ABSTRACT
At the outbreak of hostilities, American revolutionaries from all walks of life took up arms to join with the embattled New England farmers to drive away the British “invaders.” Within a year the rage militaire wore thin, and the rebels faced the reality of the need for durable and sustained armed forces. Victory depended upon a steady influx of common soldiers. Like all wars, from the view of those with the greater stake in society, the more common and lower-sort the soldier the better, to relieve the burden of combat from those who were the greater beneficiaries of the outcome. Men who signed on for specified terms of service in the army as privates or non-commissioned officers could expect few of the emoluments granted to officers, who came from a higher standing in a community and could resign their mihtary commissions at will. The army witnessed wholesale departures from its ranks, and those who stayed among the enlisted men were those who were even more from the lower reaches of society and who saw in service an actual improvement of their own welfare.
