The territory embraced in the colony of Connecticut, was one of the best and most compactly settled portions of the confederacy at the beginning of the revolution. There was very little wilderness in that portion of the colony east of the Delaware. That part of Litchfield, called the Greenwoods, comprising the town. ships of Colebrook, Winchester, and Barkhamsted, was the only section that was very thinly settled at that time. Connecticut had sent forth several colonies previous to this period. She had contributed largely in settling the western townships in Massachusetts; had furnished her thousands for the settlement of the up river country, both New Hampshire and the country on the opposite side of Connecticut river, since formed into the state of Vermont. She had also established considerable settlements in the eastern borders of the province of New York, and on the distant coast of Nova Scotia; and finally, after a long struggle, had planted a favorite colony in the beautiful valley of the Wyoming. This last settlement, she had cherished with parental solicitude, and extended to it the protection of her government, and created a separate township, attached to Litchfield county. THE MILITIA OF CONNECTICUT IN 1775. FROM the first settlement of the colony until 1739, the militia of Connecticut had only a company organization. This year, a law was enacted by the Governor, Council, and Representatives in General Court assembled, that the Governor of the colony for the time being, should be Captain General and commander in chief, and the Deputy Governor for the time being, should be Lieutenant General, of and over all the military forces within the colony; and that all the military companies in the colony, should be formed into regiments. That there should be in each regiment, appointed from time to time by the General Assembly, a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, who should be commissioned by the Governor of the colony for the time being. It was further enacted, that all male persons from 16 years of age to 50, except those exempted by law, should bear arms, and duly attend all musters and military reviews of the respective companies. The companies in the colony at this time were organized into 13 regiments, and to each regiment was permission given to have one troop of horse. There was an annual inspection of arms on the first Monday in May, besides several trainings yearly, and a regimental muster once in four years. In October, 1756, it was enacted by the Governor, Council, and Representatives in General Court assembled, that there should be two company reviews; one in May, and one in October. In 1767, the 14th regiment of militia was formed from the towns of Cornwall, Sharon, Salisbury, Canaan, and Norfolk. In 1769, the 15th regiment was formed from the towns of Farmington, Harwinton, and New Hartford. In 1771, the 16th regiment was constituted from the towns of Danbury, Ridgefield, Newtown, and New Fairfield. In 1774, the 17th regiment was organized from Litchfield, Goshen, Torrington, and Winchester. The same year the towns of Simsbury, New Hartford, Hartland, Barkhamsted, and Colebrook were formed into the 18th regiment. In October of the same year, four additional regiments were organized. One comprising the military companies in the towns of East Windsor, Enfield, Bolton, and that part of IIartford on the east side of the Connecticut river; this was the 19th regiment. Another including the military companies in the town of Norwich, the 20th regiment. The military companies in Plainfield, Canterbury, Voluntown, and the south company in Killingly, formed the 21st regiment. And lastly, the companies in Tolland, Somers, Stafford, Willington, and Union, for the 22d regiment. So it seems that there were twenty-two organized regiments of militia in Connecticut at the commencement of the war in 1775. In May, 1775, two more regiments were formed, one beyond the Delaware, in Westmoreland, and the other in Middletown and Chatham. In 1776, the 25th regiment was formed from the military companies in East Haddam, Colchester, and the society of Marlborough. The troops of horse were this year organized into five regiments of light horse, so that the whole number of regiments in the State were thirty; twenty-five of foot, and five of horse. The regiments were formed in the following manner in 1776. The military companies in the towns of Hartford, (that part on the west side of Connecticut river,) Windsor, Suffield, and that portion of Farmington, lying in the parish of Wintonbury, constituted the 1st regiment; those in the towns of New Haven, Milford, Branford, and Derby, the 2d regiment; those in New London and Lyme, the 3d regiment; those in Fairfield, Stratford, and Reading, the 4th regiment; those in Windham, Mansfield, Coventry, and Ashford, the 5th regiment; those in Wethersfield and Glastenbury, the 6th regiment; those in Saybrook, Guilford, Killingworth, and Haddam, the 7th regiment; those in Stonington, Preston, and Groton, the 8th regiment; those in Norwalk, Stamford, and Greenwich, the 9th regiment; those in Wallingford, Waterbury, Cheshire, and Durham, the 10th regiment; those in Pomfret, Killingly, and Woodstock, except the south company in Killingly, the 11th regiment; those in Lebanon, Hebron, and the company in the society of Marlborough, in Colchester, formed the 12th regiment; those in Woodbury, New Milford, and Kent, the 13th regiment; those in Cornwall, Sharon, Salisbury, Canaan, and Norfolk, the 14th regiment; those in Farmington, exclusive of the parishes of Wintonbury and Southington, formed the 15th regiment; those in Danbury, Ridgefield, Newtown, and New Fairfield, the 16th regiment; those in Litchfield, Goshen, Torrington, Harwinton, and Winchester, formed the 17th regiment; those in the towns of Simsbury, New Hartford, Hartland, Barkhamsted, and Colebrook, the 18th regiment; those in East Windsor, Enfield, Bolton, and that part of Hartford, on the east side of Connecticut river, the 19th regiment; those in Norwich, the 20th regiment; those in Plainfield, Canterbury, Voluntown, and the south company in Killingly, the 21st regiment; those in Tolland, Somers, Stafford, Willington, and Union, the 22d regiment; those in Middletown and Chatham, the 23d regiment; those in Westmoreland, the 24th regiment; those in East Haddam and Colchester, except the company in Marlborough, in Colchester, formed the 25th regiment. In the autumn of 1776, another organization of the militia took place. All the regiments in the State were formed into six brigades. It was enacted that there should be appointed by the General Assembly, from time to time, two major generals to command as first and second over the whole militia of the State, who were commissioned to said office by the Governor, and had at all times power to call forth the militia, or any part of them, as should from time to time be ordered by the Assembly or Governor, for the immediate defence of this State, or the United States. It was further enacted, that there should be appointed by said Assembly, from time to time, one brigadier general to the command of each of the brigades aforesaid, who should be commissioned by the Governor, and have the same command over the respective brigades, as the major general had over the whole militia, and should be subject to the command of his superior officer in calling forth or marching the militia for defence; and every brigadier should review each regiment of his brigade once in a year, and oftener, if the Assembly ordered. It was also enacted that the colonel, or chief officer of every regiment, should nominate and appoint a suitable person, to serve as an assistant in their respective regiments, and commission them accordingly. The male population of the colony, in 1775, from sixteen to fifty years of age, were subject to military duty, and may be estimated, from a careful examination of the census of 1774, to amount to about twenty-six thousand persons. Of these there were nearly one thousand beyond the Delaware, and near two thousand disaffected persons, so that the whole military force in the compact settled part of the colony, that could be relied on for its defence, did not much exceed twenty-three thousand men. THE GOVERNMENT, AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE COLONY, AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. THE Government of Connecticut, founded on the Charter of Charles II. contained in its structure some of the most liberal provisions that ever received the sanction of royal authority. The administrators of government, chosen by the governed, had possessed for a long period of time the unbounded confidence of their constituents. The Governor, and both branches of the legislature, having derived their authority from the same source, |