To Starve the Army at Pleasure: Continental Army Administration and American Political Culture, 1775-1783

American political culture and military necessity were at odds during the War for American Independence, as demonstrated in this interpretation of Continental army administration. E. Wayne Carp shows that at every level of authority — congressional, state, and county — a localistic world-view, a deferential political order, and adherence to republican ideology impeded the task of supplying the army, even though independence demanded military strength.

Placing military history within the cont...