--- title: "What does sunshine patriot mean?" description: "What does sunshine patriot mean?" author: "Gray  park" published: 2018-10-28 canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/51432/what-does-sunshine-patriot-mean category: "history, politics & society" tags: ["usa history"] reading_time: 2 minutes --- # What does sunshine patriot mean? What does sunshine patriot [mean](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/80630/what-does-it-mean-to-be-paperclipped)?\ \ ## Answers ### Answer by Sarda Kumari ## Sunshine patriot - An overview A **Sunshine Patriot is a disloyal soldier** who only helps their **country's patriots when they are winning** and **abandons them when they are losing.** This is one of the primary reasons why **George Washington struggled to hold soldiers during the Revolutionary War.** ![What does sunshine patriot mean?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/dcf4808d-8f6e-4f5e-be34-d2d87955994e/images/daf26973-5d43-4c72-b5bb-5cde9a6ee8a3.jpeg)\ Read also: [**why-was-george-washington-considered-a-great-military-leader?**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/41242/why-was-george-washington-considered-a-great-military-leader) For example, **Thomas Paine** in his novel **The American Crisis no. 1** uses the reference of the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot where he mentions **people who were pro-independence before the war** but **changed their minds once it started.** \ ## Sunshine soldier: an in-depth description The word 'Sunshine Soldier' means that s**unshine is bright and always associated with happiness,** just as when one **side wins battles in a war and more people want to fight because their side is winning.** \ However, **when the sun sets and their fighting side loses fights**, the **soldiers betray their comrades and abandon the war.** \ So, **sunshine patriot means a non-loyal soldier** who supports the country when they are winning and turns his back on his country when it is losing, ![What does sunshine patriot mean?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/dcf4808d-8f6e-4f5e-be34-d2d87955994e/images/d8ad0d70-574b-4b6b-9ffe-6c46c4ee05ab.jpeg)\ Read also: [**what-was-the-biggest-challenge-faced-by-george-washington-when-he-agreed-to-lead-the-continental-army?**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/40854/what-was-the-biggest-challenge-faced-by-george-washington-when-he-agreed-to-lead-the-continental-army) \ **Washington and his sunshine soldiers** **\** Washington’s army, which had **numbered nearly 20,000 Continentals** and militia in the late summer, was reduced to **less than 5,000 effective soldiers as casualties** and desertions began to mount. \ To make matters worse, many of those remaining had **limited enlistments that were set to expire in the winter**. Recognizing that Washington’s situation was dire, **General Howe continued to push onward into New Jersey.** \ The **Continental Army remained elusive,** as Washington pushed his **exhausted and demoralized men across New Jersey** to deny Howe the opportunity for one final decisive battle. \ The **American commander’s goal was to cross the Delaware River to the relative safety of Pennsylvania**, and from there try to rekindle the American cause. Among the steadily waning column of soldiers following him **was the 39-year-old English immigrant, Thomas Paine.** **\** **Read also:** [**what-river-did-george-washington-and-the-continental-army-cross-before-the-battle-of-trenton?**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/39892/what-river-did-george-washington-and-the-continental-army-cross-before-the-battle-of-trenton) \ --- Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/51432/what-does-sunshine-patriot-mean Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.