Gone for a Soldier: The Anatomy of a Nineteenth-Century Army Family

Abstract

This article discusses aspects of life in the British army in the nineteenth century. It explores the motivation of recruits and the conditions under which family life was possible for the rank-and-file soldier. Using a Scottish case study, the article shows how army life operated at the individual family level and how multigeneration army families were created. It also demonstrates ways in which the army contributed to population mobility in the United Kingdom before World War I.