STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER III

While the militia had very few arms, Van Rensselaer had no military training and commanded a critical army because of his political connections—common at the time. After he botched the Battle of Queenston Heights he returned to politics but his military failure dogged him for the rest of his career. The quotation is yet another that illustrated the myth of all Americans armed and ready to fight for the nation. There was no gun culture then, and guns were expensive and a minority of Americans owned them. In this case less than 20 percent of the American militia owned a gun. And Congress would just not at the time spend the money for weapons.

While the militia had very few arms, Van Rensselaer had no military training and commanded a critical army because of his political connections—common at the time. After he botched the Battle of Queenston Heights he returned to politics but his military failure dogged him for the rest of his career. The quotation is yet another that illustrated the myth of all Americans armed and ready to fight for the nation. There was no gun culture then, and guns were expensive and a minority of Americans owned them. In this case less than 20 percent of the American militia owned a gun. And Congress would just not at the time spend the money for weapons.