The relationship between serving in the officer corps during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and identification with the British nation has received little attention from historians. This article examines this relationship, and argues that military service in this period consolidated a ‘British’ national identity within the officer corps, particularly through adherence to the values of politeness and honour. Importantly, this article argues that officers’ patriotic expression evolved during this period. During the seventeen‐nineties, officers equated loyalism with patriotism. Napoleon’s ascent changed this dynamic, as officers incorporated critiques of the government into their patriotic expression during the early to mid eighteen‐hundreds.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	British history, military history, cultural history
Research Division:	History, Heritage and Archaeology
Research Group:	Historical studies
Research Field:	British history
Objective Division:	Culture and Society
Objective Group:	Understanding past societies
Objective Field:	Understanding Europe's past
UTAS Author:	Huf, D (Dr David Huf)
ID Code:	132937
Year Published:	2019
Deposited By:	Office of the School of Humanities
Deposited On:	2019-05-28
Last Modified:	2020-08-24
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