interesting book
 

i am a junior at illinois state university, and i just finished reading "A narrative of a revolutionary war soldier" any body it? its a great book about the revolutionary war, but told from a privates point of view. I think hearing about that war from someone else's perspective other than all the famous generals. anyone whos read it want to discuss?

The book is also known as "Private Yankee Doodle" and tells of the trial, tribulations, and adventures of Joseph Plumb Martin of Massachusetts (though raised in Connecticut). Its good to read about the hardships of the common soldier. Most of the books you read about the American Revolution are about the politicos and generals. What amazes me about Martin is he enlisted at 15, fought in several major battles, and still survived to be 90 years old; a rare occurance for that time period.

To tell you the truth, its been awhile since I read it. I've been a Rev War re-enactor for over 20 years and have read a library of books about the revolution, especially about the surgical techniques and medical treatments (talk about semi-barbaric) of the period.

the thing i felt was most interesting was how many men enlisted, got treated terribly and were almost starved to death their entire time serving, but yet many still kept serving, like joseph.

Yeah, it's called "faith in a cause".

One interesting thing about the nutrition supplied to the common soldiers; they may not have had much, or sometimes even any, food, but they had barrels of apple-cider vinegar. The nutritional benefits of vinegar date back to the ancient Greeks (though they had wine vinegar). Apple cider vinegar is rich in enzymes & potassium, a natural antibiotic germ fighter, fights E Coli and other bacteria, helps control and normalize weight, helps improve digestion assimilation, helps relieve arthritis stiffness, helps relieve dry sore throats, helps remove body sludge toxins.

Of course they didn't itemize or even talk about the exact nutritional benefits of apple cider vinegar but they did know it was good for them in times of little or no food.

that is interesting, i didnt know that, guess you learn something new everyday. I also find it interesting how many people that lived in America during the war were so pro Europe, and did not help the troops when they were in need. It made it so much harder for the troops to succeed not having the full support of their country. I strongly believe that if more people in America supported the war and the American troops, the revolutionary war would have been over sooner and with less casualties.

I don't think it was a case of being pro-Europe as it was being afraid of the consequences of breaking away from England; sort of like leaving home for college. Americans, since the very first English-sponsored settlements, were secure in the knowledge that they were backed financially and militarily by England. Our form of government was based on English Parliamentary Law and we provided necessary raw materials for English manufacturing and man-power for the inevitable North American wars. Even as we became more self-sufficient, we still looked upon England as our sovereign. However, by the latter half of the 18th century we finally realized we were being held back in our development and that security blanket became a heavy thumb. But like the old song goes, breaking up is hard to do and while roughly a 1/3rd of America supported a clean break, another 1/3rd wanted the status quo, and the remaining 1/3rd sat on the fence. That last 1/3rd supported whomever was the military power of their given region; first it was the Continental Army, then the Brits and their German mercanaries, then the Continentals again, etc. etc. The fence-sitters really didn't make much of a difference since they supported both sides in material (whether they wanted to or not) and the Continental Army was forced to face two of the best trained and equipped military forces in the world; not the easiest task for a bunch of untrained, ill-equipped rabble with questionable leadership (see Horatio Gates and Charles Lee). In addition, most of the casualties of the war, on both sides, were from disease, not battle wounds. If it wasn't for European aid, especially from the French who had little to gain, we'd still be singing "God Save the Queen".

The fact that a lot of death was caused by other things than actual battle, i feel like more contribution from American citizens could have helped the American troops a lot more both in the sense of preventing deaths and injuries, as well as general support of the troops to succeed.
Along with that, i think more people should be reading books like this, books that tell what really happened behind the scenes to make everything work, books told from a person who was there, experiencing it. Without learning the truth about history, and learning from it, it is doomed to repeat its self.

The medical theories of the time dated back some 5000 years to Hippocrates. A major form of "cure" was bleeding which did nothing more than deprive the patient, or victim, of vital bodily fluids. Hospitals, such as they were, were the worst place to be when injured since you would have to share a bed with someone suffering from diseases such as smallpox, scurvy, yellow fever, scarlet fever, influenza, consumption (tuberculosis), etc. A big part of the disease problem was the fact that American communities were isolated from each other by distance, especially in rural areas of the eastern Appalachians, and in the south. This meant they weren't exposed to germs for most of their lives then they found themselves thrown together with men from other parts of the country who carried infections and germs from which they had grown immune. Smallpox was so feared that if an outbreak occurred, men who had survived the disease were stationed on the roads leading in the direction of the outbreak. Their job was to turn away anyone from that direction and had the authority to kill those who resisted.

You have to remember that economics played a huge role in civilian participation in the war. In order to survive you had to play the game; trade with both sides, but especially the side that could pay in hard currency (silver and gold). When the French army arrived in Newport, RI in 1780 and then marched to Yorktown the following year, they were greeted with open arms by Americans. Not because they were looked upon as valued allies but because they paid their troops in gold French sou. Amazingly enough (sarcasm here) the rates of inflation skyrocketed whenever they came to a town, and you have to remember that the predominately Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of America had recently fought wars against the same army. Money talks; bullsh*t walks.