Primary Source Perspectives: Eating Dog

I read Jeremiah Greenman’s perspective on his role as a soldier in the American revolution. He ate a dog that he murdered and left five of his sick, and unable to march, fellow soldiers, in the woods to die in order to continue on. He was unhappy about these events of course, but frankly, I would rather die myself than eat a dog I brutally shot. His willingness to go to such radical extremes shows how significant this war was—it held such a heavy weight as Jeremiah, and many other rebels, felt so trapped by the yoke of the crown they would resort to any such measure to fight for their liberation. Jeremiah also mentioned how he walked barefoot on the frozen Northeast soil, feeling hopeless of ever being “reliv’d.” His sheer willpower is truly astounding, and continuing on after leaving your comrades is admirable.