The life of a soldier in the Continental Army described by Martin was perceived to be bold and exciting. Martin’s own motivations and reasons for why he joined the Continental Army was because of his desire for adventure and travel. Martin like many young men at that time had in his mind glamorous ideas of what being a soldier would be like. According to Christopher Geist, “Many, including Martin, must have been drawn, at least initially, by the adventure of it all. His guardians prevented his first attempt to enlist at age fourteen, and he was envious of his young associates who had marched off to fight. "By and by," he wrote, "they will come swaggering back, thought I, and tell me of their exploits, all their 'hair-breadth 'scapes.' ...O, that was too much to be borne with by me." He enlisted the next year. Many a wide-eyed youth must have been easy pickings for recruiting sergeants.”
The Continental Army consisted of men
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“Historian John Shy writes of the common Revolutionary soldier that: As a group, they were poorer, more marginal, less well anchored in society. Perhaps we should not be surprised; it is easy to imagine men like these actually being attracted by the relative affluence, comfort, security, prestige, and even the chance for satisfying human relationships offered by the Continental Army.” As stated previously, even Martin himself joined for this exact reason. Throughout Martin’s accounts he recalls the experiences of not only himself but the stories of other young men he encountered throughout his journey. The stories of their past lives, why they joined, and what they were experiencing shows the contrast between the past and present. Even though the young men were poor and from the bottom of society these men were involved something that was beyond themselves and contributed to the
Robert Ross’ is introduced to characters with varying outlooks on the world, based on their own social and economic backgrounds. The soldiers around Robert Ross differ greatly,...
Long, hard days of recruit training began for the army. Every day he was up at 6am, doing physical training, learning battle tactics and how to use weapons, lunch, going out to the rifle range, dinner, and then night lessons until 10pm.
The Return of Martin Guerre written by Natalie Davis gives the audience a rare glimpse into the world of peasant life in sixteenth century France. It also allows a modern day audience a chance to examine and to compare their own identities and questions of self. What makes the story so interesting to modern day viewers and readers is how relevant the story and the people in it are to our own times. This story is about a history of everyday people rather than royalty and generals, history's usual subjects.
A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier is a memoir written by Joseph Plumb Martin, an ordinary soldier who served the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. As the name indicated, the memoir mainly portrays the common men’s experiences and feelings, especially their dangers and sufferings, during the revolutionary period. Based on Martin’s unique perspective, his memoir cannot provide us with the big picture from the top down, such as the military strategy and the charismatic leadership of American revolutionary army. However, it offers exclusive insights and precious details that allow us to closely examine what truly transpired among the thousands of soldiers during that period.
As he immerses his audience into combat with the soldiers, Shaara demonstrates the more emotional aspects of war by highlighting the personal lives of the men fighting. For example, when Shaara reveals the pasts of James Longstreet and Lewis Armistead’s, I started to picture them as the men that they were and not as soldiers out for blood. After suffering a devastating loss of three of his children to fever, Longstreet is tossed into battle. In Armistead’s case, he not only suffered the loss of his wife, but also of a friend fighting on the Union side, General Winfield Scott Hancock. Shaara saves his readers a front row seat to the inner turmoil of General Chamberlain regarding his hindering duty as a soldier clashes with his duty to family as he strived to serve the Union as well as protec...
Boyd talks about how everyone was very eager to volunteer to join the military to have fun and to make some money and it seemed to be very easy because the war was expected to be very short. Things started to look a bit different even when, the volunteers got to the first destination to be sworn into duty. They started to wonder why they were being sworn in to service for 3 years when they all thought the war was going to be very short. Boyd and the rest of them figured that the government must know something more than everyone else knows. Even during the beginning of the service the conditions for the service did not look as good as they had expected, and the officer had seen that the volunteers started having second guesses about doing it so they put them into more comfortable quarters to keep them from going home. During the war most of the time the conditions were horrible. There were many problems with the soldiers during the war. Many died from being wounded, being shot, and the worst of all was the disease. The conditions were so horrible that many men couldn't get enough sleep and even when they did get sleep they were sleeping in the rain or in the snow.
The book ‘For Cause and Comrades’ is a journey to comprehend why the soldiers in the Civil War fought, why they fought so passionately, and why they fought for the long period of time. Men were pulling guns against other men who they had known their whole lives. McPherson’s main source of evidence was the many letters from the soldiers writing to home. One of the many significant influences was how the men fought to prove their masculinity and courage. To fight would prove they were a man to their community and country. Fighting also had to do with a duty to their family. Ideology was also a major motivating factor; each side thought they were fighting for their liberty. The soldier’s reputations were created and demolished on the battlefield, where men who showed the most courage were the most honored. Religion also played an important role because the second Great Awakening had just occurred. Their religion caused the men who thought of themselves as saved to be fearless of death, “Religion was the only thing that kept this soldier going; even in the trenches…” (McPherson, p. 76) R...
In Joseph Plumb Martin’s account of his experiences in the Revolutionary War he offers unique insight into the perspective of a regular soldier, which differs from the views of generals and leaders such as popular characters like George Washington. Martin’s narrative is an asset to historical scholarship as a primary source that gives an in-depth look at how life in the army was for many young men during the War for Independence. He described the tremendous suffering he experienced like starvation and privation. He did not shy away from describing his criticism of the government who he believes did not adequately care for the soldiers during and after the war. While he may be biased because of his personal involvement as a soldier, he seems to relate accounts that are plausible without embellishment or self-aggrandizement. Overall, “A Narrative of A Revolutionary Soldier” is a rich source of information providing an overview of military experience during the war.
...Revolution." Black Soldiers in the Revolutionary War. U.S. Army, 27 Feb. 2013. Web 6 May 2015..
Martin was a civilian relief volunteer during the war. He gave me an account of
Young George didn't want to be just any soldier; he had his sights fixed on becoming a combat general. He had one major obstacle to overcome, however. Though he was obviously intelligent (his knowledge of classical literature was encyclopaedic and he had learned to read military topographic maps by the age of 7), George didn't learn to read until he was 12 years old. It was only at age 12 when George was sent off to Stephen Cutter Clark's Classical School that he began to catch up on his academic skills; he managed to find plenty of time for athletics as well. While at school, the path toward his goal became focused he planned on attending West Point as the next major step in the pursuit of his general's stars.
The soldiers of that era faced a lot of hardships like severe cold weather, lack of food, lighting struck, deadly diseases, and dirty water. Also, they lacked sufficient clean clothes. Most of them were discouraged and felt like giving up on several occasions. Moreover, the soldiers were confused and frustrated due to shortage of ammunition. During the revolutionary war, soldiers missed home food at the thought of home. But they were even more saddened at the fact that their home was far away . Unfortunately they were already in the field and could not turn back. Even though the soldiers faced all these mishaps, according to Martin Plumber, the most daunting one was the living conditions. Most people were still very excited about joining the
The mannerisms, attitudes, and background of the American and British soldiers contrasted greatly. The values held by the individual soldiers of the two armies differed. American soldiers had a tendency to think on their own accord and often with liberty in mind (143). In contrast, the British soldiers held the values that their army held (144). American soldiers often fought with the same men from their town or village (142). The British soldiers, however, were pulled from society and isolated from it (144). During the time of the British soldiers’ isolation, they were tightly disciplined and rigorously trained (144). This too shows a contrast between the British and American soldiers. British soldiers underwent a stricter regimen of training while the training Americans had was more informal. The commanding men of the armies, the officers, were different as well. The British officers held themselves aloof from war and quite distant from their men (145). British officers were also much harsher on their men and trained them more effectively (136). The American officer sought to achieve the refinement of the British officers but often failed in achieving it. (145). The training American officers gave to their men was also not as cohesive like the
The Continental Army changed greatly from its start to the end of the Revolutionary War. It began as loosely-united group of militiamen and evolved into a true military force, now credited with taking down the world’s premiere war machine of the late 1700s. The character of Evan Crutch in George Washington served his purpose to show the development of the Army. He as a soldier retained respect and loyalty to General Washington and for his nation, and by doing this he greatly encouraged those around him to do the same. Evan Crutch exemplified the true drive, courage, and passion the Army had developed by the end of the American Revolution, as well as the strong and honest relationship between General George Washington and his Continental Army.
Luke has flaws that make his views subjective instead of objective. Furthermore, Luke has a firm position that something miraculously exhilarating will give him a “‘life-altering experience’,” but when it doesn’t occurs, he becomes despondent (9). This shows one of his major flaws of assuming and expecting, but not acting upon the event for the dreams he wishes to be. Consequently, the resulting disappointment from expectations makes him feel “less like a soldier and more like [he] was going trick-or-treating dressed as a soldier” (4). He becomes overly critical of others as well as himself for joining for “all the wrong reasons,” yet never explains what the right reasons are (3). The closest actions the reader will receive depends on Luke’s desire to do anything. The author utilizes Luke as the narrator to effectively parallel Luke’s ordinary life to the expected dramatic life Luke wishes for. The similarity of the two situations is Luke’s lack of effort to better himself. In Luke’s recent years, he earned an associate degree, landing him an office job; however his pessimism and laziness to put in effort to better himself, such as going back to school for a bachelor’s degree in order to acquire a more entertaining job restrains him. His attitude towards his