captured by the Indians and sold as slaves in Louisiana for the high price they brought (Purvis-72). Because of the loss at Fort William Henry, several hundred British regulars and colonial militia were taken prisoner by the Indians (Purvis-71). The terms of imprisonment could vary greatly for the soldiers. Some were sold by the Indians to the French, and quickly exchanged to the British for French POWs. Others, like Sgt. William McCracken were not as lucky. He was bought by the French and then shipped to France where he served his sentence (Purvis-73). Although he was imprisoned for two years, Sgt. McCracken fared better than other POWs captured by the Indians at Fort William Henry. A French priest reported seeing the Ottawa kill and eat one of their prisoners (Purvis-70).

军民关系

虽然许多美国殖民者乐于加入殖民地民兵组织，但军队和平民之间的关系通常很紧张。出现这种情况的原因有很多。首先，试图将英国和地方士兵安置在私人住所。第二，私人马车的军事用途的印象。第三，雇佣契约工。在上面列出的三个原因中，士兵在私人宿舍的宿营造成了最大的压力。宾西法尼亚州兰开斯特市的市民拒绝为士兵提供住房，拒绝让他们住在私人宿舍。英国将军蒙哥马利对此感到愤怒，用武力解决了这个问题(Brodine-217)。市民们向新任总司令杰弗瑞·阿默斯特将军抗议这一行动。阿默斯特学院回应说，当没有足够的公共住房时，让士兵住在私人宿舍是不可避免的。 In doing so, Amherst made it quite clear that citizens' rights were subordinate to wartime needs (Brodine-218).

结论

参加法印战争的士兵来自各行各业，入伍的原因也各不相同。一些人参军是因为他们作为没有技能的劳动者生活在社会的边缘，他们认为参军是一个获得稳定收入的机会。其他人则在寻找一种方式来获得独立，过上自己的生活，而不必等待他们的遗产。不管他们参军的原因是什么，这些人都英勇作战，忍受了许多艰难困苦，在法国和英国在美洲大陆的战争中发挥了关键作用。他们不仅忍受苦难，而且面临监禁或死亡的危险。这些民兵还遭到了正规军战友的蔑视，以及那些个人财产经常被征用用于战争的公民的怨恨。在一场艰苦的战争中，殖民地民兵战士勇敢地战斗着，忍受着所有这些苦难。前提是他们能按照自己的方式行事。

参考书目

1.安德森,弗雷德。《人民的军队:七年战争期间马萨诸塞州的省级军事服务》威廉玛丽季刊40.4(1983):499-527。2.安德森,弗雷德。“为什么殖民时期的新英格兰人不是个好士兵?”七年战争中的契约原则与军事行为威廉玛丽季刊38.3(1981):395-417。3. Brodine, Charles. "Civil-Military Relations in Pennsylvania, 1758-1760: An Examination of John Shy's Thesis." Pennsylvania History 62.2 (1995): 213-233. 4. Dillard, Annie. "The French and Indian War: A Memoir." American Heritage 38.5 (1987): 49-53. 5. Morgan, Kenneth. "The Impact of the Seven Years' War on Massachusetts Provincial Soldiers." Reviews in American History 13.4 (1984): 512-517. 6. Nicolai, Martin, L. "A Different Kind of Courage: The French Military and the Canadian Irregular Soldier During the Seven Years' War." Canadian Historical Review 70.1 (1989): 53-75. 7. Purvis, Thomas L. "The Aftermath of Fort William Henry's Fall: New Jersey Captives Among the French and Indians." New Jersey History 103.3-4 (1985): 69-79. 8. Stephenson, R.S. "Pennsylvania Provincial Soldiers in the Seven Years' War." Pennsylvania History 62.2 (1995): 196-212. 1. Anderson, Fred. "A People's Army: Provincial Military Service in Massachusetts During the Seven Years' War." The William and Mary Quarterly 40.4 (1983): 499-527. 2. Anderson, Fred. "Why Did Colonial New Englanders Make Bad Soldiers? Contractual Principles and Military Conduct During the Seven Years' War." The William and Mary Quarterly 38.3 (1981): 395-417. 3. Brodine, Charles. "Civil-Military Relations in Pennsylvania, 1758-1760: An Examination of John Shy's Thesis." Pennsylvania History 62.2 (1995): 213-233. 4. Dillard, Annie. "The French and Indian War: A Memoir." American Heritage 38.5 (1987): 49-53. 5. Morgan, Kenneth. "The Impact of the Seven Years' War on Massachusetts Provincial Soldiers." Reviews in American History 13.4 (1984): 512-517. 6. Nicolai, Martin, L. "A Different Kind of Courage: The French Military and the Canadian Irregular Soldier During the Seven Years' War." Canadian Historical Review 70.1 (1989): 53-75. 7. Purvis, Thomas L. "The Aftermath of Fort William Henry's Fall: New Jersey Captives Among the French and Indians." New Jersey History 103.3-4 (1985): 69-79. 8. Stephenson, R.S. "Pennsylvania Provincial Soldiers in the Seven Years' War." Pennsylvania History 62.2 (1995): 196-212.