Britain's soldiers : rethinking war and society, 1715-1815 / edited by Kevin Linch and Matthew McCormack.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Linch, Kevin, 1974- editor.

McCormack, Matthew, editor.

Series:

Eighteenth-century worlds

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Army--Military life--History--18th century.

Great Britain.

Great Britain. Army.

Soldiers--Great Britain--History--18th century.

Soldiers.

Military Personnel--history.

Veterans--history.

Veterans Health--history.

Armed Forces.

History.

Great Britain--Armed Forces--History--18th century.

Great Britain--History, Military--18th century.

History, Military.

Medical Subjects:

Military Personnel--history.

Veterans--history.

Veterans Health--history.

Physical Description:

xii, 225 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Liverpool : Liverpool University Press, 2014.

Summary:

The British soldier was a fascinating and complex figure in the century between the Hanoverian accession and the Battle of Waterloo. The 'war and society' approach has shed much light on Britain's frequent experience of conflict in this period, but Britain's Soldiers argues that it is time to refocus our attention on the humble redcoat himself, and rethink historical approaches to soldiers' relationship with the society and culture of their day. Using approaches drawn from the histories of the military, gender, art, society, culture and medicine, this volume presents a more rounded picture of the men who served in the various branches of the British armed forces. This period witnessed an unprecedented level of mass mobilisation, yet this was largely achieved through novel forms of military service outside of the regular army. Taking a wide definition of soldiering, this collection examines the part-time and auxiliary forces of the period, as well as looking at the men of the British Army both during their service and once they had been discharged from the army. Chapters here explore the national identity of the soldier, his sense of his rights within systems of military discipline, and his relationships with military hierarchies and honour codes. They also explore the welfare systems available to old and wounded soldiers, and the ways in which soldiers were represented in art and literature. In so doing, this book sheds new light on the processes through which soldiers were 'made' during this crucial period of conflict. Book jacket.

Contents:

Nationhood

The eighteenth-century British as a European institution / Stephen Conway

Soldiering abroad : the experience of living and fighting among aliens during Napoleonic Wars / Graciela Iglesia Rogers

Hierarchy

Effectiveness and the British Officer Corps, 1793-1815 / Bruce Collins

Stamford standoff : honour, status rivalry in the Georgian military / Matthew McCormack

Discipline

"The soldiers murmured much on account of this usage" : military justice and negotiated authority in the eighteenth-century British Army / William P. Tatum III

Discipline and control in eighteenth-century Gibraltar / Ilya Berkovich

Gender

Conflicts of conduct : British masculinity and military painting in the wake of the Siege of Gibraltar / Cicely Robinson

Scarlet fever : female enthusiasm for men in uniform, 1780-1815 / Louise Carter

Soldiers in society

Disability, fraud and medical experience at the Royal Hospital of Chelsea in the long eighteenth century / Caroline Louise Nielsen

Making new soldiers : legitimacy, identity and attitudes, c.1740-1815 / Kevin Linch.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1846319552

9781846319556

OCLC:

861678648

Publisher Number:

99960488645