9781422280164

Minutemen firing on the British in Massachusetts.

Farther south, in Virginia, the militias were organized by a wealthy planter, George Wash- ington, who at first seemed destined to lead them into disaster and defeat. The rebels were holed up in Valley Forge, PA, northwest of Philadelphia, through the unforgiving winter of 1777–1778; they were apparently all but beaten by the cold and hunger. Under Washington’s leadership, however, they found the character to emerge from that fearful ordeal with their heads unbowed. Washington never forgot his militias. When he was eventually elected as the first president of the United States, he considered the militias to be crucial to the defense of the new republic. Their place in the U.S. Constitution was enshrined by the Founding Fathers, who gave the mi-

C itizen S oldiers : T he N ational G uard

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