War of the Regulation

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

After reading Cecil’s column on the right to bear arms, I read this Wikipedia page on the War of the Regulation.

I don’t recall ever reading about it before. According to the opening sentence, “The War of the Regulation (or the Regulator Movement) was a North and South Carolina uprising, lasting from about 1765 to 1771, in which citizens took up arms against corrupt colonial officials.”

What’s the connection between the name “Regulators” for a band of armed civilians rising against the government, and the phrase “well-regulated militia?” Was “regulation” a synonym for “vigilantism” in the 18th century?

2

It doesn’t appear there is any connection, merely coincidence.

3

Well, if that’s the case, does anyone know why the Regulators were called Regulators?

4

There seem to have been quite a few “Regulators” in 18th-19th-century America.

5

Wasn’t Billy the Kid involved in some sort of conflict with “Regulators” in the old West?

6

That was one case, yes, the Lincoln County War. He was on the Regulators’ side.