The British Volunteer Movement, 1794-1814

Front Cover
Clarendon Press, 2003 - History - 323 pages
The author decisively refutes older scholarship which has characterized the Volunteers as a conservative force of order, the military embodiment of anti-revolutionary 'loyalism.' The Volunteers were independent-minded, and stood up for their autonomy; but in this as in other spheres, local self-government enhanced rather than endangered loyalty to the slate. Equally clear protest, played up by some historians, was rare and insignificant. The calculated risk taken by the government in arming up to 400,000 civilians paid off: the Volunteer Movement offered the non-combatant populations of England, Scotland and Wales a welcome opportunity to display their patriotism."--Jacket.
 

Contents

Introduction I
1
The Development of Volunteering
36
The Membership of Volunteer
67
A Connexion of Loyalty III
85
The Motivation
149
The Public Face of Volunteering
170
The Political Threat of
204
Invasion Riots
230
Conclusion
262
Index
313
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

Austin Gee edits the Royal Historical Society Annual Bibliography of British and Irish History