When the story opens, Anson Staplyton, drummer boy, is aboard ship on his way to Ireland from England where he will take his place as the seventh Staplyton to keep the king’s peace in the Staffordshire Fencibles. He has been waiting all his life to follow in the footsteps of his forefathers and win glory in battle defending the king’s realm.  

Though Anson longs for glory in battle, his first assignments are anything but glorious. First, he witnesses a hedge master receiving thirty lashes, which is considered a lenient sentence compared to the usual punishment for treason, death. 

https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/ansons-way