National Guard began on December 13, 1636, when the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered the organization of the Colony's militia companies into three regiments: The North, South and East Regiments. The colonists had adopted the English militia system which obligated all males, between the ages of 16 and 60, to possess arms and participate in the defense of the community. The early colonial militia drilled once a week and provided guard details each evening to sound the alarm in case of attack. The growing threat of the Pequot Indians to the Massachusetts Bay Colony required that the militia be in a high state of readiness. The organization of the North, South and East Regiments increased the efficiency and responsiveness of the militia. Although the exact date is not known, the first muster of the East Regiment took place in Salem, Massachusetts. The 101st Engineer Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard, continues the East Regiment's proud heritage of 350 years
As early as 1645, men were selected from the militia ranks to be dressed with matchlocks or pikes and accoutrements within half an hour of being warned. In 1689 another type of Minuteman company came into existence. Called Snowshoemen, each was to "provide himself with a good pair of snowshoes, one pair of moggisons, and one hatchet" and to be ready to march on a moment's warning. By the time of the Revolution, Massachusetts had been training, drilling, and improving their militia for well over a hundred years.
The most formidable war in which the early colonies of New England were involved was with King Philip, who was the son of Massasoit, a firm friend of the settlers until his death. Philip was one of the great Indians of history. Like many of his people he saw with anger the growth of the white men, who in time would drive him and his warriors from their hunting grounds. Realizing the magnitude of the work of exterminating all the settlers, he visited the different tribes and used every effort to unite them in a war against the invaders. He was partly successful, and, with the allies secured, King Philip began the war by attacking a party of settlers at Swansea, on Sunday, June 24, 1675, while they were on their way to church. Several whites were killed, when the Indians hurried off to the Connecticut Valley to continue their dreadful work.
All understood their peril, and flew to arms. Every man carried his musket to church, and they were stacked outside the door, while a sentinel paced up and down. More than once the long sermon was interrupted by the crack of the red men's guns and their wild whoops, as they swarmed out, of the woods. Springing down from the pulpit, the minister was among the foremost in beating the heathen back, and, when quiet was restored, probably he resumed and finished his sermon.
The war was prosecuted furiously on both sides. In the depth of winter, when the snow lay several feet on the ground, John Winslow led 1,500 men against the. Narragansett stronghold, which was in the heart of a great swamp, and was one of the most powerful fortifications ever erected by the red men on this continent. In the terrible fight, 200 white men and nearly 1,000 Indians were killed. Finally, Philip was run down in a swamp near his old home on Mount Hope, not far from the present city of Bristol, Rhode Island. While stealing out, of his hiding place, he was confronted by a white soldier and a friendly Indian. The gun of the former missed fire, whereupon the Indian leveled his musket and shot the Wampanoag leader dead. The war, ended a few months later. During its continuance, six hundred white men were killed and many more wounded; thirteen towns were destroyed and five hundred buildings burned, but the Indian power in southern New England was shattered forever.
By the late 15th century, a minority of foot soldiers were already equipped with hand cannons, however these were extremely inaccurate and difficult to load and fire. In the 16th century, the hand held firearm became commonplace and by the 17th century it superseded the pike as the main infantry weapon. In the 16th century, the most common musket was the arquebus. In this period, the musket proper (the word derives from the French mousquette) referred to a heavier weapon, firing a heavier shot, which had to balance on a rest. A lighter alternative to either the arquebus or the musket was the caliver, which was often used at sea, or by irregular troops. Almost all muskets in this period were fired by the matchlock mechanism, where a length of smouldering rope ignited the gunpowder in the weapon's pan, causing the ball to be fired out of the barrel. An alternative to the matchlock in the earlier period was the wheellock mechanism. The matchlock had several disadvantages - it was inaccurate at over 100 metres, slow to reload and often caused accidents by igniting gunpowder stores accidentally. Nevertheless, the widespread use of muskets changed the face of warfare.
