Monday, September 06, 2004
"A Revolutionary People at War" -- book review
A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army & American Character, 1775-1783, By Charles Royster. (Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 1979, pp. v, 368).
By The Erudite Redneck
Character is perhaps the slipperiest of traits to judge, especially for a whole people, but Charles Royster illuminates the major strains of American moral fiber as it drove, sustained and sometimes failed the Revolution. He finds the American spirit, a sense of Providence-inspired greatness contradicted by selfishness, in letters, diaries, newspapers and other primary sources.
Within the concepts of sin, failure, grace and redemption common to the period, Royster, professor of history at Louisiana State University, details the birth and nurturing of American civic religion in this revision of his doctoral thesis at the University of California, Berkeley.
Continental Army soldiers were torn between love of country and love of personal freedom, personal courage and public virtue. The citizen-soldier fought for freedom, and for pay, carrying in his heart an inherent contradiction: To secure liberty for his countrymen, he had to give up his own.
Liberty at arms was unwieldy. Recruiting was constant. Soldiers were unwilling to follow accepted military norms, ignoring decorum and embracing desertion. Yet they believed they were innately superior to the British. The war would be won, despite the loss of a given battle, because God willed it.
Army officers carried their own contradictions, steeped in concepts of gentry and aristocracy. Military hierarchy encouraged such traditions and claims to superiority, deemed un-American by many revolutionaries.
The population struggled between libertarian impulses and the need for strong government to prosecute the war. People swayed under news and rumors, from joy and hope to gloom and despair.
When fighting was far away, they expressed a more fundamental contradiction, a personal evasion of the public call for sacrifice: People lived free before independence was secured, making money, spending it and carrying on as if the war did not exist.
The civic religion had its own enthusiasm, a partial legacy of the Great Awakening. The war would be won, God willing, or would be lost, but with the world watching and posterity at stake, the war would be won.
Royster brings a deep understanding of Protestant theology and everyday religious thought to A Revolutionary People at War. The book, loosely chronological, thoroughly footnoted but lacking a bibliography, is imbued with spirituality. If Royster had been more explicit, it could be mistaken for religious history.
Readers unfamiliar with the underlying theme of redemption will easily follow his meandering yet effective argument. Readers who know the story will see what Royster never declares directly. The revolutionaries saw themselves as fully Christian: riddled with hypocrisy and other sin, sanctified by faith, saved by God’s undeserved grace.
END
By The Erudite Redneck
Character is perhaps the slipperiest of traits to judge, especially for a whole people, but Charles Royster illuminates the major strains of American moral fiber as it drove, sustained and sometimes failed the Revolution. He finds the American spirit, a sense of Providence-inspired greatness contradicted by selfishness, in letters, diaries, newspapers and other primary sources.
Within the concepts of sin, failure, grace and redemption common to the period, Royster, professor of history at Louisiana State University, details the birth and nurturing of American civic religion in this revision of his doctoral thesis at the University of California, Berkeley.
Continental Army soldiers were torn between love of country and love of personal freedom, personal courage and public virtue. The citizen-soldier fought for freedom, and for pay, carrying in his heart an inherent contradiction: To secure liberty for his countrymen, he had to give up his own.
Liberty at arms was unwieldy. Recruiting was constant. Soldiers were unwilling to follow accepted military norms, ignoring decorum and embracing desertion. Yet they believed they were innately superior to the British. The war would be won, despite the loss of a given battle, because God willed it.
Army officers carried their own contradictions, steeped in concepts of gentry and aristocracy. Military hierarchy encouraged such traditions and claims to superiority, deemed un-American by many revolutionaries.
The population struggled between libertarian impulses and the need for strong government to prosecute the war. People swayed under news and rumors, from joy and hope to gloom and despair.
When fighting was far away, they expressed a more fundamental contradiction, a personal evasion of the public call for sacrifice: People lived free before independence was secured, making money, spending it and carrying on as if the war did not exist.
The civic religion had its own enthusiasm, a partial legacy of the Great Awakening. The war would be won, God willing, or would be lost, but with the world watching and posterity at stake, the war would be won.
Royster brings a deep understanding of Protestant theology and everyday religious thought to A Revolutionary People at War. The book, loosely chronological, thoroughly footnoted but lacking a bibliography, is imbued with spirituality. If Royster had been more explicit, it could be mistaken for religious history.
Readers unfamiliar with the underlying theme of redemption will easily follow his meandering yet effective argument. Readers who know the story will see what Royster never declares directly. The revolutionaries saw themselves as fully Christian: riddled with hypocrisy and other sin, sanctified by faith, saved by God’s undeserved grace.
END
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How is it that you're able to make these history books seem interesting? I know that if I tried to read it, I would be putting it down after a few minutes. Your attention span and ability to distill books down to an informative and interesting review never ceases to amaze you. I suspect it's some sort of black magic. You are probably in league with the devil ... :)
Of all the Revolutionary War books I've read, this one was easiest to read, actually, because of the subject matter. The author, unlike many, is not only not hostile to Christianity but really seems to have a deep understanding of it.
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