The soldiers of the Continental Army suffered extreme hardships during the Revolutionary War. Beyond experiencing the terror of combat, the troops were chronically undersupplied. The close of the war brought further anxiety as many of the soldiers had not been paid in months or even years, and the impending disbanding of the army would send them home under a cloud of uncertainty. Professor Fowler describes the conditions in which American soldiers served during the war and highlights the founding and purposes of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of officers that was formed in part to maintain pressure on Congress to fulfill its promises to the new nation’s veterans.
Part 1 of 7: Rules of War: Prison Ships and Battle of the Waxhaws (10:22)
Part 2 of 7: Tragedies and Hardships of 18th-Century Warfare (6:27)
Part 3 of 7: Continental Army Without Critical Supplies (5:57)
Part 4 of 7: Continental Congress: Political Gridlock of Revolution (9:23)
Part 5 of 7: Abandonment and Desperation of Revolutionary Soldiers (5:47)
Part 6 of 7: Washington’s Leadership and the Newburgh Conspiracy (8:51)
Part 7 of 7: The Society of the Cincinnati: Band of Brothers (10:46)