Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier
In Martin's (2001) narrative, he addresses many aspects of soldiering in the Revolutionary War. There were many deserters during that time, but Martin chose to stay. That makes him somewhat unusual, but he had a different outlook about American officers, British regulars, soldier morale, and the physical discomforts that came with soldiering. He talks of how he could have easily killed Benedict Arnold, but did not realize at the time the significance that would have come along with that act (Martin, 2001). He was fiercely loyal to his cause, even though many of the American officers under whom he fought were not well-liked. According to Martin (2001), the largest risk that the American officers were taking in battle was from being killed by their own men. The conditions were bad and many of the men were mistreated by the officers, but most of the men would not retaliate because they knew that it would not solve anything. Most likely it would just get them killed, and there was nothing to gain if that happened....
It was better to simply put up with the conditions and fight for the American side until the war was over or a person's enlistment period was up and he or she could leave the military for greener pastures.
Martin (2001) also held an opinion of the British regulars. They were the enemy. Still, one cannot deny that they were fighting for what they believed in, just as Martin and his fellow soldiers were doing. The plight of the prisoners of the Revolutionary War was often deplorable, and British regulars who were captured were not treated with any kind of decency or respect. Because Martin was a "regular soldier" and not a high-ranking individual, it is easy to see that he could sympathize with what the British regulars were going through at the same time that he was fighting against them because he had to stand up for what he believed in and remain true to the American ideals for which he was fighting.
Martin (2001) talks at length, all throughout the book about soldier morale and the physical discomfort that came with…
Bibliography
Martin, Joseph Plumb. A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier. New York: Signet Classics, 2001.
Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier In his memoir A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier, Joseph Plumb Martin recounts his experiences fighting in the Revolutionary War as a private, providing a view of the war not usually seen in histories dealing with the more famous major political and military leaders of the day. In particular, Martin's perspective on colonial and British officers and soldiers, the day-to-day experience of the war, and
military narrative of the American Revolutionary War is often depicted in clear, bright shades of red, white and blue, with the "Star Spangled Banner" blaring loudly in the background. However, the lived reality of the American Revolutionary War was often quite brutal and harsh, particularly for the ordinary soldiers in the Colonial Army. The account of the Patriot soldier Joseph Plumb Martin, as related in the book Ordinary Courage:
Film Analysis of the Patriot Colonial America For the purposes of this paper, the film of focus will the Patriot. This film was written by Robert Rodat and directed by Roland Emmerich. The film has quite a cast, including stars the late Heath Ledger, and Mel Gibson, both of which have substantial film careers and reputations both on and off the screen. The film was released in 2000 by Columbia Pictures, a
However, these poor, landless and mercenary men, despite the fact they worked for hire still frequently exhibited selfless behavior for their fellow soldiers in the face of adversity, such as at Valley Forge. One of the most unique aspects of this book is its methodology. It attempts to integrate evidence about battles, armaments, military technology and the history of the early army into the greater social and political history of
Camera angles that focus on wretched faces, of young boys in red coated uniforms begging for mercy, and of the arrogance of the British officer corps, not just towards Americans, but towards their own enlisted men, are shown with filming skill. As might be expected for this type of film, John Williams' score was masterful and very much in line with the generation of epics from the 1950s and
Roman Republic, which took place over a century from the end of the Punic Wars in 146 BC to the establishment of autocracy and military dictatorship under Julius Caesar after 45 BC, and then Octavian-Augustus from 31 BC, one of the most important questions would be: what were the main causes for its failure? There are no simple answers to that, of course, although almost certainly socioeconomic factors were