The Shaysites, who called themselves Regulators, were the group of rebels that followed Daniel Shays and Luke Day during Shays' Rebellion in 1786. While the group began by practicing mostly nonviolent resistance, after the passage of the Riot Act the Regulators felt pressured to take up arms against the Massachusetts government. Many of the Shaysites were veterans of the Continental Army who served during the American Revolution, including their leader, Daniel Shays, who had held the rank of captain.
