Organized on 7 May 1662 as part of the Massachusetts Militia from several existing Western Massachusetts training bands, and named "The Hampshire Regiment" because the majority of Western Massachusetts – including the region's de facto capital, Springfield – was, at the time, located within Hampshire County (After the American Revolution, Hampshire County was split into three separate counties, currently administered by two different New England states – Hampden County, Massachusetts, with a capital at the City of Springfield; Hartford County, Connecticut, with a capital at the City of Hartford, and the current Hampshire County, Massachusetts, with a capital at the college town of Northampton).