Joseph Plumb Martin was a private in the American Revolution. He joined at the age of fifteen, shortly after the Battle of Lexington and Concord. During the war Martin kept a journal of his time spent in the army of the American Revolution. This writing is possibly the greatest primary source we have of the American Revolution. Everything that is written is accurate. It gives us the perspective of a fifteen year old boy who went off to fight for America.

Joseph Plumb Martin participated in many pivotal events throughout the war. These events include: The Battle of Brooklyn, Battle of White Plains, the siege of Fort Mifflin, Battle of Monmouth, Battle of Yorktown, and the winter at Valley Forge. He describes these events in such great detail and with such accuracy that it feels as if the reader is there. Since Martin began as a private he gives us information that is not related to the main players of the Revolution. It is exclusively a soldiers perspective.

Martin was promoted to Sergeant in 1780. During the battle of Yorktown he and his men were in charge of digging trenches for the Continental Army. He served as a vanguard to Alexander Hamilton and cleared a path so Hamilton could capture an important redoubt in Yorktown.

After the war Martin settled on the frontier of Maine and helped found the city of Prospect. He proceeded to try his hand in many vocations such as: farming, selectman, Justice of the Peace, and Town Clerk. He married Lucy Clewley in 1794 and fathered 5 children. Over the years he wrote many things such as poems and of course his famous Narrative of the Revolutionary War.

His narrative was originally published in 1830 and then believed to be lost in history. It resurfaced again in the mid 1950s and placed in the Morristown National Historical Park.

Martin died at the age of 89 and was buried with his wife at Sandy Point Cemetery in Prospect, Maine.