 There are indications that Standish began to seek a quieter life by 1635 ( after the Penobscot expedition ) , maintaining the livestock and fields of his Duxbury farm . Standish was about 51 years old at that time , and he began to relinquish the responsibility of defending the colony to a younger generation . A note in the colony records of 1635 indicates that Lieutenant William Holmes , Standish 's immediate subordinate , was appointed to train the militia . When the Pequot War loomed in 1637 , Standish was appointed to a committee to raise a company of 30 men , but it was Holmes who led the company in the field . 
