Joseph Plumb Martin was a fifteen-year-old New Englander who served throughout most of the War of American Independence as a private soldier of the Connecticut line. Unlike most period accounts, his memoirs are written from the viewpoint of the common soldier, a fact that he felt lessened their importance. Little could he know that 225 years later, it would be the everyday things that would be most eagerly sought by historians.
His accounts of personal hardships, frustration, boredom, fear, and constant gnawing hunger provide building blocks for our own interpretation of the life of a Continental soldier. Sure, there are battles here, and bravery; but the only constant element is the drudgery.
His campaigns are not those of a North Carolina Continental, so the book is not ueful from that aspect. Rather, it's his very readable descriptions of an American soldier's life that led me to put this book in the number one position on my recommended reading list for Rev War reenactors.
Due to its interpretive value (and its low cost), this is a book you should own and re-read. Private Yankee Doodle can be had at the Guilford Courthouse NMP bookstore. I was unable to verify pricing, but I believe that in paperback it is currently less than $3.00. That's a bargain.
Eastern Acorn Press. New York, 1962 and subsequent editions. Acorn Press is the National Park Service's publication branch.
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