This Independence Day consider what the average Revolutionary War soldier did to secure your freedom. Joseph Plumb Martin was a soldier who is one of the only non-ranking members of the Continental Army to leave a description of his excursions within the 8th Connecticut Regiment. Martin participated in such notable engagements as the Battle of Brooklyn, the Battle of White Plains, and the Battle of Monmouth according to Wikipedia. He encamped at Valley Forge and was also present during the climactic Siege of Yorktown.
In 1794, Martin became involved in a bitter land dispute with Henry Knox, former Major-General in the Continental Army and Secretary of War under George Washington’s administration as President. Knox claimed that he owned Martin’s 100-acre farm, as well as the surrounding 600,000 acres in an area now known as Waldo County, Maine. As is typical in such stories, Knox, the politician forced Martin the solider off of his land, and by 1818 the article says he owned nothing.
In 1830 Martin’s memoirs were originally published anonymously as A narrative of some of the adventures, dangers, and sufferings of a Revolutionary soldier, interspersed with anecdotes of incidents that occurred within his own observation. In 1962 the book was republished under the title Private Yankee Doodle. The current edition, published in 2001, is entitled A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier: Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of Joseph Plumb Martin.
Martin’s narrative of the war has been frequently cited by scholars as an excellent primary source for the American Revolution. It is notable that Martin was a mere private in the army, and his account does not involve the usual heroes of the Revolution. His narrative is considered one of the major primary sources for historians, researchers, and reenactors of the American Revolution. Scholars believe that Martin kept some type of journal during the course of the war, and fleshed it out in detail later in his life.
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Now go out this Independence Day and honor those who have come before you.
- Turn off the TV
- Learn about something new
- Vote
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
Regulatory capture occurs when governmental bodies created to act in the public interest instead advances the commercial or special interests that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating. Regulatory capture is a form of government failure, as it can encourage large firms to exploit the public.
