Joseph Plumb Martin - Martin's Narrative

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 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 reinactors 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. It is interesting to also note that while some events may be dramatized, the narrative is remarkably accurate, since Plumb 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, as well as the collection of artifacts at Morristown National Historical Park, and the Joseph Plumb Martin Trail, named in his honor, encircles Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania.