The British Soldier in America: A Social History of Military Life in the Revolutionary Period

The Common Soldier in the American Revolution: Life and Mind of a British Soldier is an extensive study that sheds new light on who fought for the Crown—and why.

Sylvia Frey, Professor Emerita of History at Tulane University, surveys recruiting records, contemporary training manuals, statutes, and memoirs to provide insight into the soldier’s “life and mind.” The book dispels traditional assumptions about the army being made up largely of criminals and social misfits.

Frey focuses on two major campaigns of the war—the Northern Campaign which culminated at Saratoga and the Southern Campaign which ended at Yorktown—to describe the human face of war, with particular emphasis on the physical and psychic strains of campaigning in the eighteenth century.

The book also analyzes the sources of regimental esprit, which substituted for patriotism as the primary motivation to battle.

This comprehensive study provides a detailed look into the life and mind of a British soldier during the American Revolution, making it an essential read for anyone interested in this pivotal period in history.