The First Major Mobilization of a Nation's People

Lexington and Concord were but a single day in what would be nine years of fighting in the War of American Independence. Nonetheless, that day was a remarkable mobilization of Americans in response to a British patrol. By 1775, the colonies were well within the grips of what has been referred to as the rage-militare, where a collective desire to fight was to be found in every aspect life in the thirteen colonies. However, the single day in April 1775 and the rage militaire did not last; the Continental Army and the militias of each colony were the two organizations that would see the War for American Independence to its end. The fact that the Continental Army consisted of only the poor and disenfranchised, who fought only because they could afford to do nothing else, ignores the American patriots that these men became as a result of their service. Additionally, the low opinion of the militia on the battlefield overlooks the basic fact that these men served, and as such, the militia was a large group of men, mobilized for the common cause of American Independence.. Finally, many Americans who did not fight in the Continental Army or Militias, but provided support as merchants and camp followers, also mobilized in support of the cause. Statements to the effect that the "loyalists" were actually the majority do not seem to follow any rationale as there were so many times and places that such a majority, if it truly existed as a majority, could and would have made its presence felt but did not. There were definitely those that did not support independence from Britain, but history would have been much different had they truly been the majority.