Joseph Martin in his account of the events of the Revolutionary war provides a narrative which reflects his personal feelings and describes what he encountered as a soldier fighting against the British military forces. This paper will discuss the reasons that drove Martin to take part in the war, assess the conditions he and his comrades fought in, and reflect on the meaning of freedom they formulated for themselves.
Martin’s reason for taking part in the war was that he was inspired by the overall rage militaire after the first clash with the British Army, which was successful. He sought glory in joining the army. He was a patriot, he loathed the adversaries, and he had a feeling of comradeship, i.e. Joseph Martin wanted to join his friends and be with his friends who had already joined (Martin, Ordinary Courage).
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"Ordinary Courage: The Revolutionary War Adventures of Joseph Plumb Martin".
However, his reasons for joining were not really the most widespread. Oftentimes, as it is shown, people would join because they were given clothes or promised land. In other words, they were driven more economically than morally. Still others were drafted even if they did not want to join the army. Those who resisted joining explained that by poor conditions in the army (Martin, Ordinary Courage).
As it has already been mentioned, the conditions in the army were very poor. This is especially important to mention because most soldiers were drafted or cam voluntarily from meager background: they were young laborers or apprentices, who were unable to get help anywhere else. The military men suffered from lack of food, poor clothing, etc. Because the military men had to spend all their time outdoors, they also suffered from cold, fleas, ticks, and lice. They were severely affected by the long periods of absence from their homes. Their morale was sinking with time. Also, psychologically they were depressed because of the constant danger of death. The nutrition was very close to starvation. The author remarks that they did not starve to death. This sounds ironically. Many people would simply die because of the poor conditions affected by illnesses, malnutrition, and low morale (Martin, Ordinary Courage). The condition during one especially lengthy winter was described as weak, naked, and starved. The soldiers did not have boots and they went across the land, their blood remained behind them on the ground. As for clothes, they could barely cover their intimate body parts, so bad was the clothes. The author describes multiple times how the men in his army marched virtually naked. Besides, there was a great shortage of any medicines and medical equipment.
Freedom and liberty, on the one hand, associated with freedom from the British Crown. All of them, including Joseph Plumb Martin, his comrades, and people from the upper class, were born under the Crown of Britain. They saw freedom and liberty in getting independence from the Crown. It was freedom from the King and the British aristocrats. For all classes, it was freedom from the tyranny of those who were more privileged. However, for such soldiers as Martin, that freedom also meant a more democratic place within his own society, the changed order, where he and people like him hoped to become agents of their own fates and where the notion of class nobility would be of much lower importance. Besides, liberty was seen as a reward by Martin (Martin, Ordinary Courage). The soldier believed that freedom could be won from the tyrants by the strength of one’s moral character and with the help of success. For him, liberty was a reward for competent, i.e. morally good individuals, who served themselves and others. However, for Martin, freedom was associated only with white people. His narratives reveal rationalization of enslavement of the African Americans and oppression of the population Native Americans (Martin, Ordinary Courage).
Therefore, the narrative written by the soldier Joseph Martin reflects the state of the emerging nation and provides a portrait of an ordinary citizen and a poor soldier, whose contribution was the greatest in the war. It also helps understand the difficulties the soldiers went through, what the cost of the ultimate victory was, and how the people saw their freedom.
- Martin, James. Ordinary Courage: The Revolutionary War Adventures of Joseph Plumb Martin. E-Book at Ge.tt. N.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
