Bob Mayers will being speaking at American Revolutionary War Roundtable at the Iron Horse Restaurant in Westwood, NJ. His talk will be on Searching For Private Yankee Doodle – The Common Soldiers of Washington’s Army, based on his upcoming book. 

The talk will be at 6:30 PM on March 22, 2016.

 Searching for Yankee Doodle-Washington’s Common Soldiers in the American Revolution

Vastly different opinions have been offered over the years by historians concerning the true image of the most essential element of the War for Independence-the common foot soldier. For over 200 years America’s image of the soldiers of the Revolution was wrong! Bob’s newest book probes personal records and official military sources to provide a true picture of the private soldiers, their lives and their motivations- you will get some surprises. For most of America’s history little was known about the identity of these men, why they fought and how the war affected their lives. A few were known for their exploits in battle, but most Yankee Doodles appear only on lists of thousands of shadowy names published by each state.  Yet the men of the Continental Army were the people most responsible for achieving America’s independence.

Who exactly were they and what inspired them to endure appalling hardships during the most critical time in American history? Reading their words and tracking their actions day to day brings these soldiers to life. We can experience their emotions and exposes the attitudes and behavior of these valiant warriors. Historian Bob Mayers unravels the lives of the “grunts,”  “doughboys” and “GIs” of our most important war by salvaging information that for more than two centuries has been a daunting challenge for other historians.