Joseph Plumb Martin

Quick Facts

Significance:

Soldier in the Continental Army, created a memoir of his time as an enlisted soldier after the war's end.

Place of Birth:

Beckett, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

November 21, 1760

Place of Death:

Prospect, Maine

Date of Death:

May 2, 1850

Place of Burial:

Sandy Point, Maine

Cemetery Name:

Sandy Point Cemetary

Joseph Plumb Martin was born on November 21, 1760, in Beckett, Massachusetts. He was sent to live with his grandparents when he was seven, to work on their farm in Milford, Connecticut. Though his grandparents disapproved, Martin enlisted in the Continental Army; he was only fifteen years old at the time. He was eventually sent to New York, witnessing first hand the American defeats at the Battle of Brooklyn and Manhattan, and traveled with the army as it retreated south through New Jersey. Martin's enlistment expired just before Christmas, so he returned home to Connecticut - and therefore did not participate in Washington's crossing of the Deleware or the battles of Trenton and Princeton that followed. Though he had already fought in several major battles, they would not be his last.

Martin re-enlisted in April of 1777, and returned to the Continental Army in time for the campaign to defend Philadelphia from British capture. Martin also survived the winter encampment at Valley Forge, participating in foraging parties to secure food for the Army. During the 1779-1780 winter encampment at Morristown, Martin was a private in the First Connecticut Brigade and witnessed a near-mutiny among the men of that line. Over the course of the war, Martin would rise in rank to segreant in the Corps of Miners and Sappers of the Army. He experienced the siege of Yorktown as he and the men of that corps dug trenches and works that allowed the Continental Army and French troops to besiege Cornwallis.

After the war, he wrote down his memories of the war, eventually having a narrative published in 1830, detailing his adventures, along with humorous anecdotes and his wry commentary. This memoir serves as a useful primary source detailing the life of an enlisted soldier in the Continental Army, to go along with accounts written by officers and politicians. According to Martin's front page, the title was "A narrative of some of the adventures, dangers and sufferings of a revolutionary soldier; interspersed with anecdotes of incidents that occurred within his own observation" though it was a bit wordy; you will find it under its common title "Private Yankee Doodle" as well. In 1794, Martin wed Lucy Clewly and settled in Prospect, Maine, where they raised five children. Joseph served as a town clerk and also a member of the state legislature. He died May 2, 1850, in Prospect, Maine at age 89. His gravestone, to summarize his varied experience, simply cited: A Soldier of the Revolution.