Early (say,1800-1840) printed American militia meeting notices have great charm, particularly those which are illustrated with cuts of soldiers, flags or eagles. This 1818 Amherst, Massachusetts notice (above) specifies the equipment for each soldier as put forth in law: ". . . a good musket, with a bore sufficient for a ball the 18th part of a pound, with a steel or iron ramrod, priming wire and brush, bayonet, scabbard and belt, a cartridge-box, two spare flints, a knapsack and canteen, all in bright and good order."
(above) This one is not a militia meeting notice; rather, it is a receipt from a militiaman for financial assistance available to him because he is enrolled in the Northbridge volunteer militia.