Editing French and Indian Wars (section)

====British Army====
{{main|British soldiers in the eighteenth century}}
The British Army had two types of units in North America: regular regiments serving in the colonies for a longer or shorter period of time, normally sent there only after the war had begun, and [[British Army Independent Companies of Foot in South Carolina, 1721-1763|independent companies]], permanently based in the colonies as [[garrison]]s of forts and fortresses. The British Army was largely recruited among the poor and the criminal classes; yet, the independent companies had lower status. Their ranks were often filled with people who had left the regular service – former soldiers mainly, but also [[deserter]]s. The officers were often promoted [[non-commissioned officers]]. The independent companies became rooted in the local society, often transforming the military service into a sideline of a civilian occupation, and remaining in the colonies after expiration of the enlistment period.<ref name="Offen">[http://historyreconsidered.net/Brittish_Military_Presence_in_America.html Lee Offen, ''The British Military Presence in America, 1660-1720''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522085846/http://historyreconsidered.net/Brittish_Military_Presence_in_America.html |date=2011-05-22 }} Retrieved 2017-02-11.</ref>