Memoirs Of A Soldier By Joseph Plumb Martin Summary

A sixteen year old boy gives us a narrative through his memoirs of the revolutionary war in the United States of America in 1776. Joseph Plumb Martin, gives an account of his time in the army with a realistic view of the life, struggles and challenges of a typical soldier who had signed up for the war as a private and later sergeant. The war lasted for eight years, during which Martin participated in seven battles including the battle of White Plains; Kipp’s Bay; Redbank; Yorktown and spent the famous winter of 1777-1778 near Valley Forge. Having avoided being captured or wounded and his relatively good health during this time, the writer is able to account for almost the entire period.
His narrative gives an insight to the real nature and daily routines of life during the war. The daily struggles offset the combative nature of your typical war story, with Martin elaborating extensively the strenuous marches across the different states. Starvation and lack of basic amenities like clothing and shelter are the main problems that the soldiers had to endure on a daily basis. During worse times soldiers were forced to go for days without food or drink forcing them to

Lack of footwear makes him joke about their famous bloody tracks as a result of long treks, emphasizing on their hardship service to their country. Winter was the most awful as lack of enough blankets with soldiers being forced to sleep outside meant they had to endure freezing nights. Harsh treatments by fellow soldiers and countrymen are also documented except for the little stints of generosity by city folks. In one incident, Martin is favored by a family who owned a tavern and had lost a son in the war. Having shared a name and age, Martin enjoys large free meals to a point he laments “I often wished afterwards I could find more