Bermuda Militia 1687 – 1813 Bermuda Militia , under Militia Acts 1687 - 1813 . Although the Bermuda Parliament had been formed in 1620 , prior to 1687 , the Bermudian Militia was raised and organised without reference to a Militia Act . The Crown took over the administration of the Colony from The Somers Isles Company in 1684 . Militia Act , 1687 . In 1687 the first Crown - appointed governor , Royal Naval officer Sir Robert Robinson , arrived in Bermuda . Finding the state of defences less than satisfactory , he raised a militia of 780 men , with provisions made to arm those men with no weapons of their own . He also pushed an Act of Parliament through the reluctant Colonial Assembly , raising two troops of horse . A standing watch was raised to patrol through the parishes , with three ' well armed ' footmen and a horseman in each parish ( then known as ' tribes ' ) on each night . Militia Act of 1690 / 91 . In 1690 / 91 , another Militia Act was passed , requiring every man , whether free or enslaved , between the ages of 15 and 60 to ' appear at every exercise and muster and provide himself with sword and musket . Slave owners were responsible to provide weapons to their slaves . ' Those found negligent could be fined , and those not paying fines could be flogged . King ' s Castle now received a guard of four men , under a Lieutenant . Two men were posted at Paget ' s Fort , and a lookout at the highest point in Saint George ' s . Militia Act , 1702 . In 1702 , Britain entered the War of The Spanish Succession , against France . This war also included a French campaign , with Allied Native Nations ( Indians ) against British possessions in North America . The previous year , with this war looming , a Company of Regular infantry was sent to Bermuda and made an ' Independent Company ( the first Regular Army deployment to the colony ) . With the onset of the War , the militia was strengthened . Six - hundred men were armed and trained with lances . A troop of Horse Grenadiers was raised ( amongst those wealthy enough to afford a horse . The primary method of transport about the colony would remain , ' til the 20th Century , by boat . ) Despite the deployment of a Regular company , the island ' s defences were then completely neglected by the London government as the war with France dragged on ' til 1713 . War with Spain was opened in 1715 , and no military supplies were despatched to Bermuda until 1728 . Militia Act , 1728 . The next addition to the Militia was made in 1728 when ' The King ' s Independent Company ' of 50 men was raised . In 1741 , local Militia , along with two Bermudian sloops , responded to a Spanish raid on Southampton Parish , but the Spaniards had retreated before the Militia arrived . Militia Act , 1747 . In 1747 , with the War of The Austrian Succession looming , the Troop of Horse Grenadiers was split into Eastern and Western Sections . Militia Act , 1758 . In 1758 , after the start of the Seven Years ' War , a Troop of horse and a Regiment of Foot of nine Companies was formed : Each of the nine Parishes was to provide a Company under the command of a Captain , a Lieutenant and an Ensign . The Troop of Horse would have , in addition to these officers , a Cornet and two ' Brigadiers ' . The end of war in 1763 led to the withdrawal of the Independent Company . It was replaced by a detached Company of the 9th . Regiment of Foot , from Florida . Although it was attempted to bring this unit up to strength with men taken from the Bahamas Independent Company , it never had more than 20 Privates ( a Company of that day being comparable to a modern platoon , with 45 to 50 men ) . In 1768 , this Company was returned to Florida , leaving Bermuda without a regular garrison . Except for a period during the American War of Independence , the colony ' s military defence was left , thenceforth , to its own militias until 1793 . Militia Act , 1789 . In 1789 , a Volunteer Artillery Company was raised to augment the Troop of Horse and the nine Companies of the Regiment of foot . This consisted of 20 Privates , 2 Sergeants and a Lieutenant . Militia Act , 1794 . With the American War of Independence , Bermuda began to assume an importance to the Admiralty that would see it become the base of the North America and West Indies Squadron , and the site of the only full Naval dockyard West of Portsmouth . In 1793 , with the French Revolution , a detachment of the 47th Foot was posted to Bermuda as part of the garrison . thenceforth , for nearly two Centuries , there would remain a Regular Army component to the colony ' s defences . The following year , in 1794 , an Act of the Colonial Assembly replaced the single Volunteer Artillery Company with three Companies , each of eight Privates . At this time , the Commanding Officer of the Militia decided what uniform was worn , which each man provided at his own expense . the Captain of each company of foot had to provide for a Colour , a drum and a fife . Horse Troopers had to provide their own mounts . Militia Act , 1802 . The Militia Act of 1802 disbanded the Volunteer Artillery ( Regular artillery being stationed on the island , amateurs were seen as unnecessary ) . In 1803 , a General Order was issued by the President ( of the appointed Governor ' s Council - which filled the role that today is served by the Cabinet , drawn from the MPs of the Ruling Party ) . This gave the Commander - in - Chief ( normally , the Governor , ) and Field Officers of the Militia the power to raise an alarm , whenever either deemed it necessary for the safety of the Colony . It also stated that ' as often as any vessels shall be seen coming to , or hovering about , any part of the coast which in the joint opinion of any Captain of a Company and any Captain of a Fort , shall afford just ground to apprehend and suspect that they are the vessels of an enemy , and actuated by any hostile intention , such Captain of a Company and such Captain of a Fort , shall cojointly have power to cause a general alarm to be raised , sending immediate notice of their apprehensions or suspicions to the nearest Field Officer . " When such an alarm was raised , all males obliged to bear arms were to muster at their Parish rendezvous . The Militia , after American Independence . After US independence , Bermuda assumed great importance to the Admiralty , which developed it throughout the Nineteenth Century as a naval base , dockyard , and admiralty headquarters . The concurrent build - up of the regular military garrison to protect the naval base meant that Bermuda ' s militia came to be seen as superfluous . By the time the USA declared war in 1812 , the Militia had been allowed to wither away . The Militia Act , 1813 was passed as a wartime expediency . Bibliography . " Defence , Not Defiance : A History Of The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps " , Jennifer M . Ingham ( now Jennifer M . Hind ) , ISBN 0 - 9696517 - 1 - 6 . Printed by The Island Press Ltd . , Pembroke , Bermuda . Itself using as a source the unique , typescript " History of The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps , 1891 - 1933 " , held at the Bermuda Library , in Hamilton . " The Andrew And The Onions : The Story Of The Royal Navy In Bermuda , 1795 – 1975 " , Lt . Commander Ian Strannack , The Bermuda Maritime Museum Press , The Bermuda Maritime Museum , P . O . Box MA 133 , Mangrove Bay , Bermuda MA BX . " Bermuda Forts 1612 – 1957 " , Dr . Edward C . Harris , The Bermuda Maritime Museum Press , The Bermuda Maritime Museum , P . O . Box MA 133 , Mangrove Bay , Bermuda MA BX . External links . The text of this page was copied directly from the author ' s own free pages at : Part of . Bermuda Military of Bermuda Bermuda Militias 1612 - 1815