In 1783 William Alld was discharged from the Continental Army. The eight-year war, the longest in American history until the Vietnam War, was over. Like thousands of other veterans of the Revolutionary War, Alld made his way home alone. No parade, no public homecoming ceremony welcomed the veteran when he arrived at his father's house in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The country had tired of the long and costly war. Veterans like Alld received no benefits. These men were soon forgotten by the country they had liberated from Britain's empire. Proud veterans felt betrayed by the nation's ingratitude.

Anti-Army Sentiment

The United States neglected its veterans because Americans were hostile toward regular armies. The lessons of history taught by Rome's Caesar and England's Cromwell were well known in Colonial America: generals used their armies to impose tyranny. Colonial experience with Britain also taught that regular armies...