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Compare and contrast of:
Joseph Plum Martin & Co Aytch; Sam Watkins

There are both differences and similarities in the memoirs written by both Joseph Plumb Martin and Sam Watkins. Both Martin and Watkins talk about the pride, misery, glory and horror of the battles that were fought throughout The Revolutionary War. Some of the adventures and sufferings of both men gives its readers a direct perception of what life was like for them. The American Revolution (1775-83) is also known as the American Revolutionary War and the U.S. War of Independence. The conflict arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain's 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown. Skirmishes between British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord in April 1775 kicked off the armed conflict, and by the following summer, the rebels were waging a full-scale war for their independence. France entered the American Revolution on the side of the colonists in 1778, turning what had essentially been a civil war into an international conflict. After French assistance helped the Continental Army force the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1779, the Americans had effectively won their independence, though fighting would not formally end until 1783. ("American Revolution." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013) In the summer of 1776, Joseph Plumb Martin enlisted in the Connecticut state militia at the tender age of 15; he later joined the Continental Army of General George Washington and served nearly seven years on behalf of the Revolutionary cause. In 1830, the 70-year-old Martin published a vivid first-hand account of his wartime experiences, based on diaries he kept during the conflict and titled "A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier." (http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-plumb-martin) Martin starts chapter 1 off with the heroes of all histories, young men enlisted with the idea of becoming a brave hero, and if they were lucky they would return with a “red badge of courage.” He retells the story so that the reader feels as if he or she is reliving the moments. Martin explains the difficulty of how he had to forge for food by making friends with families that were close by. While Martin acknowledges the difficulty of moving supplies over winter roads, he blames the army's "starving in detail" on "an ungrateful people who did not care what became of us, so they could enjoy themselves while we were keeping a cruel enemy from them" (125). One couple had lost their son in battle who coincidentally had the same name as Joseph. Because of this, he was lucky enough to guarantee a meal from the couple as they had taken him in like their son. Through his reflections, Martin proves that the war is not the idealistic experience it is often described as, and being a soldier during the Revolutionary War did not mean living the life of a prominent hero. Of the 120 men who enlisted in "Company H" (Or Co. Aytch as he calls it) in 1861, Sam Watkins was one of only seven alive when General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee surrendered to General William Tecumseh Sherman in North Carolina on April, 1865. Samuel Watkins was granted land for his service in the American Revolutionary War where he served under George Rogers Clark, Illinois Regiment. (Watkins) According to an excerpt from the Severns Valley Baptist Church of Hardin County, Kentucky minutes, Samuel Watkins had made permanent settlement in the area and had been there long enough to be a prominent member of the congregation by September 1787 (http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-plumb-martin). Watkins served throughout the duration of the war, and was promoted to fourth corporal for picking up a Union flag from the battlefield during the Battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. In 1881, 20 years after the war began, Watkins wrote his memoirs of the war, recounting his engaging saga in "Co. Aytch": A Side Show of the Big Show. Watkins died on July 20, 1901.p Watkins shares his interpersonal stories as referring to them as a whisper in your ear to tell you what part he took in the unpleasant misconception of there being such a thing as the north and the south. He begins the book with an opening to the memory of “My dead comrades of the Maury Grays and the first Tennessee regiment, who died in defense of southern homes and liberties: Also to my living comrades, nearly all whom shed their blood in defense of the same cause, this book is respectively dedicated by the author…” (Sam Watkins) He gives sketches and incidents that came under a “high private” in the rear ranks of the rebel army. He was very thankful to survive as he talked about seeing one of his fellow officers die right before his eyes. Both Watkins and Martin relate to the difficulties seen in the war and the men who lost their lives trying to win those battles. Watkins explains how more than three hundred and fifty members of my regiment, the First Tennessee, numbered among the killed and wounded—one hundred and eighty-five slain on the field of battle. On the other hand, Martin ends his book with the final chapter in an extended argument for which the main narrative serves as the evidence. He forcefully maintains that the Revolutionary War Pension Act of 1818 was a long overdue payment to the veterans for services rendered. He observes that the Continental Army regulars never received adequate food, clothes, or shelter, much less their monthly pay. While Martin acknowledges the difficulty of moving supplies over winter roads, he blames the army's "starving in detail" on "an ungrateful people who did not care what became of us, so they could enjoy themselves while we were keeping a cruel enemy from them" (125).

"Joseph Plumb Martin." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. www.history.com/topics/josephplum Watkins, Samuel R.. Co. Aytch: a side show of the big show. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Print.

"American Revolution." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013