In the year 1775, two days after the spring equinox, a meeting was held in Pennsylvania’s York County of over one hundred freemen and an agreement was written to bind them into an Association.
The agreement, now in the Rare Book Room of the York County History Center in York, Pennsylvania, read as follows:
The Association of the first York Company In order to make ourselves perfect in the Art military and we the Subscribers have associated and do (severally) agree promise and resolve as follows. Viz.
1st That James Smith be the Captain Thomas Hartley the first Lieutenant David Grier the second Lieutenant and Henry Miller the Ensign of the Company in York Town called the York Blues which said officers according to their respective Station to have the Command of said Company whilst under Arms mustering or in actual Service and that the said officers shall remain till altered by a majority of the Company.
2nd That none of the Subscribers or Company shall disobey the orders of either of the said officers whilst under Arms or mustering or in actual Service and the penalty of paying a Sum not exceeding twenty Shillings for every Disobedience to be inflected and judged of by the Captain or any two of the officers.
3rdly That each Person of the Company shall (if not already done) as soon as possible provide himself with a Gun or Musket at least three feet and an half in length, in the barrel, in good order and repair with a Cartouch Box and a half a Pound of Powder and two Pounds of Lead formed into Cartrages.
4thly That each of the said Company shall attend weekly on Saturday and on such other times as the officers or a majority of them shall appoint in York Town or in the County of York at such places as the said officers shall deem necessary. Under the Penalty of forfeiting and paying the sum of one Shilling for every Absence, Sickness of the Person or Business necessarily calling the party out of town to excuse. This is to be judged by any two of the officers. But in case of absence.
In Testimony Whereof We have hereunto Set our Hands the 22nd Day of March 1775.
This document, signed by 109 individuals, describes the creation of the first company in Pennsylvania formed “to make ourselves perfect in the Art military.” In 1775, Pennsylvania had no state militia by law. This military unit was the first Pennsylvania Company organized before hostilities broke out at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts.
The authors used the term “subscribers” to identify those who signed the document. The implications were significant—the persons named in the document could be arrested, put in jail, and end up in court and tried for treason.
An interesting detail in the first paragraph is the phrase, “the officers shall remain till altered by a majority of the Company”. What is missing is the process used to replace those officers.
The agreement required every subscriber to provide himself with a “gun or musket” with a barrel of a least three and a half feet in length, in good order and repair. Each subscriber was also required to have a cartouche (cartridge) box with powder and lead formed into cartridges, a standard aspect of military preparedness. Guns were not easy to buy and were expensive, costing an average person five to six times their yearly income.
A careful review of the list of signers reveals thirteen with a capital “R” by their names. I believe this marking was to account for those who owned a rifle, versus those who owned or needed to procure a smoothbore musket. Six of those thirteen subscribers marked with an “R” were members of the future company of riflemen from York Town, who deployed to Boston in July.
To assure compliance with attendance at weekly musters, a one shilling fine was levied when a person was absent the day of the muster.
What happened to these subscriber men in this association after its formation?
James Smith became a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Hartley, David Grier, and Henry Miller all served as officers in the Continental Army.
A total of eighty-one men of the group served in other revolutionary-era military units. Several were taken as prisoners of war by the British and the majority of those taken died in captivity.
One thought on “A Curious Agreement Among Friends: Pennsylvania’s York County Militia, 1775”
Would it be possible to publish a list of the 109 signers?