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Essay on Life of a revolutionary war soldier
One of the hardships of the Revolutionary Soldier was the lack of clothing due to the scarcity of cloth and deer hides in the colonies. The shipments of clothing from France were not enough for every man. Many of the men welcomed the warm uniforms captured from the British storehouses at St. Johns, Saratoga and sometimes from ships at sea. The lack of sufficient clothing was the cause of many deserters from the army. The lack of discipline, little or no written records kept of those who were wounded, ill or on furlough made a man technically a deserter when he was still loyal to his unit.
Initially Patriots hoped that a local institution, the militia, would form the core of the American military effort. They feared that a permanent, or “standing,” army constituted a danger to political liberty, and therefore were not eager to supply the Continental Army with money and supplies. As a result, the Continental Army suffered through hardships, such as hunger and deprivation, during the war (Wiley 87),
Soldiers had many grievances, for they were subject to harsh discipline and received inadequate rations and pay. During the winters of 1779 and 1780, Continental troops stationed at Morristown, New Jersey, rose up in mutiny to protest the harsh conditions. To restore authority, Washington ordered the execution of several leaders of the mutiny, and persuaded the Continental Congress to find monetary incentives—in the form of back pay and new clothing—to pacify the rest of the recruits.
Unrest among higher-ranking military men continued; in 1783 Washington had to use his personal authority to prevent a group of disgruntled officers from leading an armed revolt against Congress. In the end, the officers won a half-pension for seven years, and soldiers received small grants of western lands.....
