The term Non-Associators was applied to American colonists who refused to support and sign "military association"
charters. They were not affiliated with associators, or would choose instead, to pay a fine and suffer possible retaliation. During the
American Revolutionary War, some associator units were said to operate more like, or were in fact loose-knit criminal gangs, taking advantage of the disruption of warfare.
In 1776, Pennsylvania, Patriot, volunteer, military groups, in the tradition of earlier, colonial, associator militias, used the name the
Pennsylvania Associators and in 1777, were renamed the
Pennsylvania State Militia.
Many Loyalist
irregulars who fought with the British in the
American Revolutionary War were "associators". These units were sometimes commissioned by the commander in chief but could also be commissioned by the commander of a
garrison or a royal colonial governor. They received no pay, and often no uniforms; they were usually issued provisions, but relied on labor or
looting to earn money. Loyalist Associators often served in mixed-race units, composed of whites, escaped slaves, and even American Indians.
Perhaps one of the most famous Loyalist associators was
Colonel Tye, a former slave and leader of the infamous "Black Brigade". He was the first known black officer in North American military history.
^
abNewland, Samuel J. The Pennsylvania Militia: Defending the Commonwealth and the nation, 1669-1870, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs (2002), pp. 36-45
^James J. Gigantino, The American Revolution in New Jersey: Where the Battlefront Meets the Home Front Rivergate Regionals Collection. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2015. p. 73, 81, 83, 202, 206.
Farrelly, Maura Jane. Papist Patriots: The Making of an American Catholic Identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Newland, Samuel J. The Pennsylvania Militia: Defending the Commonwealth and the nation, 1669-1870. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs, 2002.
Ryan, William R. The World of Thomas Jeremiah: Charles Town on the Eve of the American Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.