(1774), resolved:
Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. … Continue steadfast, and with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.1701
In 1774, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress reorganized the Massachusetts militia, providing that over one-third of all new regiments be made up of “Minutemen.” The minutemen, known as such because they would be ready to fight at a minute’s notice, would drill as citizen soldiers on the parade ground, then go to the church to hear exhortation and prayer. Many times the deacon of the church, or even the pastor, would lead the drill. They proclaimed, “Our cause is just” and believed it was their Christian duty to defend it.1702 The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts charged the minutemen:
You … are placed by Providence in the post of honor, because it is the post of danger. … The eyes not only of North America and the whole British Empire, but of all Europe, are upon you. Let us be, therefore, altogether solicitous that no disorderly behavior, nothing unbecoming our characters as Americans, as citizens and Christians, be justly chargeable to us.1703