A Young Patriot is structured in a manner that is becoming Murphy's trademark. Essential to the structure is a blend of text and illustrations, and Murphy gathers numerous photographs, drawings, and engravings to show the settings for the action and to show mistaken depictions of a soldier's life in the Continental Army.

The text itself is primarily Murphy's own account of the Revolutionary War and of Joseph's life. Murphy's narrative is enlivened by quotations from Joseph's autobiographical accounts of the war, as well as several other written accounts of people's experiences during the war. The firsthand accounts of the action lend a sense of immediacy to circumstances, and make the Revolutionary War seem like a people's war, rather than an abstract historical event.