Private Yankee Doodle: Being a Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier Hardcover – January 1, 1962

Unique description of life at the lower ranks of the Continental Army written by one who lived it, and did not just read or speculate about it.. Although written years after the war, the military experiences ring true and it provides an equally interesting a snapshot of life in that era. A unique glimpse of the privation and downright suffering of those lower rank volunteers in the Continental Army who stuck with it. Victory was not a sure thing. Excellent reading, and a good reference for the person enjoys military history.

Martin wrote this when he was 70 and was recalling war experiences that occurred in his late teens. I'll bet that most of his fading memories are fortified by a vivid imagination. None the less this is the best account of a soldier's impressions of the revolutionary war. I am about a third of the way though it and find it to be as readable as "Red Badge of Courage" or "All Quiet on the Western Front".

I was expecting it to be more difficult to read or understand but it was enjoyable and gave me a view point not really explored in History classes I’ve taken.

Wonderful piece of authentic historical writing. It is such a great thing that we can still obtain books written by an actual person living in that time period and writing in the vernacular of the time. A real treasure!

Especially interesting to me was his account at Fort Mifflin, where my 6th great-grandfather, Capt Nathan Stoddard, was killed the last day before colonial evacuation. Martin said conditions during the bombardment of Mifflin were by far the worst he experienced during the entire war.

If you've read a book or watched a movie about the Revolutionary War, you've probably already read half of this book. It is the detailed recollections of a soldier in the Continental Army. Though the book was published as a memoir in the 1830's and was consigned to obscurity until it was rediscovered in the 1960's. Historians have found it to be accurate and it has become a resource for researchers since. It is an essential read for anyone interested in the Revolutionary War period.

For all of the Revolutionary War books that I have read, none describes in as much detail the life and tribulations of an American soldier during the Revolutionary War. The author's good humor and wit make it easy to sympathize with his trying experiences. Hunger is the central theme throughout the book, to the point that when the author finds something substantial to eat, you can not help but enjoy the meal with him. Though the author drags some of his experiences out in detail, sometimes to the reader's detriment, it provides us with a better understanding of what the Revolutionary War soldier's had to endure for our freedom. For those of you having a hard time finding this book, I found it in the Jamestown National Park bookstore (Virginia).

I am reading this little book and enjoying it so much. Thanks!