DAR: Joseph Plumb Martin

Read nearly any history of the American Revolution and you’re almost sure to encounter the name Joseph Plumb Martin. A young private in the Connecticut militia, Martin was fairly well-educated and kept a journal of his service throughout the war. First published in 1830 as A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Danger and Suffering of a Revolutionary Soldier, Interspersed with Anecdotes of Incidents that Occurred Within His Own Observation, Martin’s diary was re-discovered in the 1950s. The lively, wry memoir of an Everyman soldier has become a valuable resource for historians, researchers and even reenactors, lending color and detail to bare facts.