Speaker Series: Who Were Those Redcoats? By Don Hagist

On the eve of the Revolutionary War, there was a massive British military buildup in Boston. The subsequent events are well-known, but who were the soldiers serving in the British army? This talk will look at the lives and careers of the private soldiers and non-commissioned officers in Boston’s British garrison, revealing how remarkably diverse the British army was, composed of men with a variety of ages, nationalities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. What emerges is the understanding that while these were “common” soldiers, each one had a distinctive life and career.

Presenter 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 is a consultant for the PBS documentary The American Revolution produced by Ken Burns, and has written several recent books including Noble Volunteers: the British Soldiers who fought the American Revolution (Westholme, 2020), The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers behind the Photographs (Westholme, 2015) and These Distinguished Corps: British Grenadier and Light Infantry Battalions in the American Revolution (Helion, 2022). Don is an engineer for a major medical device manufacturer, and also writes for several well-known syndicated cartoonists.