210 History of Hingham. 



of those modern democracies which form the distinguishing char- 

 acteristic of New England. We cannot however isolate ours from 

 the other settlements which already, two hundred and fifty years 

 ago, formed, like it, parts of a complete commonwealth, with 

 established customs, diverse interests, and self-reliant spirit. 



It is interesting to observe these sturdy and half independent 

 plantations, bound together as they were by the common laws and 

 necessities, re-enacting, each within its own limits, much of the 

 complex life of the province at large. They were truly miniature 

 commonwealths, and the claims of the State and the claims of the 

 Church received as well the consideration of the people of the 

 village as of the deputies at the capital; and the various commer- 

 cial, religious, and social interests made themselves felt alike in 

 the town meetings and in the legislative and council chambers. 



In each town, too, was the military organization and establish- 

 ment, demanding and receiving from nearly every citizen active 

 participation in its exacting and stern requirements. Like the 

 civil authority it was, it is true, regulated and controlled largely 

 by the central government, but it nevertheless possessed, from 

 very necessity, much local independence. 



To the story of its part in the life of Hingham this article is 

 devoted. And here it may not be inopportune to consider briefly 

 a phase in the history and policy of the colony, and indeed of the 

 other colonies as well, which has perhaps not at all times been 

 accorded its full value, and which is well illustrated in the record 

 and experience of our own town. From their situation and sur- 

 roundings the North American colonies were necessarily little 

 less than military provinces, whose armed forces were their own 

 citizens. Of them Massachusetts was the most prominent, and 

 her usual condition was that of an armed peace, with many of 

 the incidents of martial law, not infrequently broken by open hos- 

 tilities with her Indian and French neighbors. For more than 

 one hundred years succeeding the organization of the government, 

 a large portion of the legislative enactments pertained to the arm- 

 ing and disciplining of the inhabitants, to the erection of forts, 

 the purchase of military stores, and to other measures of defence 

 and offence ; and no inconsiderable part of her expenditure was 

 for the raising and equipping of troops, and for expeditions against 

 the Indians and against Canada. The laws on these subjects were 

 frequent, minute in their details, and often severe in their require- 

 ments ; and they affected not only the individual citizen, but 

 reached the towns in their corporate capacity and prescribed their 

 duties as well. 



These enactments, with frequent experience in actual service, 

 produced not only a hardy, disciplined, trained citizen soldiery 

 ready for the emergency of the hour, but, continued as they were 

 through the legislation of a century, they created the military tra- 

 dition, knowledge, and discipline which were of such inestimable 



