First Time SS player

Hi all,

This my first shot at playing a mod for any of the TW series games. I am playing SS 6.1 and for some reason I can not recruit anything but militia spearmen and peasant archers. I understand that since I am playing the Early Era campaign that some units may not be recruitable yet but I am on my 43rd turn and it would seem that I should be able to recruit more then just militia spearman and peasant archers. I have upgraded my stables and barracks but none of the better units are able to be recruited. Am I missing something? Do I need to have a certain general in the castle to recruit these units that are not late period, i.e. BCavalry or BLancers? Sorry for the noob question, could not find the answer anywhere in the forums. Thanks.