To supplement the meager armed forces, most early 19th-century farmers and craftsmen were required by law to serve in local militia units – the forerunner of today’s National Guard. Militia musters often saw the various militia companies of several towns coming together for a regimental muster. These would have been grand spectacles with townspeople coming out to view visiting militia companies in their dashing uniforms. Come and join us for our muster day and cheer on your favorite militia company!

• Talk to members of two uniformed volunteer militia companies.
• Listen to early 19th-century martial music.
• Watch musket and cannon firing demonstrations.
• See a “Sham Fight” as rival militia companies square off against each other in the field.
• Our young visitors will get the chance to learn early 19th-century drill and marching with the militia officer’s instruction and a toy musket.
• Learn why many New Englanders were pushing for reforms to the militia system and the role that intemperance played in those reforms.
• Hear the Singing School practice for a concert to welcome Lafayette.

PLUS: This Muster Day, we’re getting ready for the arrival of the Marquis de Lafayette! This year marks the Bicentennial celebration of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour of the United States and to commemorate this tour, the American Friends of Lafayette are hosting educational programs across the United States in the same cities and towns that Lafayette visited on his tour. On Muster Day, view an exhibit from the American Friends of Lafayette and some objects in the OSV Museum Collection commemorating Lafayette’s visit, purchase some gingerbread based on Mary Washington’s Lafayette gingerbread receipt (recipe), and make your own “Welcome Lafayette” ribbon. Then, on September 3rd, join us on the Sturbridge Common (NOT the Old Sturbridge Village Common), the exact ground where Lafayette stopped on September 3, 1824, for a Commemorative ceremony celebrating Lafayette’s arrival in Sturbridge, MA. Learn more about the Commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour here.

Did you know?

• The 1792 Militia Act stated required nearly all white men from 18-45 to serve in the militia as part of their civic obligation to their communities. Indigenous Peoples and people of color were explicitly barred from serving in the militia, ensuring the primacy of white manhood as an important element of citizenship.
• All men liable for service in early 19th-century New England had to provide their own equipment: a musket and bayonet, a cartridge box containing 24 rounds of ammunition and two flints, and a knapsack.
• While commonly associated with Christmas today, gingerbread was a favorite treat enjoyed during early 19th century muster days.