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The Green Mountain Boys were historically, the militia of the Vermont Republic
Vermont Republic

The term Vermont Republic has been used by 20th and 21st century writers to describe the period of the U.S. state of Vermont from July 1777, when delegates met and declared independence from jurisdictions and land claims of British colonies in New Hampshire and New York, until its admission to the United States in 1791 as the fourteenth s...
. Today it is the informal name of the Vermont National Guard
Vermont National Guard

The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys, despite the inclusion of women in both branches since the mid-twentieth century....
 which comprises the Vermont Army and Air National Guard.

original Green Mountain Boys were paramilitary
Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organisation are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status....
 infantry organized in Southwestern Vermont
Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
 in the decade prior to the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
. They comprised settler
Settler

A settler is a person who has human migration to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonies the area. Settlers are generally people who take up Sedentary and agriculture it, as opposed to nomads....
s and land speculators who held New Hampshire
New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States of America. The state was named after the southern English Counties of England of Hampshire....
 titles to lands between the Connecticut River
Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through Western Massachusetts and central Connecticut into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut....
 and Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada ? United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec....
, what is now modern Vermont.






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The Green Mountain Boys were historically, the militia of the Vermont Republic
Vermont Republic

The term Vermont Republic has been used by 20th and 21st century writers to describe the period of the U.S. state of Vermont from July 1777, when delegates met and declared independence from jurisdictions and land claims of British colonies in New Hampshire and New York, until its admission to the United States in 1791 as the fourteenth s...
. Today it is the informal name of the Vermont National Guard
Vermont National Guard

The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys, despite the inclusion of women in both branches since the mid-twentieth century....
 which comprises the Vermont Army and Air National Guard.

Historical unit

The original Green Mountain Boys were paramilitary
Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organisation are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status....
 infantry organized in Southwestern Vermont
Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
 in the decade prior to the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
. They comprised settler
Settler

A settler is a person who has human migration to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonies the area. Settlers are generally people who take up Sedentary and agriculture it, as opposed to nomads....
s and land speculators who held New Hampshire
New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States of America. The state was named after the southern English Counties of England of Hampshire....
 titles to lands between the Connecticut River
Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through Western Massachusetts and central Connecticut into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut....
 and Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada ? United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec....
, what is now modern Vermont. New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 was given control of the area by a decision of the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 crown and refused to respect the New Hampshire Grants
New Hampshire Grants

File:Vermont .pngThe New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the Governor of New Hampshire of Province of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth....
 and town charters. Although a few towns with New York land titles, notably Brattleboro
Brattleboro (town), Vermont

Brattleboro is a town in Windham County, Vermont, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire....
 on the Connecticut River, supported the government in Albany
Albany, New York

Albany is the Capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County, New York. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York City, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk River and Hudson Rivers....
, the vast majority of the settlers in the sparsely populated frontier
Frontier

A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a Border....
 region rejected the authority of New York.

With several hundred members, the Green Mountain Boys effectively controlled the area where New Hampshire grants had issued. They were led by Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen

Ethan Allen was an early American revolutionary and guerrilla warfare leader who fought against the Province of New York's settlement of Vermont, and later for Vermont's independence during the American Revolutionary War....
, his brother Ira Allen
Ira Allen

Ira Allen was one of the founders of Vermont and leaders of the Green Mountain Boys; he was born in Cornwall, Connecticut and was the brother of Ethan Allen....
, and their cousins Seth Warner
Seth Warner

Seth Warner was born in Roxbury, Connecticut, Connecticut. In 1763, he removed with his father to Bennington, Vermont in what was then the ?New Hampshire Grants?....
 and Remember Baker
Remember Baker

Remember Baker was a member of the Green Mountain Boys. He was born in Roxbury, Connecticut and died in Quebec. The son of Remember Baker and Tamar Warner, he was a first cousin of Ethan Allen and Seth Warner....
. They were based at the Catamount Tavern
Catamount Tavern

The Catamount Tavern was a tavern in Old Bennington, Vermont, Vermont, USA. Originally known as Fay?s House, it is marked now by a granite and copper statue placed in 1896....
 in Bennington, only a short distance from the New York seat of government in Albany. By the 1770s, the Green Mountain Boys had become an armed military force and de facto
De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning the fact" or in practice but not necessarily ordained by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation....
 government that prevented the Albany government from exercising its authority in the northeast portion of the Province of New York
Province of New York

The Province of New York resulted from the capture of the Dutch Republic colony of Provincie New Netherland by the Kingdom of England, and included all of the present U.S....
. New York authorities had standing warrant
Warrant (law)

Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which wikt:commands an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is performed....
s for the arrests of the leaders of the rebellious Vermonters, but were unable to exercise them. New York surveyor
Surveying

Surveying or land surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space position of points and the distances and angles between them....
s and other officials attempting to exercise their authority were prevented from doing so and in some cases were severely beaten.

When the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
 started in 1775, Ethan Allen and a force of his guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is the Irregular warfare warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile Military tactics to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....
, along with Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
 Colonel
Colonel

Colonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures....
 Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a General officer during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army, but switched sides to the British Empire....
, marched up to Lake Champlain and captured the important military posts at Fort Ticonderoga, Fort Crown Point
Fort Crown Point

His Majesty's Fort of Crown Point or more simply Crown Point was a Kingdom of Great Britain fort built in 1759 on Lake Champlain to secure the region against the French....
, Fort Ann, and the town of St. John (Battle of Fort St. Jean
Battle of Fort St. Jean

The Siege of Fort St. Jean was conducted by American Brigadier General Richard Montgomery on the town and Fort Saint-Jean of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec in the United Kingdom province of Quebec during the American Revolutionary War....
) in Québec
Quebec

Quebec , in French language, Qu?bec , is a Provinces and territories of Canada in the Central Canada and Eastern Canada regions of Canada....
. The Green Mountain Boys later formed the basis of the Vermont militia
Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service....
 that selected Seth Warner as its leader. Some of the Green Mountain Boys preferred to stick with Ethan Allen and captured along with Allen in August 1775 in a bungled attack on the city of Montreal
Montreal

Montreal, or Montr?al, is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada of Quebec and the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population....
. A member of this unit was Congressman Matthew Lyon
Matthew Lyon

Matthew Lyon , , was a printer, farmer, soldier, and politician, serving as a United States Representative from Vermont and from Kentucky.Lyon was born near Dublin, in near by County Wicklow, Ireland, and attended school in Dublin....
.

Vermont eventually declared itself an independent nation in January 1777, and organized a government based in Windsor
Windsor, Vermont

Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,756 at the 2000 United States Census....
. The army of the Vermont Republic
Vermont Republic

The term Vermont Republic has been used by 20th and 21st century writers to describe the period of the U.S. state of Vermont from July 1777, when delegates met and declared independence from jurisdictions and land claims of British colonies in New Hampshire and New York, until its admission to the United States in 1791 as the fourteenth s...
 based upon the Green Mountain Boys. Although Vermont initially supported the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
 and sent troops to fight John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne

General John Burgoyne was a Kingdom of Great Britain army officer, politician and dramatist. During the American War of Independence, on October 17, 1777, at the Battle of Saratoga he surrendered his Convention Army....
's British invasion from Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 at Hubbardton
Battle of Hubbardton

The Battle of Hubbardton was an engagement in the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War. On the morning of July 7, 1777, Kingdom of Great Britain forces, under General General Simon Fraser of Balnian, caught up with the Continental Army rear guard of the forces withdrawing from Fort Ticonderoga....
 and Bennington
Battle of Bennington

}|-||}The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, taking place on August 16, 1777, in Walloomsac, New York, about 10 miles away from its namesake Bennington, Vermont....
 in 1777, Vermont eventually adopted a more neutral stance and became a haven for deserters from both the British and colonial armies. George Washington
George Washington

George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
, who had more than sufficient difficulties with the British, brushed off Congressional demands that he subdue Vermont. The Vermont Army version of the Green Mountain Boys faded away after Vermont joined the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 as the 14th U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 in 1791. They returned for the War of 1812
War of 1812

The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , was fought from 1812 to 1815.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S....
, the Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, and later more formally as the Vermont National Guard
Vermont National Guard

The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys, despite the inclusion of women in both branches since the mid-twentieth century....
.

Members

  • Ethan Allen
    Ethan Allen

    Ethan Allen was an early American revolutionary and guerrilla warfare leader who fought against the Province of New York's settlement of Vermont, and later for Vermont's independence during the American Revolutionary War....
     – militia leader (general)
  • Seth Warner
    Seth Warner

    Seth Warner was born in Roxbury, Connecticut, Connecticut. In 1763, he removed with his father to Bennington, Vermont in what was then the ?New Hampshire Grants?....
     – militia leader (colonel)
  • Ira Allen
    Ira Allen

    Ira Allen was one of the founders of Vermont and leaders of the Green Mountain Boys; he was born in Cornwall, Connecticut and was the brother of Ethan Allen....
     – militia leader, and the founder of The University of Vermont
    University of Vermont

    The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, more commonly known as The University of Vermont, is a national public research university and the state of Vermont's land-grant university....
  • Remember Baker
    Remember Baker

    Remember Baker was a member of the Green Mountain Boys. He was born in Roxbury, Connecticut and died in Quebec. The son of Remember Baker and Tamar Warner, he was a first cousin of Ethan Allen and Seth Warner....
     – militia member (captain)
  • Ebenezer Allen
    Ebenezer Allen

    Ebenezer Allen was an United States of America soldier, pioneer, and member of the Vermont General Assembly. He was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, Massachusetts on 17 October 1743....
     – militia member (lieutenant)
  • Matthew Lyon
    Matthew Lyon

    Matthew Lyon , , was a printer, farmer, soldier, and politician, serving as a United States Representative from Vermont and from Kentucky.Lyon was born near Dublin, in near by County Wicklow, Ireland, and attended school in Dublin....
     – militia member (second lieutenant), and future congressman
  • Thomas Rowley
    Thomas Rowley (poet)

    Thomas Rowley was a famous poet of Vermont, known both as the spokesman for Ethan Allen and dubbed ?The Bard of the Green Mountains.? During his lifetime and before the American Revolution, his poetry gained the reputation with the catchphrase of "Setting the Hills on Fire."...
     – militia member and spokesman, known as the “Bard of the Green Mountains” who “Set the Hills on Fire”


Flag

A remnant of a Green Mountain Boys flag, believed to belong to John Stark
John Stark

John Stark was a general who served in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777....
, is owned by the Bennington Museum. It still exists as one of the few regimental flags from the American Revolution. Although Stark was at the Battle of Bennington
Battle of Bennington

}|-||}The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, taking place on August 16, 1777, in Walloomsac, New York, about 10 miles away from its namesake Bennington, Vermont....
 and likely flew this flag, the battle has become more commonly associated with the Bennington flag
Bennington flag

File:Bennington Flag.svgFile:Bennington-Battle-Flag.jpgThe Bennington Flag is a version of the Flags of the United States associated with the American Revolution Battle of Bennington, from which it derives its name....
, which is believed to be a 19th century banner.

Vermont National Guard

Today, the Vermont National Guard, composed of the Vermont Army National Guard
Army National Guard

The Army National Guard is the land force militia organized by each of the several U.S. states and Territories of the United States of the United States....
 and Vermont Air National Guard
Air National Guard

The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S....
 are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys, this despite the inclusion of women in both branches since the mid-twentieth century. Both units also use the original Green Mountain Boys battle flag as their banner.

See also

  • Battle of Ticonderoga (1775)


External links