ABSTRACT
Samuel Hutton (1733–1808) was unusual for a common soldier in having a literary brother and niece. His elder brother, William Hutton, became well known as a historian, and William’s daughter, Catherine, authored three novels and many shorter works in periodicals. As the published introduction and conclusion to this article relate, Samuel dictated his life story to his niece, who recorded it in her own prose. The manuscript was then passed down and printed in a journal begun by antiquarian Llewellyn Jewitt, a librarian who moved to Derby (Samuel’s birthplace) in 1853, seven years before he established the journal. Samuel Hutton’s story shows the circuitous route that could lead to enlistment. Though an unhappy apprentice, he did not enlist until he had reached the age of 18 and found himself unable to obtain any other employment or charity. After enlisting in the 12th Foot, he eventually became a grenadier (becoming a corporal in that company) and fought in the Seven Years War. Hutton’s story, like that of Christian Davies for the War of Spanish Succession, testifies to the value of having a sutler wife, and the likelihood that soldiers’ widows would remarry quickly from within the regiment. It also shows that soldier husbands could exhibit a sense of responsibility toward their wives and children, and that veterans—no matter how impoverished—might serve as a source of pride to their extended family.
