BSA
Troop 474
Boy Scout Troop 474
Guilford, Connecticut 06437
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Boy
Scouting has an exciting and colorful history. It began as a training program
for young soldiers under the command of British Army officer Robert S.
Baden-Powell, who
was always dissatisfied
with the ability of soldiers
to carry out reconnaissance and to care for themselves under primitive
conditions. In
India in 1897 with his
first regimental
command, Baden-Powell
had full freedom to use his training ideas.
He had men train in small groups: made their training hard by enjoyable,
and gave them increasing responsibilities. Soldiers who became efficient were
called scouts. To record
his methods,
Baden-Powell wrote
a small volume, "Aids to Scouting", for military use. In
1899, the talented but obscure officer found himself in
charge of a regiment in
Meeting, South Africa, under siege by
a force of 9,000 Boers, descendants of the Dutch settlers
who
had
first
colonized
South Africa.
British forces were badly
outnumbered, but Baden-Powell kept the Boers
from
overrunning
the
city
by
a combination of bluff and boldness.
As news of
relief of
the
217-day
siege
reached
England,
Baden-Powell
became a hero. Boy Scouting evolved in Baden-Powell's mind as result of two unrelated developments. The first was his review, in 1903 and 1904, of the Boys' Brigade, a uniformed, quasi-military organization for English boys. As the hero of Meeting, Baden-Powell was accorded a worshipful reception by the boys. He was impressed by their enthusiasm and interest, but he was sorely troubled by the militarism shown in their drilling, uniforms and toy rifles. The second development was his review of his manual, "Aids to Scouting". It has enjoyed an astounding sale to English boys. Baden-Powell realized that it would never do as a book for boys. It was written to prepare men for war. What he wanted was a book to prepare boys for peace. So began Baden-Powell's quest for all the literature of the world about training boys for manhood. He searched everywhere. By
1907, Baden-Powell's thinking had crystallized enough to get
reactions from men whose
opinions he respected. Replies were
encouraging, and in the summer of
that year
he sought
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