They were called minutemen because they could be ready to defend Massachusetts at a moment's notice. There were a total of 104 men and offices within the militia unit, made up largely of farmers. The minutemen were a special militia unit because they resembled a brotherhood, most of these men are said to have grown up in close contact with each other. “The little party which Captain Parker assembled on Lexington Common before dawn on April 19, 1775, had some of the characteristics of a family reunion.” Among them were a dozen father-son combinations. There was also a slave named Prince Estabrook who was serving to win his freedom. Every man in Massachusetts from age sixty to sixty was required to carry a firearm in order to defend himself from the English in case of attack. However, not all of them were part of the minutemen. Of the 117 men in Lexington, the men were assigned jobs in one of three categories: alert list, militia, and minutemen. The alarm list consisted of younger, older and less agile men. Their responsibilities were that of sentries and they were assigned specific tasks when an alarm sounded. The rest of the men were part of the militia. Among the militia, a more innovative group of men formed the minutemen, composed of the most active men. The militia itself was more of a reserve force. Due to the lack of gunpowder, the use of the musket was out of the question. Furthermore, among the states there were no difficulties related to manpower and organization, but to the shortage of gunpowder. Since General Gage (the British commander in chief) had moved most of the powder stores from Cambridge to Boston. This made gunpowder inaccessible to many colonists. "What the different cities had already taken from the warehouses before Gage set about removing them was a pitifully small amount, but