Showcasing French participation in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution, this book shows the French army at the heart of revolutionary, social, and cultural change. Osman argues that efforts to transform the French army into a citizen army before 1789 prompted and helped shape the French Revolution.

Introduction: The Key 1. The King's Army 2. Defeat in New France 3. Soldiers into Citizens 4. A Citizen Army in America 5. Aristocratic Rupture 6. A Dream Deferred Conclusion: Guidons Burning Notes Bibliography

Julia Osman is an Assistant Professor of French and military history at Mississippi State University, USA.