George Washington's Enforcers : Policing the Continental Army

This title examines the challenges of structuring and disciplining America's first army.

In America's war for independence, a well-disciplined army was essential, but policing soldiers during the Revolution presented challenges. "George Washington's Enforcers" examines how justice was left to the overlapping duties of special army personnel and how an improvised police force imposed rules and regulations on the common soldier.

Historian Harry M. Ward describes these methods of police enforcement, emphasizing the brutality experienced by the enlisted men who were punished severely for even light transgressions.

This volume explores the influences that shaped army practice and the quality of the soldiery, the enforcement of military justice, the use of guards as military police, and the application of punishment.