When Word War I began, Newfoundland had been without any kind of military organization for almost half a century. Public-spirited citizens immediately formed themselves into a Patriotic Association and within sixty days had recruited, partially equipped, and dispatched 537 officers and men overseas.

The Fighting Newfoundlander is a vivid history of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment - the "Blue Puttees" - and its heroic contributions to the war effort. Gerald Nicholson details the harrowing experiences of the Newfoundland Regiment (the only Canadian unit) at Gallipoli and later at Beaumont Hamel where 710 of the 801 officers and men who took part in the assault were casualties. He also follows them to the Third Battle of Ypres and Cambrai, for which they were granted the title "Royal" - the only army unit to receive such a distinction during World War I.

Nicholson also places the regiment in a larger historical context through an exploration of the colonization of Newfoundland and its contributions to the War of 1812, the American War of Independence, and the American Civil War. The Fighting Newfoundlander is an illuminating history of the Blue Puttees and their community.