What exactly was Thomas Paine's Role in the Revolutionary War.

While reading Thomas Paine’s publication the Crisis, I began to wonder what exactly his role in the Revolutionary War was. Many times in the publication he speaks as to the maneuvers that the army made against the British and Hessian soldiers during the New Jersey campaign of 1776, but he never specifically speaks of his own role in the Army.  In the pamphlet, Paine tells the readers that “he was with the troops in Fort Lee” (The Crisis); unlike today, where it is common for media persons to be imbedded with combat units, the commanders of the Armies of the revolutionary times would not allow someone who was not a soldier to be around soldiers and the battle plans that could be compromised. The revolutionary war was an atmosphere where neighbor was fighting against neighbor and many times throughout the war, many persons changed sides in the blink of the eye as was the case with Benedict Arnold (a prominent American General, who turned against the American cause and sided with the British).

After researching Thomas Paine, I found that ”he was made an Aide-de-Camp to General Nathan Greene” (http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/patriots/thomas-paine.htm) and it was during his service to General Greene that he wrote the pamphlet “The American Crisis.” An Aide-de Camp is a soldier who is like “the right hand man” to a General officer; however the encyclopedia Britannica tells us that “the official role of the Aide-de-Camp is that of General’s secretary.”(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/10405/aide-de-camp) Aides-de-Camp also served as the “eyes and ears” for the commanders, often serving as a liaison between the senior commanders and the junior commanders or the commanders who were actually dealing with the maneuvers of the troops. Given the fact that Thomas Paine was the Aide-de-Camp to one of the most senior of the American Generals, probably the most senior of the American Generals besides George Washington in the middle colonies, he was able to use his writing prowess to uplift and inspire the men under Greene’s command. When Paine wrote “The Crisis,” he did not write it to be a historical document or even as  a literary document, he wrote it to allow the troops to know the purpose of their service to America, and it was this fact that General George Washington wanted “The Crisis” to be read to his soldiers at Valley Forge.