For the Revolutionary War in Virginia, we look at five very different kinds of treatment of war, its pursuit on the ground, its politics and popular support, and military establishments. “Theaters of the American Revolution” is a collection of essays charting battles and campaigns North, Middle, South, frontier and at sea.
“The Politics of War” and “A Revolutionary People at War” examine Virginia politics and public opinion over the duration of the conflict regarding the militias, State line and Continental regulars. The importance of the Continental army is explored in “Arms and Independence” and “A Respectable Army”.
For book reviews of this historical period in other topics, see Revolution-Constitution-New Nation. General surveys of Virginia History can be found at Virginia History Surveys. Virginia history divided by time periods can be found at the webpage Books and Reviews.
Theaters of the American Revolution
Theaters of the American Revolution was written by James Kirby Martin and David Preston in 2017. Following an editor’s introduction to the war spanning 1775 to 1781, five essays look at the theaters of war charting how the Revolution’s events moved from region to region.
Descriptions of the colonial terrain, settlement and cities set the scene for battles on land and sea, for control of the English colonial coast and the interior with its Native American allies. Early conflict in the Northern colonies and Canada transitioned into the desperate months in the Middle Colonies, then to the Southern colonies and victory at Yorktown. Learn more to buy “Theaters of the American Revolution” here for your bookshelf.
The Politics of War
The Politics of War: Race, Class and Conflict in Revolutionary Virginia was written by Michael A. McDonnell in 2007 and reprinted in 2010. Here the focus is on explaining some democratization of state and county politics, slave resistance and the war experience at home, revealing a society at war with itself almost as much as with Britain. The landed electorate were divided among those with many slave who could hire substitutes, those with few slaves who had a felt need to supervise them, and those with no slaves who could not afford to leave their families and farms. Slaves resisted by joining the British.
Wartime shortages alienating the public were compounded the almost annual call up of militias in the face of repeated British invasion; calls for Virginia troops yielded only a fraction of those wanted, and towards the end of the Revolution there were draft riots. Higher bounties and contests over longer enlistments were overlaid with questions of who would pay the taxes for a wartime military establishment.
In the short run there was a democratization of state and county politics. More military service was required of middle-class Virginians and the wealthiest took on a greater share of wartime government funding. Following the conflict there was debtor relief that contributed to Madison and Marshall’s Federalist calls for a more centralized national government. Learn more to buy “The Politics of War” here for your bookshelf.
A Revolutionary People at War
A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, 1775-1783 was written by Charles Royster in 1979 and reprinted in 1996. Royster examines American attitudes and conduct towards the principle of revolution as it related to military service and the military.
In 1775 the American revolt began with a “rage militaire” driven by inflamed rhetoric, but the duration of the conflict and battle casualties led to lower morale in the public and in the army. Public attitudes changed according to military fortunes but morale stabilized to sustain the conflict. By the end of the war the public had increasingly depended upon the professionalism of the Continental Army.
Dissatisfaction with the conduct of the war and corruptions brought mutual recriminations between elected officials and the army. Many in public life claimed credit for the population as a whole for support of the Revolution, but by the end the continental army regarded itself as a repository of civic virtue.
The rank-and-file regular solider was faithful to the United States and despite their volunteer status, they persevered in their allegiance through wartime challenges including isolated mutinies. Learn more to buy “A Revolutionary People at War” here for your bookshelf.
Arms and Independence
Arms and Independence: The Military Character of the American Revolution was written by Peter J. Albert and Ronald Hoffman in 1984. It explains that each side confined itself to orthodox warfare for the most part, avoiding irregular warfare except in the Carolinas after 1778. An important element of establishing national identity was the creation and development of the Continental Army, combining European military theory with a heritage derived from the contributing colonial militias.
While during and after the Revolution, Patriots gained a sense of common nationality by emphasizing soldierly sacrifice, the militias also became vehicles of social protest, including mutinies. The British perspective is represented by considering Generals Gage, Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne.
In the fight, rebellious Americans long term were forced to recognize two important elements of their resistance. The militias alone were inadequate to counter the regular British Army; the Continental Army was crucial. And economic independence would not automatically follow political independence. Learn more to buy “Arms and Independence” here for your bookshelf.
A Respectable Army
A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763-1789 was written by James Kirby Martin and Mark Edward Lender in 1982 and reprinted in 2015. Within its account of the campaigns and battles of the Revolution, it narrates social, political and intellectual developments shaping the Revolutionary military establishment from early rage militaire to a “new modeling” professionalism.
Initially zealous citizen soldiers ended up hiring substitutes including vagrants, paroled Hessians, pardoned Tories and indentured German and Irish. Without demeaning the state line or their militias, Martin and Lender demonstrate that the Continental soldier bore the main burden, finally enlisting for three years or the duration of the war.
The regular army was made up of men who often joined for want of better employment; the land bounties promising entry into the farming class sustained them as much as serving the glorious cause. The authors credit Washington for standing up for republican Revolutionary principles of civilian rule at the Newburgh crisis. Learn more to buy “A Respectable Army” here for your bookshelf.
For book reviews of this historical period in other topics, see Revolution-Constitution-New Nation. General surveys of Virginia History can be found at Virginia History Surveys. Virginia history divided by time periods can be found at the webpage Books and Reviews.