Youth in the Devil’s Service, Manhood in the King’s: Reaching Adulthood in the Eighteenth-Century British Army

Abstract

British soldiers were popularly regarded as frozen in a stage of adolescence. The army appeared to cultivate this image of youthful dependency. It attracted boyish recruits for whom the promise of travel and comradeship held strong appeal. A significant component of those recruits eventually rejected this adolescent culture, however. Using military memoirs, this article unearths the hegemony of civilian models of masculinity in the military. It argues that some soldiers sought marriage and responsibility. They were aided by officers who espoused a similar form of masculinity and by the army incentives of promotion and pension for those displaying such manly characteristics.