Joseph Plumb Martin

For other people named Joseph Martin, see Joseph Martin (disambiguation).

Joseph Plumb Martin
Born	(1760-11-21)November 21, 1760 Becket, Massachusetts
Died	Stockton Springs, Maine
Buried	Sandy Point, Maine
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	Continental Army United States Army
Years of service	1776–1783
Rank	Private 1776–1778 Corporal 1778–1780 Sergeant 1780–1783
Service number	CT16333
Unit	Connecticut State Troops 1775–1776 8th Connecticut Regiment 1776–1778 Light Infantry 1778–1780 Corps of Sappers and Miners 1780–1783
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War Battle of Long Island Landing at Kip's Bay Battle of Harlem Heights Battle of White Plains Battle of Ridgefield Battle of Germantown Siege of Fort Mifflin Battle of Monmouth Siege of Yorktown

Joseph Plumb Martin (November 21, 1760 – May 2, 1850) was a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, holding the rank of private for most of the war. 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

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 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 services

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 State Troops in June 1776 and was assigned duty in the New York City area, arriving just before the opening of the British Long Island Campaign. His first tour of duty ended In December 1776, and he returned home just prior to the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. After a restless winter and spring back in Connecticut, the 16-year-old veteran reenlisted in the Continental Army on April 22, 1777, signing on for the duration of the American Revolutionary War. He served with the 17th Continental Regiment, also known as the 8th Connecticut Regiment under the command of General James Varnum.

Martin participated in such notable engagements as the Battle of Brooklyn, the Battle of White Plains, the siege on Fort Mifflin and the Battle of Monmouth. He encamped at Valley Forge, witnessed John Andre being escorted to his execution and was also present during the climactic Siege of Yorktown. He was assigned to Light Infantry in 1778, attaining the rank of Corporal. In the summer of 1780, under Washington's order to form a Corps of Sappers and Miners, he was recommended by his superior officers to be a non-commissioned officer of this regiment, and in being selected, was promoted to Sergeant. Prior to Yorktown, the corps was responsible for digging the entrenchments for the Continental Army. During the battle, they were also a vanguard for a regiment commanded by Alexander Hamilton, clearing the field of sharpened logs called abatis so that Hamilton's regiment could capture Redoubt #10.

Postwar years

Martin was discharged from duty in June of 1783, a few months before the Continental Army disbanded the following October. He taught in New York state for a year, and eventually settled on Maine's frontier, becoming one of the founders of the town of Prospect, near modern day Stockton Springs. Over the years, he was known locally for being a farmer, selectman, Justice of the Peace and Town Clerk (the last position being held for over 25 years). He married Lucy Clewley (born 1776) in 1794 and had five children, Joseph (born 1799), Nathan and Thomas (twins, born 1803), James Sullivan (born 1810) and Susan (born 1812). He also wrote many stories and poems over the years, most famously a narrative of his experiences during the war in 1830.

In 1794, he became involved in a bitter land dispute with Henry Knox, former Major-General in the Continental Army and Secretary of War under George Washington's administration as President. Knox claimed that he owned Martin's 100-acre (0.40 km²) farm, as well as the surrounding 600,000 acres (2,400 km²) in an area now known as Waldo County, Maine. Martin said that this was not true, and he had the right to farm the land. In 1797, Knox's claim was upheld, and Martin was ordered to pay $170 in rent. He could not raise the money and begged Knox to allow him to keep the land. Knox denied the request. By 1811, his farmland was cut by half, and by 1818, when he appeared in court with other Revolutionary War veterans to claim a war pension, he owned nothing.

In 1818, Martin's war pension was approved and he received $96 a year for the rest of his life. Still, other war veterans were fighting for what they were properly owed, and in an effort to further the cause of the veterans, published his memoirs anonymously in 1830. It was not considered a success, and mainly fell to the wayside, apparently lost to history.

In 1836, a platoon of United States Light Infantry was marching though Prospect and discovered that Plumb Martin resided there. The platoon stopped outside of his house and fired a salute in honor of the Revolutionary War Hero.

Joseph Plumb 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

Martin's narrative of the war has been frequently cited by scholars as an excellent primary source for the American Revolution. It is notable that for most of the war, Martin was a mere 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. Scholars believe that Martin kept some type of journal during the course of the war, and fleshed it out in detail later on in his life. While some events may be dramatized, the narrative is remarkably accurate, since Martin's regiment would have been present at every event he writes about, according to war records of the time.

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, in an edition edited by George F. Scheer (ISBN 0-915992-10-8) 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 since 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.

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

Notes

Bibliography

• Martin, Joseph Plumb. Yankee Doodle Boy: A Young Soldier's Adventures in the American Revolution, told by himself. (Holiday House, New York, 1995), 188 pp.
• 594 pp.

External links

• Works by Joseph Plumb Martin at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Diary extracts
• Diary extract “Laying Close Siege to the Enemy”
• Appearances listed at Internet Movie Database
• Joseph Plumb Martin at Find a Grave