FGS – The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution

The Falmouth Genealogical Society Presents Talk:
The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution with author Don Hagist
Saturday, September 12, 2026 10:00 am–12:00 pm
Falmouth Public Library, 300 Main Street, Falmouth

The Falmouth Genealogical Society (FGS) will hold its monthly talk Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 10:00 am-12:00pm at the Falmouth Public Library, 300 Main Street, Falmouth.

Speaking in person, author Don Hagist will present: Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution

Redcoats. For Americans, the word brings to mind the occupying army that attempted to crush the Revolutionary War. There was more to these soldiers than their red uniforms, but the individuals who formed the ranks are seldom described in any detail in historical literature, leaving unanswered questions. Who were these men? Why did they join the army? Where did they go when the war was over?

In Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution, Don N. Hagist brings life to these soldiers, describing the training, experiences, and outcomes of British soldiers who fought during the Revolution. Drawing on thousands of military records and other primary sources in British, American, and Canadian archives, and the writings of dozens of officers and soldiers, Noble Volunteers shows how a peacetime army responded to the onset of war, how professional soldiers adapted quickly and effectively to become tactically dominant, and what became of the thousands of career soldiers once the war was over.

Hagist dispels long-held myths, revealing how remarkably diverse British soldiers were. They represented a variety of ages, nationalities, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and many had joined the army as a peacetime career, only to find themselves fighting a war on another continent in often brutal conditions. Against the sweeping backdrop of the war, Hagist directs his focus on the small picture, illuminating the moments in an individual soldier’s life — those hours spent nursing a fever while standing sentry in the bitter cold, or writing a letter to a wife back home. What emerges from these vignettes is the understanding that while these were “common” soldiers, each soldier was completely unique, for, as Hagist writes, “There was no ‘typical’ British soldier.”

Don N. Hagist is managing editor of Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com). His historical studies focus on presenting an accurate picture of individual soldiers and their families, especially those of the British army who served in America. This research is done using exclusively primary sources, mostly from archives in North America and Europe. He was a consultant for the PBS documentary The American Revolution produced by Ken Burns and the Netflix series Turning Point: The American Experiment. He has written several recent books including Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers who fought the American Revolution, The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers behind the Photographs and the forthcoming Invisible Lives: British Soldiers’ Wives in the American Revolution. Don is an engineering consultant and also writes for several well-known syndicated cartoonists. For more information, see his web site, donhagist.com

This talk is free and open to the public. It will be held in person and is also available via Zoom. For the Zoom credentials, please contact fgspresident@gmail.com by Friday, September 11, 2026.

For more information, visit the FGS website at www.falgen.org.