Soldiers of the American Revolution
The American Revolutionary war was the first war fought entirely on continental land. This impacted how and who fought in the war. The men who fought in the war for independence were not strong, fearless men. They were farmers and merchants going against an entire army of well trained, militarized professionals who had an abundance of money to spend. These were the British. The conditions the soldiers faced were horrendous, in some cases-it was worse than the actual fighting. On top of fighting and terrible conditions, there were prisoners of war also. They were captured and held in prisons throughout the colonies and off-shore aboard British ships.
The soldiers clothing were made of wool, which was terrible to wear during the brutally cold winters and the smoldering hot summers. This showed in the Battle at Valley Forge where thousands of soldiers died of hypothermia and starvation before the fighting even began[1].
To keep morale up during the fighting, soldiers kept a copy of Common Sense from Thomas Paine in their platoons and infantries to remind them of why they were fighting. The book was published in 1776, the year the war began. It explained the differences between the two opposing sides and how each side had advantages and disadvantages as well as how the treatment of the colonies was unfair due to the British position being thousands of miles away[2].
The Continental Army at first were armed with only pitchforks and very few of them had guns. Originally without an actual uniform and half-drunk against a group of well-trained soldiers, most believed the war would be brief, in favor of the Britons. Throughout the war, the colonists formed an alliance with France and that allowed them to have the supplies they needed once again.
The British believed in fighting what was known as a “Gentleman’s war”. This consisted of periods of peace during cold weather, night time, and alternating rounds of ammunition towards each other. The colonists used this to their advantage and began to out fight the British[3].
Throughout the war, Colonists also had to face angry Native Americans who were encouraged to fight against us alongside the British. The colonists were constantly having an onslaught of enemies attacking them from multiple sides.
Prisoners of war were being taken and held captive in horrendous conditions that lead to thousands of deaths from malnutrition and the spread of disease. The prisons did have doctors, however one lied of his credentials to purposefully kill the American prisoners that were being held. His name was Louis Debute, a Frenchman known for poisoning and beating prisoners to death. Prisoners on ships were usually tortured, beaten and executed as traitors to the King of Great Britain. If the prisoners were being transported and died on the journey, their bodies were thrown off the carriage and left where they laid. Civilians were being captured as well, and this fueled the fire of the war, causing more hate towards the British[4].
As one can see, there were multiple factors that influenced the American Revolutionary war. Conditions were a major contributor to the death toll of the war and not just fighting. However, these laid the foundation for one of the strongest countries in the world, the United States of America.
These were things I did not learn throughout my high school educational career. I had to do extensive research on these topics and read a mass of books to enhance what I was being taught. So many things occurred throughout the war that is not described in regular history lessons.
[1]: Royster, Charles. “Valley Forge.” In A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, 190–254. UNC Press, 1980.
[2]: Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. R. Bell, 1776.
[3]: Higginbottom, Don. “Militia Versus Regulars.” In The War of American Independence, 57–80. Macmillan, 1971.
[4]: Burrows G, Edwin. “A Cry of Barbarity & Cruelty.” In Forgotten Patriots, 69–105. Basic Books, 2008
