A question was posed: when has armed civilians successfully challenged an established government, or fough effectively in a war.
1676: Bacon’s Rebellion Natahniel Bacon, a newly-landeg English Gentleman, was effectively shut out of the “land-owners” club by the Royal Governor, William Berkely, and his cronies, who had the tidewater region pretty well locked up. The less prosperous settlers of the lower- and mid-piedmont, beset by economic hardship and native Americans, and effectively shut out of the legislature, as well as other new-landed gentry who were also shut-out of Berkely’s club, rallied to Nataniel Bacon’s war cry.
They armed themselves, and marched on Jamestown and forced concessions to their grievances. While out fighting native americans, Berkely declared Bacon a rebel. Bacon marched on Jamestown and burned it to the ground, as well as numerous plantations of Berkely’s cronies.
While Bacon himself died of dysentary later that year, and the rebellion died out on its own.
1689: Coode’s Rebellion The Calvert family ruled Maryland by royal charter, and practiced the same sort of favoritism as Berkely. John Coode formed a militia, captured the proprietary governor, and went to England to successfully petition King James II for redress of grievances. The Calverts were “out” until 1715 or so.
April 14, 1775: Lexington-Concord “The Shot Heard 'Round The World.”
War of American Independence While the northern militias didn’t fare so well, the southern militias kicked some major booty. Francis Marion (“The Swamp Fox”), Thomas Sumter (“The Gamecock”) and the Over-The-Mountain-Men who claimed victory at the Battle of King’s Mountain in Georgia in 1780. While getting beat up pretty bad themselves under Gen. Horatio Gates, his replacement, Gen. Nathaniel Green did much better.
The southern militia did what a militia is supposed to do when confronted with overwhelming conventional forces: fade. Hit them where they ain’t. Harrass. Harry. Cut lines of communications. Attack supply caravans.
1786: Shay’s Rebellion Spurred by a post-war recession, Capt. Daniel Shay led 2,000 farmers against the state armory of Massachusetts, where they were defeated by the state militia. While only partially effective by itself, Shay’s Rebellion lent additional impetus for a Constitutional Convention, to replace the ineffective Articles of Confederation.
1791: The Whiskey Rebellion As Pres. Washington’s Sec. of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton instituted an economic program which included a 25% excise tax on whiskey. Since many poor farmers made a little extra cash on the manufacture and sale of whiskey, this tax was immensely unpopular. To the point of rebellion (it really wasn’t much more than some PO’d farmers raising a bunch of ruckus).
Washingtom marched 13,000 troops into western Pennsylvania to quell the Whiskey Rebellion, but Hamilton himself soon took over. For all of his searching, all of his marching-to-and-fro-up-and-down-the-square, he met little organized resistance, which quickly collapsed.
Thomas Jefferson himself was quoted as saying, “An insurrection was announced and proclaimed, and armed against, but could never be found.” Even Hamilton’s Federalist supporters cautioned him, “Elective rulers can scarcely ever employ the physical force ofa democracy without turning the moral force, or the power of public opinion, against the government.”
Sounds like good advice for the FBI and ATF at Ruby Ridge and Waco, respectively.
For 20th Century examples: Vietnam and Aghanistan. WHile never winning any major battles (usually dying by the thousands, or tens of thousands), militias were effective in keeping pressure on enemy conventional forces by attacking them unconventionally.
Enough so that the world’s two greatest superpowers packed up their toys and left them alone.
I’m not saying it would be easy. Heck no. It would be a cast-iron bitch uphill-all-the-way battle, with the smart money on the better armed/trained force. But that’s failed often enough in history to give anyone with the willingness to fight, and pay the price as neccessary, reason to try.
Mtgman: no arguments on points A or C, but as to point B, you might be suprised. As long as we’re talking hand-held bullet-chuckers like the ubiquitous M-16A2, the M-249 SAW (same ammo) and the M-60 (7.62mm/.308), the civilians are just as well-armed, Kevlar-penetration-wise, as the military, if not better, even. And handguns are just a good, too. Although any unconventional force within pistol shot of just about any semi-competent military force is foocked.
That is, proper foocked.