Militia (England)
The English Militia was the principal military reserve force of the Kingdom of England. Militia units were repeatedly raised in England from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards for internal security duties and to defend against external invasions. One of the first militia units in England were the fyrd, which were raised from freemen to defend the estate of their local Shire's lord or accompany the housecarls on offensive expeditions. During the Middle Ages, English militia units continued to be raised for service in various conflicts such as the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses. Militia troops continued to see service in Tudor and Stuart periods, most prominently in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Following the Acts of Union 1707, the English Militia was transformed into the British Militia.
Origins
The origins of military obligation in England pre-date the establishment of the English state in the 10th century, and can be traced to the 'common burdens' of the
The
Because it was not practical to call out every man, King Edward I introduced a system whereby local gentry were authorised to conduct commissions of array to select those who would actually be called for military service.[4][5] During the reign of King Edward III, feudal service was recognised as increasingly obsolete, and the feudal host was formally called out in full for the last time in 1327. During the Hundred Years' War, the king raised armies for service in France by indenture, which contracted magnates, under their obligation as subjects rather than feudal tenants, to supply a certain number of men for a specific amount of time in return for a set fee. Those forces allocated for the defence of England, however, were raised on the basis of the general obligation[6]
Sixteenth century
In 1511,
Italian ambassadors reckoned that England had 150,000 armed men in 1519 and 100,000 in 1544 and 1551 available through their militia, while a French ambassador in 1570 reported that 120,000 were ready to serve. This was reasonably close to the truth as 183,000 militiamen were mustered in 37 counties in 1575, and in the officials returns of 1588 more than 132,000 were expected to be fielded in England and Wales. They were intended to comprise part of the armies raised to combat the Spanish invasion. There were expected to be a total of 92,000 men mustered in the south of England (including 5,300 cavalry). Their poor state of readiness and obsolete nature of the weapons they used (mainly bills and longbows) prompted the creation of the more elite Trained Bands, who numbered 50,000 in 1588 (comprising about a third of the militia). This was only a partial solution however. By 1591 official records show 102,000 men on the rolls, of whom 42,000 are fully trained and furnished, plus 54,000 armed but not sufficiently trained and 6,000 neither armed nor trained. In 1588 the Trained Bands primary weapons were 42% firearms, 26% pikes, 18% longbows, and 16% bills.[8]
A 1522 survey had revealed a significant lapse in the obligation to maintain arms and train in their use, and from 1535 commissioners of muster held tri-annual inspections.
English Civil War and the development of a standing army
The beginning of the English Civil War was marked by a struggle between King Charles I and Parliament for control of the militia.[13] The indecisive Battle of Edgehill in 1642, the first pitched battle of the war, revealed the weakness of the amateur military system, and both sides struggled with barely trained, poorly-equipped, ill-disciplined and badly led armies.[14] While the Royalists persisted with the amateur tradition, the Parliamentarians developed the New Model Army, a small but disciplined, well-equipped and trained army led by officers selected according to ability rather than birth. The New Model Army defeated the Royalist army at the Battle of Naseby in 1645, effectively ending the First English Civil War in victory for the Parliamentarians.[15]
Following the execution of King Charles I, the establishment of the
In the midst of the English Civil War there was some debate as to whether the militia should be a supplement or an alternative to a standing army, and a series of ordinances were passed in attempts to replace the repealed 1558 act. These reflected the ongoing struggle for control of the militia until, in the early 1660s, new legislation established the militia under the control, through the lieutenancy, of the gentry. The legislation made it a counter to the standing army, the main bulwark against disorder and the guarantee of the political settlement.[20]
Militia and the army
The army – which, by the time of King James II's accession in 1685, comprised seven regiments of foot and four mounted regiments – was officially part of the royal household and had no basis in law; both king and Parliament were careful to refer to the regiments as 'guards', based on their role as bodyguards to the king, and it was still intended that the militia would provide the country's main force in the event of war.[21] However, it was the army, already made more palatable to Parliament by acts of civilian service in support of the common good, that defeated the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, the militia having proved too slow to mobilise.[22] Following the rebellion, King James II was able to expand the army with 16 new regiments, paid for by money misappropriated from funds voted by Parliament for the militia.[23] The Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought the Dutch King William III to the throne, and with him came interests in continental Europe. It was the defence of these interests that would lead, by the time of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, to the establishment of the army as an accepted state body and a military leader in Europe.[24] The status of the army as a state institution under parliamentary control and subject to national law was normalised in 1689 by the Bill of Rights and the annually passed Mutiny Acts.[25]
Failure in the Monmouth Rebellion and controversy over the mis-use of funds had an adverse effect on the militia. Although it continued to be called out, for example in the
Militia in the English Empire
Successful English settlement of North America, where little support could be provided by regular forces, began to take place in 1607, in the face of Spain's determination to prevent England establishing a foothold in territory it claimed for itself. The settlers also had to contend with frequently hostile native populations. It was immediately necessary to raise militia amongst the settlers. The militia in
Political issues
Up until the
Consequently, the
The Crown still (in the British constitution) controls the use of the army. This ensures that officers and enlisted men swear an oath to a politically neutral head of state, and not to a politician. While the funding of the standing army subsists on annual financial votes by parliament, the
Eighteenth century and the Acts of Union
In 1707, the Acts of Union united the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland. The Scottish navy was incorporated into the Royal Navy. The Scottish military (as opposed to naval) forces merged with the English, with pre-existing regular Scottish regiments maintaining their identities, though command of the new British Army was from England. The Militia of England and Wales continued to be enacted separately from the Militia of Scotland (see Militia (Great Britain) and, for the period following 1801, Militia (United Kingdom)).
Footnotes
- ^ The two regiments raised in exile were the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, which later became the Grenadier Guards,[18] and the King's Regiment of Horse Guards, later the Life Guards. The two New Model Army regiments were the Lord General's Regiment of Foot Guards, later the Coldstream Guards, and the King's Regiment of Horse, later the Royal Horse Guards which in turn became the Blues and Royals.[19]
References
- ^ Beckett pp. 9–10
- ^ Beckett pp. 10–11
- ^ Goring pp. 5–6
- ^ Beckett p. 12
- ^ Goring pp. 6–7
- ^ Goring pp. 3–5
- ^ Goring pp. 14–17
- ^ Ian Heath. "Armies of the Sixteenth Century: The Armies of England, Ireland, the United Provinces, and the Spanish Netherlands 1487–1609." Foundry Books, 1997. Pages 33 and 37.
- ^ Beckett p. 18
- ^ Goring pp. 279–280
- ^ Beckett pp. 20–21
- ^ Beckett pp. 33–34
- ^ Beckett p. 39
- ^ Mallinson pp. 14–17
- ^ Mallinson pp.17–20
- ^ Mallinson p. 23
- ^ Mallinson pp. 29–30. In addition to the four guards regiments, the newly established army comprised some 28 garrisons.
- ^ "History – British Army Website". The British Army. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^ Mallinson p. 30
- ^ Beckett pp. 46–50
- ^ Mallinson pp. 29–32
- ^ Mallinson pp. 33–35. The army had proved itself useful in the Great Fire of London, in assisting magistrates to put down riots, in the apprehension of highwaymen, and in the building and repair of roads and bridges.
- ^ Mallinson p. 35. King James II added nine new regiments of foot, five of horse and two of dragoons to the army's establishment.
- ^ Mallinson pp. 39–42 & 65
- ^ Mallinson p. 40. The legislation made it illegal to maintain a standing army without the consent of Parliament, which also controlled the army's funding, while giving the Crown prerogative to govern and control the army.
- ^ Beckett pp. 53–56
- ^ Beckett pp. 58–59
Bibliography
- Beckett, Ian Frederick William (2011). Britain's Part-Time Soldiers: The Amateur Military Tradition: 1558–1945. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 9781848843950.
- Goring, J. J. (1955). The Military Obligations of the English People, 1511-1558 (PhD). Queen Mary University of London.
- Hodgkins, Alexander James (2013). Rebellion and Warfare in the Tudor State: Military Organisation, Weaponry, and Field Tactics in Mid-Sixteenth Century England (PhD). The University of Leeds.
- Mallinson, Allan (2009). The Making of the British Army: From the English Civil War to the War on Terror. London: Bantam Press. ISBN 9780593051085.