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| Robbie at the Culloden Battlefield |
Today, we are going to our historian
interviews. By the time this series concludes in early May, we will have heard
from Nick Kane, Ben Bartgis, Robbie MacNiven and Jonathan Abel. All of these
individuals are broadly interested in the Kabinettskriege era, and have been
selected as a result of recent promotion, impending graduate school
applications, or work recently begun in graduate school or at a historic site.
Today's young historian is Robbie MacNiven, a historian who researches the
British Army in the era of the War of Independence. Robbie graduated in 2014
from the University of Edinburgh, and is now finishing his Ph.D, studying the
era of the American Revolution.
Alexander Burns: What drew you to study the
history in this era? In 2018, much of popular memory of military history in the
United States is focused on World War 1, World War 2, and the Vietnam War. What
about the history of the 1648-1789 era do you find so compelling?
Robbie MacNiven: My father served 22 years in the
British Army, so growing up I was very aware of military history. I developed
an early fascination with the subject through various mediums – accidentally
flipping the channel to the 1993 film Gettysburg when I was five years old, or
playing the historical PC game Age of Empires, or starting to read Bernard
Cornwell’s Sharpe novels aged 12. During my early teen years I developed an
interest that started in the early nineteenth century and then gradually worked
its way back the way to the late sixteenth. General British history
tends to be very focussed on the World Wars, but the Napoleonic era is also
still very popular – I think someone did a study of literature whose main focus
is just the battle of Waterloo, and found there had been about 3,000
publications on that subject alone in the last two hundred years! That was my
initial entry point.
AB:
Is there a particular person, conflict, event, or geographical setting which
draws you to this era?
RM: Around the age of 15 I watched the film
The Patriot for the first time, which introduced me to a rather fanciful
depiction based off Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. I became fascinated
with him and with how his image differed (and occasionally matched) the
character that was created in America both during the Revolution and after. I
wrote my undergraduate dissertation about the Battle of Waxhaws. That in turn
crystallized a broader interest in the close study of the British Army during
the American Revolution.
AB:
How do you plan to continue your research into this era? You’ve studied history
at the postgraduate level, and are working on a number of projects related to
the era. Why have you chosen your particular path?
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| Robbie MacNiven |
RM: I’m not sure about a particular path,
but at the moment I’m not gunning to go into academia straight after
graduation. Between undergrad, my Masters and the PhD I will have been at
university for a decade. I’m currently writing fiction full time (mostly
fantasy and sci-fi novels), but not pursuing an academic career doesn’t mean I
won’t be continuing my studies in my spare time. I’ve just finished a book for
Osprey Publishing about British Light Infantry during the American Revolution,
and I’m contracted for a second book about the broader tactics of the
Revolutionary War, covering the British, German, Patriot and French armies.
Writing is my passion, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, and I’m very
grateful that I’m currently able to do it as my job. Hopefully that continues.
AB:
What challenges have you faced in the historical profession? What, if any,
advice would you give to high school and college students considering this field?
RM: In terms of advice I’d say follow your
passion. It sounds clichéd, but it’s the sort of thing you hear for a good
reason. University can be tough, and you really need an interest that anchors
you, that’s going to get you through all the research and the deadlines. If you
find the subject really captivating then you’ve got the building blocks of an
academic career.
If you’re just starting out, I’d advise you
to make good use of your supervisors. Don’t be intimidated by them – they’re
there to help, and they want you to succeed more than anyone. I followed the
advice of mine closely, but don’t be afraid to give a bit of pushback as well.
You need to be able to develop and defend your own views. It’s something of a
tightrope, but it gets easier after the first or second year.
Also, don’t forget to have fun! Studying
can be all-consuming. Schedule breaks and stick to them!
AB:
What have you been reading, recently? Could you recommend one book on your
topic of interest, or any recent work on the era?
RM: Currently I’m helping proofread a
manuscript for Don Hagist about the experiences of regular British soldiers
during the American Revolution. It’s going to be an absolutely brilliant book
and a great addition to the field, so keep an eye out for its release!
As for recommending one book, I’m going to
cheat and recommend five, for anyone who wants to know more about the British
military during the Revolutionary period:
British
Soldiers American War by Don Hagist
The
Men Who Lost America by Andrew O’Shaughnessey
Fusiliers
by Mark Urban
With
Zeal and With Bayonets Only by Matthew H. Spring
Lastly, it’s not specifically British
Army-focused, but Holger Hoock’s Scars
of Independence is a really great reassessment of the Revolution.
AB:
Thanks so much Robbie! We look forward to following your career as it
continues!
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Thanks for Reading,
Alex Burns
