The Green Mountain Boys were a grouping of militia established in the year 1770 at the present-day Bennington, Vermont. It was one of the illegal militias, organized with the aim of protecting the resident’s property rights particularly those who had acquired the land grant from the New Hampshire. They were considered as the militia patriot throughout the American Revolution 1 . The Green Mountain Boys comprised of men particularly from Vermont and Massachusetts in addition to Connecticut who had titles from the New Hampshire that gave them access to land situated at Lake Champlain and Connecticut River, currently known as Vermont. The British were reported to have given out the entire land to the New York while ignoring the New Hampshire. New York, during this period, had taken over the current state referred to as Vermont and further disputed the manipulation by the New Hampshire to grant the West, the Green Mountain.
These Mountain Boys stopped the sheriff from enforcing the New York laws and at the same time terrorized the early settlers previously assigned the right to access the New York grants. The small group started by engaging in a fight with people who were believed to be determined to steal their crops and land, but gradually, as situation changes, these people found themselves involved in endless conflicts and disagreement with England 2 . With time, the military found themselves carrying out critical functions throughout the period of Revolutionary battle despite the fact that they did not consider themselves as part of the war.
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The sheriffs went to New York and reported what had been taking place, and these were published in papers. The events went viral affecting the entire groups of the colonies. In New York, a group referred to as “The Bennington Mob,” was considered as a group of notorious rioters in the country who deserved punishment stop them. Later, a group commanded by Ethan Allen took over and protected the native’s properties. The group initially was named "The Hampshire Men,” however, they later changed the name to ‘’Green Mountain Boys” a name that became so famous globally up-to-date. All this happened between the years 1770 and 1772. Still, this group never considered themselves as a critical part of the famous Revolutionary, but they continued engaging in conflicts with the establishment of the New York 3 .
The New York Governor became weary of the group’s actions and accused them of being criminals and offered a reward to anyone who would bring them to him. After being arrested and brought before the governor of New York, the group was charged and was to be executed. While under trial, Allen proclaimed the team was majorly fighting for the liberty of the people, with an aim to safeguard the native’s property rights and life and the authorities were forced to free them 4 . Upon their release, Benedict Arnold approached Allen, the leader of the militia group, seeking assistance in capturing Fort Ticonderoga. During Revolutionary War, the governors and sheriffs took advantage and squandered people's land, and the majority of colonists were victims of this kind of behaviour. During the American Revolution, Allen with his men volunteered the Green Mountain Boys for service and in the process transformed them into soldiers rather than an outlaw group. Studies have established that the Green Mountain Boys later joined the revolution in the year 1775.
Few individuals, led by Allen and Benedict went and took over the Fort Ticonderoga. The Green Mountain group together with Benedict entered Fort Ticonderoga in the year 1775. In preparation for the attack of Fort Ticonderoga, Allen came out declaring that the Americans are determined to take over the Fort and asked the British to leave as soon as possible. The Green Mountain Boys together with Allen viciously attacked the Fort, sooner had they gone beyond the wall the enemies hurriedly surrounded them when they realized the small number of their attackers.
Making use of their knowledge of the entire region of Fort Ticonderoga's weaknesses, both Henry Knox and Allen were able to seize the fort together with its cannon which later forced the British out from Boston 5 . The seizure of the Fort was the most important turning point throughout the whole period. Rumours spread all round that if the Americans fail to take the Fort; it would imply that they might not be able to win the war. The militia groups further were reported to have engaged in a number of battles throughout this period such as Canada invasion, the Bennington war in addition to the Hubbardton war. After the war, the Green Mountains Boys returned to their homeland and participated in various activities aimed at safeguarding their home.
Allen planned and led the war with about 83 colonist-militia individuals in addition to the help from Colonel Benedict Arnold. Studies have shown that this was a significant effort in history since it substantially protected the Northern American and at the same time kept their soil from possible invasion from the British especially from Canada. In addition to this, the group went ahead to capture the Crown Point in New York that was under the dominance of the British and actively engaged in several other battles 6 .
When Allen volunteered for what was referred to as the ill-fated Montreal expedition, other team members stayed behind under the command of Colonel Seth and engaged in a battle of Bennington 7 . They re-organized themselves even with the currently enduring clash with the New York regarding the control of the land. Allen and his group took over the entire field from General John Burgoyne in the year 1777 while at the same time played a primary role in the battle of Hubbardston and Bennington. There were other members of this group who were operating under the command of Allen who extended an internal battle with the Yorkers 8 . In the year 1781, Allen’s resignation from the Vermont militia was argued to have left the group into unending controversies, and later around 1791 he rejoined them when Vermont had been upgraded as the 14th state in the US 9 .
Ira Allen, the brother of Allen, later on, took over the Green Mountain Boys and declared an independent Vermont in the year 1777. Further, Iran Allen politically maneuvered for possible support from the Continental Congress. Following the independence of Vermont, the Green Mountain Boys were considered as the special force and the critical foundation of the city and were thus named as the republic’s army. Vermont went ahead and applied for the statehood. In the year 1791, Vermont was granted its proposal, and it became the 14th state in the US, and gradually, the Green Mountain Boys disappeared. Focusing on the Green Mountain Boys’ flag, green is a symbol of the Green Mountain of Vermont where these militias hail from while the 13 stars in the blue background is a symbol of the 13 American colonies. Even with the death of Allen in the year 1789, his close families and the Green Mountain Boys survived to witness Vermont becoming a state around 1791.
In conclusion, the essay has critically analyzed the Green Mountain Boys militia group and the significant role they played towards protecting the rights of citizens by protecting their property rights. After a period that was characterised with injustices and mistreatment of the locals, a person by the name Ethan Allen felt it was enough of this behaviour and made the decision to protect their properties together with his close friends. In one instance, the sheriff of the New York visited Hampshire a place where the militia group had made an attempt to capture it from them Grants farms; however, they failed because Allen and his team prevented them from achieving their purpose. The soldiers played a critical role throughout the Revolutionary War despite the fact that they did not consider themselves as part of the greater war. The groups successfully deliberated Vermont and later declared its independence is making it the 14th state in the US. The major figures behind the liberation of Vermont from New York settlement and Fort Ticonderoga and who took a central position within the Green Mountain Movement included the following Baker, Ethan Allen, Seth Warner and Ira Allen.
Bibliography
Bellesiles, Michael A. Revolutionary Outlaws: Ethan Allen and the Struggle for Independence on the Early American Frontier . Rutgers University Press, 1995.
Hitchcock, Ethan Allen. Fifty years in camp and field, Diary of Major-General Ethan Allen Hitchcock, USA . Рипол Классик, 1909.
Raabe, Emily. Ethan Allen: The Green Mountain Boys and Vermont's Path to Statehood . The Rosen Publishing Group, 2002.
Thompson, Daniel Pierce. The Green Mountain Boys . Crowell, 1839.
Turner, Frederick Jackson, and Allan G. Bogue. The frontier in American history . Courier Corporation, 2010.
