"Martin Hurley’s Last Charge" Topic

"By the time he arrived in Boston with the 44th Regiment of Foot, Martin Hurley was an experienced soldier. He'd joined the army in 1767, and learned the military trade well enough to be put into the regiment's grenadier company, men distinguished by their martial competence as well as their tall stature. The 44th was in Ireland when tensions were building in America, and was one of four regiments that embarked in Corke in early May 1775 – after hostilities had broken out, but before news of it reached Great Britain.

The ten transports carrying four regiments into Boston arrived piecemeal in late June and early July, just after the battle of Bunker Hill. Inspected by the commander in chief and called "a prodigious fine Regiment," they were integrated into the military routine of manning the defensive positions around the city.[3] Boston was surrounded by an ad hoc American army, and the British garrison in Boston not only lacked the strength for offensive operations, but also good strategic objective; there was no single objective nearby which would bring an end to hostilities if captured. So the army maintained defensive positions while waiting for the political situation to become clearer.

The static situation led to some discontentment among the soldiers. A few took the drastic step of deserting. Desertion had been a great problem for the Boston garrison before the war began, when soldiers could be easily tempted by the alluring New England countryside or waylaid by cheap liquor and conniving local inhabitants. But Boston's peninsular location made it difficult to abscond after the city was besieged. A few nonetheless managed to do so. One of them was Martin Hurley. On the night of 16 November 1775 he was placed as a sentry at an outpost in front of the British lines on Boston Neck, and he disappeared into the darkness…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Interesting article, Thnaks!

Glad you enjoyed it my friend! (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Hagist is, for my money, THE best writer on the AWI on most military subjects, and above all the ordinary soldier.