In Lin Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, Hamilton remarks to Washington that the only way for him to rise above his station as an orphaned immigrant is to command men in battle. Is it accurate that the best way for a man in the 18th century to obtain more economic/social mobility was through the military?

by jpres

jpres

Relevant quote from Meet Me Inside:

"[HAMILTON] Well, I don’t have your name. I don’t have your titles I don’t have your land But, if you—

[WASHINGTON] No—

[HAMILTON] If you gave me command of a battalion, a group of men to lead, I could fly above my station after the war