Deserting Washington’s Army
Deserting Washington’s Army
With the Revolutionary War set to begin, the recruitment of soldiers was fully on. Reasons to enlist in the Continental Army were quite candid for numerous individuals. Motives ranged from looking for a fresh start to wanting to honor friendship/family, or even for the sole purpose of securing regular pay. Many looked to reap the benefits that were promised to them for enlisting in the army. As the Revolutionary War waged on for years to come, soldiers of the Continental Army continued to battle, not only the British, but the many hardships that came their way, as well. By 1780 the number of soldiers abandoning their posts/camps had greatly increased due the number of hardships they encountered. Even commanding officers had to put out desertion notices in newspapers to let the public know that a cash reward would be given to individuals that could provide assistance in the recapturing of deserting soldiers. Numerous advertisements (desertion notices) were placed in newspapers throughout 1780 in an attempt to stop the increased desertion. With these “desertion notices” being short, clear and highly descriptive, patterns can be drawn about the type of men that abandoned their Continental Army posts in 1780 and the reasons behind their actions. In fact much evidence can be taken from these advertisements to support the idea that most men deserting their Continental Army posts were very poorly trained and in fact poor themselves. A number of deserters were even criminals or slaves throughout a few advertisements during this time. Many were motivated to desert the Continental Army due to poor or non-existent food and clothing, infrequent paydays, rampant monetary inflation, and crowded unsanitary life in camp, which resulted in rampant disease. A lot can be said about the men who abandoned their Continental Army posts during the war, but there were abundant factors that led these men to make that decision. Many men were persuaded to
With the Revolutionary War set to begin, the recruitment of soldiers was fully on. Reasons to enlist in the Continental Army were quite candid for numerous individuals. Motives ranged from looking for a fresh start to wanting to honor friendship/family, or even for the sole purpose of securing regular pay. Many looked to reap the benefits that were promised to them for enlisting in the army. As the Revolutionary War waged on for years to come, soldiers of the Continental Army continued to battle, not only the British, but the many hardships that came their way, as well. By 1780 the number of soldiers abandoning their posts/camps had greatly increased due the number of hardships they encountered. Even commanding officers had to put out desertion notices in newspapers to let the public know that a cash reward would be given to individuals that could provide assistance in the recapturing of deserting soldiers. Numerous advertisements (desertion notices) were placed in newspapers throughout 1780 in an attempt to stop the increased desertion. With these “desertion notices” being short, clear and highly descriptive, patterns can be drawn about the type of men that abandoned their Continental Army posts in 1780 and the reasons behind their actions. In fact much evidence can be taken from these advertisements to support the idea that most men deserting their Continental Army posts were very poorly trained and in fact poor themselves. A number of deserters were even criminals or slaves throughout a few advertisements during this time. Many were motivated to desert the Continental Army due to poor or non-existent food and clothing, infrequent paydays, rampant monetary inflation, and crowded unsanitary life in camp, which resulted in rampant disease. A lot can be said about the men who abandoned their Continental Army posts during the war, but there were abundant factors that led these men to make that decision. Many men were persuaded to