Soldiers as Workers by Nick Mansfield - 9781781382783

Soldiers as WorkersClass, employment, conflict and the nineteenth-century military\nAuthor(s): Nick Mansfield\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Liverpool University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Liverpool University Press\nISBN-13: 9781781382783, 978-1781382783\nSynopsis\nThe book outlines how class is single most important factor in understanding the British army in the period of industrialisation. It challenges the 'ruffians officered by gentlemen' theory of most military histories and demonstrates how service in the ranks was not confined to the scum of the earth but included a cross section of respectable working class men.\n\nCommon soldiers represent a huge unstudied occupational group. They worked as artisans, servants and dealers, displaying pre-enlistment working class attitudes and evidencing low level class conflict in numerous ways. Soldiers continued as members of the working class after discharge, with military service forming one phase of their careers and overall life e.