Delete comment from: Boston 1775
The American Patriots wrestled with what to call their foes since they, as you say, saw themselves as British and fighting for traditional British liberties. They could be “Americans” geographically without being a separate nation, but how to distinguish themselves from the people “across the water”?
Among the terms were “the ministerial troops,” so called after the ministry or government in London, and “the Gageites,” after Gen. Thomas Gage.
In April 1775, Paul Revere probably warned people that “The regulars are out!” That term distinguished between full-time regular soldiers and the local militia. But “regulars” also distinguished ordinary infantrymen from grenadiers and light infantry, who were the actual troops marching to Concord.
All of those period terms would have required a lot more explanation than the miniseries producers probably thought they had time for. I thought they managed to hold off on using “British” pretty well in the first episode.
Mar 26, 2008, 2:38:00 PM
Posted to What John and Abigail Really Saw