Product Description

A People's Army documents the many distinctions between British regulars and Massachusetts provincial troops during the Seven Years' War. Originally published by UNC Press in 1984, the book was the first investigation of colonial military life to give equal attention to official records and to the diaries and other writings of the common soldier. The provincials' own accounts of their experiences in the campaign amplify statistical profiles that define the men, both as civilians and as soldiers. These writings reveal in intimate detail their misadventures, the drudgery of soldiering, the imminence of death, and the providential world view that helped reconcile them to their condition and to the war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #573149 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-09
• Released on: 1996-08-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 292 pages

Review
A superlative piece of scholarship. The volume is 'must' reading for every student of military, social, or early American history.

American Historical Review

A convincing portrait of the psychosocial impact of the French and Indian War on the fighting men of Massachusetts.

New York Times Book Review

Strikingly original.

New York Review of Books

[E]xcellent blend of social and military history, exploding traditional views on the social makeup and motivation to service.

Library Journal

[A] suggestive and intriguing book, as important for its method as it is for its conclusions.

William and Mary Quarterly

Customer Reviews

Fantastic account of Pre-Revolutionary American Military
Anderson gives a detailed account of the conditions and day to day activities of the provincial regiments in the Seven Year's War. Using stastics and detailed diaries from the participants, Anderson shows the effects of the war on both the local economies and personal lives of the men who, thirteen years later, would take up arms against Britian in the War of Independence.

Great reading !
Fred Anderson did a marvelous job with this book..... it's a "big" book but the chapters are short and to the point......well written..... Fred puts in "Tid-a-bits" of information that you will not find in ordinary history books and tid-a-bits are what makes history interesting.

Classic Fred Anderson
This book was a very good portrayal of the New England soldier during the French & Indian War.One got to see what motivated the soldiers of this time period and the one-time opportunity that this war represented for many of them.I recommend Anderson's work.