Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts

For many years The Artillery Company hasheadquarters on the fourth floor of Faneuil Hall

Overview

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusett (AHAC) is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the nineteenth oldest chartered military organization in the world. Its charter was granted in March 1638 by the Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay and signed by Governor John Winthrop as a volunteer militia company to train officers enrolled in the local militia companies across Massachusetts. With the professionalization of the US Military preceding World War I including the creation of the National Guard of the United States and the federalization of officer training, the Company's mission changed to a supportive role in preserving the historic and patriotic traditions of Boston, Massachusetts, and the Nation. Today the Company serves as Honor Guard to the Governor of Massachusetts who is also its Commander in Chief.

Motto

The Company's official motto is "Acta Non Verba" – a Latin phrase meaning "Deeds Not Words".

History

As the settlements which followed the landing at Plymouth increased and spread, there was no organized military force for protection - only local volunteer companies, which lacked the capacity for joint action or any centralized authority. Many of the settlers of Boston had been members in England of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) of London, and the military training they had received in that company led them to form a similar organization in the new country. In 1637 the company was formed as a citizen militia for instruction in military discipline and tactics. Robert Keayne and many of the original members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company had been members of the original HAC of London.

Governor Winthrop granted a charter on March 13, 1638, and on the first Monday in June following, an election of officers was held on Boston Common. The original name of the Company was "The Military Company of Massachusetts". It began to be referred to as "The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company" in the year 1737.

Since 1746, the headquarters of the Company has been located in Faneuil Hall. In this armory, the company maintains a military museum and library containing relics from every war the United States has fought since its settlement. The armory is open to the public daily.

Prior to 1913, the Company served as the de facto officer school for the Massachusetts Militia. (Although not all officers in the Massachusetts Militia were selected from members of the Company.) In 1913, the Massachusetts Militia established the Training School for officer training. This school was later renamed the Massachusetts Military Academy and is today designated the 101st Regiment - Regional Training Institute (RTI)

Membership

Membership in the company has traditionally been selected from the upper middle and upper classes of Boston society. In recent decades membership has been expanded to include those from outside of Massachusetts. It is common for senior officers in the Massachusetts National Guard to be members of the Company. Although prior military service is not a requirement for membership, about one third of the current (2014) members of the Company have served in the Armed Forces of the United States, in most cases as commissioned officers.

Prior to the late 20th Century, the membership of the Company was almost exclusively white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs). In recent decades, however, the Company has recruited a more diverse membership.

Reference Material

• AHAC.US.COM - official website of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company
• Wikipedia: Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
• The National Society of Women Descendants of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company
• See also : Members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company

1600s Rosters

• Roll of members of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts, with a roster of the commissioned officers and preachers, 1638-1894 - primary role of members.

1637 Roster : Note: 1637 is the first year of the rosters of AHAC

1. Robert Keayne (1595-1656)
2. Robert Sedgwick (c1611-1656)
3. Joseph Weld
4. Thomas Savage (1607-1682)
5. Daniel Howe
6. Thomas Hucken
7. John Oliver
8. Joshua Hewes
9. Samuel Cole
10. Israel Stoughton
11. John Underhill
12. Nathaniel Turner
13. William Jennison 
14. Richard Morris
15. Edward Gibbons
16. William Spencer
17. Robert Hanling
18. Thomas Cakebread
19. John Holman
20. Richard Collicott
21. Joseph Pendleton
22. Edward Tomins
23. Nicholas Upshall
24. Edward Johnson

1638 Roster

1641 Roster

• John Severne

1643 Roster

• Richard Cutter (1621-1693)
• William Aspinwall (1602-1663) - Antinomian Controversy

1646 Roster

• Brian Pendleton (c1599-1681)

1666 Roster

1. John Paine
2. Thomas Snawsnell
3. Benjamin Gibbs
4. Thomas Watkins
5. Thomas Sanford
6. Theophilus Frary
7. Thomas Hull
8. Richard Jencks
9. Hugh Clark (1613-1693)
10. Laurence Hammond
11. William Sedgwick (1643-1674)
12. Tobias Davis
13. Daniel Brewer
14. Philip Curtis

1667 Roster

1. Freegrace Bendall
2. William Kent
3. John Ratcliff
4. George Broughton
5. Nathaniel Williams
6. Samuel Bosworth

Summary

Membership in AHAC

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Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (AHAC), which is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the nineteenth oldest chartered military organization in the world, lists this person as a member. Its charter was granted in March 1638 by the Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay and signed by Governor John Winthrop as a volunteer militia company to train officers enrolled in the local militia companies across Massachusetts. Membership in the company has traditionally been selected from the upper middle and upper classes of Boston society.

Captains of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company

• Bozoun Allen - joined: 1676 - elected captain: 1696
• Humphrey Atherton - joined: 1638- elected captain: 1650, 1658
• John Ballentine - joined: 1682 - elected captain: 1703, 1710
• Samuel Barrett - joined: 1735 - elected captain: 1771
• William Bell - joined: 1756 - elcted captain: 1774
• William Brattle - joined 1729 - elected captain: 1733
• John Carnes - joined 1649 - elected captain: 1649
• John Carnes - joined 1733 - elected captain: 1748
• John Chandler - joined 1734 - elected captain: 1736
• Samuel Checkley - joined 1678 - elected captian: 1700
• Joshua Cheever - joined 1732 - elected captain: 1741
• Thomas Clarke - joined 1638 - elected captain: 1653
• Thomas Clarke - joined 1644 - elected captain: 1673

References

Books

• Genealogical Data of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts 1638-1774, by Maude Roberts Cowan