The Poor Soldier is a 1783 British play by John O'Keeffe. It was a comedy set around Irish soldiers returning home after fighting in the British army in the American War of Independence which formally ended that year with the Peace of Paris

Peace of Paris (1783)

The Peace of Paris was the set of treaties which ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the United States of America—commonly known as the Treaty of Paris —and two treaties at...

. One of the redcoats

Red coat (British army)

Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...

 must fight for the love of Norah with the urbane Captain Fitzroy. The music was written by William Shield

William Shield

William Shield was an English composer, violinist and violist who was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, the son of William Shield and his wife, Mary, née Cash.-Life and musical career:...

 and was mostly based on old Irish airs

Air (music)

Air , a variant of the musical song form, is the name of various song-like vocal or instrumental compositions.-English lute ayres:...

. It bore some similarity to one of his earlier works The Shamrock

The Shamrock

The Shamrock is a 1777 Irish play by John O'Keeffe. It was first staged on 15 April 1777 at Crow Street Theatre in Dublin. Several of the characters and airs were re-used in O'Keefe's more successful 1783 play The Poor Soldier.-Bibliography:...

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The events are set entirely in a small Irish village Carton which is a few miles from Dublin, although several versions refer to it only as "a country village".

The play enjoyed widespread popularity in the newly independent United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and was a favourite of George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

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In 1786 O'Keeffe wrote a sequel Love in a Camp

Love in a Camp

Love in a Camp is a 1786 British play by John O'Keeffe. It was a sequel to the hit 1783 play The Poor Soldier with the characters now serving in the Prussian army.-Bibliography:...

, when the characters have joined the Prussian army

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

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