Myles Standish - Birthplace and Early Military Service

Birthplace and Early Military Service

Little is definitively known of Myles Standish's origins and early life. His place of birth has been subject to debate among historians for more than 150 years. At the center of the debate is language in Myles Standish's will, drafted in Plymouth Colony in 1656, regarding his rights of inheritance. Standish wrote:

I give unto my son & heire apparent Alexander Standish all my lands as heire apparent by lawfull decent in Ormskirke Borscouge Wrightington Maudsley Newburrow Crowston and in the Isle of man and given to mee as Right heire by lawfull decent but Surruptuously detained from mee My great Grandfather being a 2cond or younger brother from the house of Standish of Standish.

The places named by Standish, with the exception of the Isle of Man, are all in Lancashire, England, leading some to conclude that Standish was born in Lancashire—possibly in the vicinity of Chorley where a branch of the Standish family owned a manor known as Duxbury Hall. However, efforts to link Standish to the Standishes of Duxbury Hall have proven inconclusive. A competing theory focuses on Standish's mention of the Isle of Man and argues that Myles belonged to a Manx branch of the Standish family. No definitive documentation exists in either location to provide clear evidence of Standish's birthplace.

Possibly the best source, however brief, on Standish's origins and early life is a short passage recorded by Nathaniel Morton, secretary of Plymouth Colony, who wrote in his New England's Memorial, published in 1669, that Standish:

...was a gentleman, born in Lancashire, and was heir apparent unto a great estate of lands and livings, surreptitiously detained from him; his great grandfather being a second or younger brother from the house of Standish. In his younger time he went over into the low countries, and was a soldier there, and came acquainted with the church at Leyden, and came over into New England, with such of them as at the first set out for the planting of the plantation of New Plimouth, and bare a deep share of their first difficulties, and was always very faithful to their interest.

The circumstances of Standish's early military career in Holland (the "low countries" to which Morton referred) are vague at best. At the time, the Dutch Republic was embroiled in the Eighty Years War with Spain. Queen Elizabeth I of England chose to support the Protestant Dutch Republic and sent troops to fight the Spanish in Holland. Some historians, such as Nathaniel Philbrick, refer to Standish as a "mercenary," suggesting that he was a hired soldier of fortune seeking opportunity in Holland. Others, such as historian Justin Winsor, claim that Standish received a lieutenant's commission in the English army and was subsequently promoted to captain in Holland. Jeremy Bangs, a leading scholar of Pilgrim history, noted that Standish likely served under Sir Horatio Vere, an English general who had recruited soldiers in both Lancashire and the Isle of Man, among other places, and who led the English troops in Holland at the time Standish was there.

Whether commissioned officer, mercenary, or both, Standish apparently came to Holland around 1603 and may, according to historian Tudor Jenks, have seen service during the Siege of Ostend in which Vere's English troops were involved. The subsequent Twelve Years' Truce (1609–1621) between Spain and the Dutch Republic would have ended Standish's service, although scholars are uncertain if Standish was still in active service.

Standish first appears in the written record in 1620 when, living in Leiden, Holland, he was hired by the Pilgrims to act as their advisor on military matters. At that time he already was using the title of "Captain." When considering candidates for this important position, the Pilgrims had at first hoped to engage Captain John Smith. As one of the founders of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, Smith had explored and mapped the North American coast. When the Pilgrims approached him to return to the New World, Smith expressed interest. His experience made him an attractive candidate, but the Pilgrims ultimately decided against Smith: His price was too high and the Pilgrims feared his fame and bold character might lead him to become a dictator.

Standish, having lived in Leiden with his wife Rose, was apparently already known to the Pilgrims. In the summer of 1620, Myles and Rose Standish embarked with the Pilgrims for the New World.