Call Number:

Am.23

Repository:

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Extent:

0.4 linear feet (; 1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Indicate cited item here], Philadelphia and Lancaster counties militia records (Am .23), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1778-1782 (bulk) and 1778-1789 (inclusive)

Creator:

Lancaster County (Pa.). Lieutenant., Lancaster County (Pa.). Sub-Lieutenant., Philadelphia County (Pa.). Lieutenant., and Philadelphia County (Pa.). Sub-Lieutenant.

Abstract:

This small collection mostly consists of journals used to record general returns, returns of absentees, and nonattendance fines of the First and Second battalions of the Pennsylvania Militia, Philadelphia County, between 1778 and 1782 (folders 1-7). There is also one return of absentees, dated 1786 to 1788, for the First Battalion of Lancaster County (folder 9). In a partial journal from 1784 (folder 7) are lists of soldiers by city ward and a summary of the total numbers of men in six county battalions and the artillery battalion. The last folder in the collection (folder 10) contains two bundles of exoneration slips, all dated 1789, for men who were cleared of their muster fines. For the most part, these records were signed and apparently created by county-designated lieutenants and their assistants, sub-lieutenants. These civilian officials were responsible for administering and collecting fines, preparing units with arms and supplies from the state, and made certain that militia units attended their exercises.

For further information on the history and formation of the Pennsylvania Militia see "The Pennsylvania Militia in 1777" by Hannah Roach Benner in The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 23, no. 3 (1964): 161-230.