Joseph Plumb Martin (also spelled Joseph Plum Martin; November 21, 1760 – May 2, 1850) was a soldier in the Connecticut Militia and Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and was mustered out as a 23-year-old Sergeant in a Sapper company. His published narrative of his experiences, re-discovered in the 1950s, has become a valuable resource for historians in understanding the conditions of a common soldier of that era, as well as the battles in which Martin participated.

Early life

Joseph Plumb Martin was born in Becket, Massachusetts on November 21, 1760, to the Reverend Ebenezer Martin and Susannah Plumb. At the age of seven, he was sent to live with his affluent grandparents in Milford, Connecticut. Because his family was well-to-do (his father studied at Yale), Martin was able to receive a well-rounded education, including reading and writing.

Revolutionary War service

When Martin was 15, in 1775, he was eager to join the war effort following the Battles of Lexington and Concord. His grandparents initially opposed the idea, but agreed after Martin vowed to run away and join a naval ship as a privateer if he was not allowed to join. He joined the Connecticut Militia in June 1776 and was assigned duty in the New York City area, then under General George Washington's command, arriving just before the opening of the British Long Island Campaign.

Death

Martin died on May 2, 1850, at the age of 89. He is buried with his wife at the Sandy Point Cemetery, outside of Stockton Springs, Maine.

Joseph Plumb Martin's narrative

thumb|left|The first edition of Joseph Plumb Martin's [[American Revolutionary War memoirs published anonymously in an attempt to help other war veterans applying to receive their government pensions]]

Martin's narrative of the war has been frequently cited by scholars as an excellent primary source for the American Revolution. For most of the war, Martin was a private in the army, and his account does not involve the usual heroes of the Revolution. His narrative is considered one of the major primary sources for historians, researchers and re-enactors of the American Revolution.

Martin's narrative was originally published anonymously in 1830, at Hallowell, Maine, as A narrative of some of the adventures, dangers, and sufferings of a Revolutionary soldier, interspersed with anecdotes of incidents that occurred within his own observation. It has been republished in many forms, but was thought lost to history. In the mid-1950s, a first edition copy of the narrative was found and donated to Morristown National Historical Park. The book was published again by Little, Brown in 1962, and with permission reprinted by Eastern National in 2006, in an edition edited by George F. Scheer under the title Private Yankee Doodle; as well as appearing as a volume in Series I of The New York Times Eyewitness Accounts of the American Revolution in 1968. The current edition, published in 2001, is entitled A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier: Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of Joseph Plumb Martin. Other current versions include a version adapted for children, entitled Yankee Doodle Boy and The Memoirs of a Revolutionary Soldier, and an annotated version entitled Private Yankee Doodle. His narrative is quoted in numerous works on the American Revolution, including those written by David McCullough and Robert Leckie.

Martin has been portrayed on various television documentaries/dramas: by Aaron Carter (in Liberty's Kids), Philip Seymour Hoffman (in the PBS series Liberty! The American Revolution), and Rick Schroder (in The American Revolution). First edition copies of his narrative reside in the Library of Congress, the US Army Military History Institute at Carlisle, PA, as well as the collection of artifacts at Morristown National Historical Park. The Joseph Plumb Martin Trail, named in his honor, encircles Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania.

References

Bibliography

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YANKEE DOODLE BOY WAS RE-PUBLISHED UNDER TITLE ABOVE: Martin, Joseph Plumb. Yankee Doodle Boy: A Young Soldier's Adventures in the American Revolution.

(Holiday House, New York, 1995), 188 pp.

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  • Diary extracts
  • Diary extract "Laying Close Siege to the Enemy"
  • Appearances listed at Internet Movie Database