The home front : revolutionary households, military occupation, and the making of American independence / Lauren Duval

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Duval, Lauren, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Requisitions, Military--United States--History--18th century.

Requisitions, Military.

Social norms--United States--History--18th century.

Social norms.

Soldiers--Billeting--United States--History--18th century.

Soldiers.

United States--Social life and customs--1775-1783.

United States.

United States--History, Military--18th century.

United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Social aspects.

Soldiers--Billeting.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations

black and white

illustrations

Place of Publication:

Williamsburg, Virginia : Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture ; Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2025]

Summary:

Prior to the American Revolution, the urban centers of colonial North America had little direct experience of war. With the outbreak of violence, British forces occupied every major city, invading the most private of spaces: the home. By closely considering the dynamics of the household--how people moved within it, thought about it, and wielded power over it--The Home Front reveals the ways in which occupation fundamentally upended the structures of colonial society and created opportunities for unprecedented economic and social mobility. In occupied cities, British officers usurped male authority to quarter themselves with families, patriot wives governed households in their husbands' absence, daughters flirted with officers, domestic servants disappeared with soldiers, and enslaved kin absconded to British lines in pursuit of freedom. As Lauren Duval shows, the unique conditions of occupation produced an aggrieved American population bound by shared emotional distress and domestic disorder. In the wake of this deeply disorienting experience, elite Americans deliberately reconsecrated the private home as a national symbol that epitomized masculine authority. Building on a stunning wealth of primary sources, Duval vividly captures daily life during the Revolution through the eyes and ears of those who intimately experienced it, showing how men and women of all races, statuses, and states of freedom understood its implications for their lives, families, and the nascent American Republic

Contents:

Prologue : An Englishman’s house is his castle

Introduction : All our worldly comforts are now at stake

Fire and sword was come amongst us

Our family is somewhat increased

Very improper treatment to a gentleman

Maids are become mistresses

A shameful scene of dissipation

Went off with the king’s people

Epilogue : To set under our own vines in peace, liberty, and safety

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (JSTOR, viewed July 30, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Duval, Lauren Home front

ISBN:

9781469690094

1469690098

9781469690087

146969008X

9781469690063

1469690063

9781469690070

1469690071

OCLC:

1552151351

Publisher Number:

CIPO000306015

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license