"The Number of Rations Issued To The Women in Camp." New Material Concerning Female Followers With Continental Regiments

"The number of rations issued to the women in camp.
"
New Material Concerning Female Followers
With Continental Regiments
John U. Rees
(Published in The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVIII, no. 1 (Spring 1998), 2-10;
vol. XXVIII, no. 2 (Summer 1998), 2-12, 13.)
William Laffan, ed., The Cries of Dublin: Drawn from the Life by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, 1760
(Dublin: Irish Georgian Society, 2003), 107.
1
Sociological and historical studies of past populations have become more commonplace over the
last thirty years and deservedly so. Studies of a community, especially the behavior of its members
and their interaction, can clarify the stimulus for certain occurrences or, at the very least, help to
bring the past to life and render it on a more personal level. Usually incorporated into such studies
is some type of statistical analysis that may serve as a tool with which to determine the relative
impact of certain minorities on a given population. In her study entitled Belonging to the Army:
Camp Followers and Community during the American Revolution, Holly A. Mayer indicates the
true nature of the Continental Army during that eight-year war. It was, in fact, a real community,
and a rather complex one, at that. Part of this complexity was due to the dual mission of the army.
While certain units remained in static situations at fixed posts, the effectiveness of the "moving
Army" was tied to its ability to become highly mobile when the situation demanded. Even in a
stationary situation, such as a fort or fixed camp, the administration of the army was often difficult;
taking this organization on the road, as it were, strained the supply situation and engendered new
discipline problems with among the soldiers.1
Women were thrust or chose to place themselves in the midst of such circumstances. During the
first year of the war the fledgling Continental Army could truly have been considered a "band of
brothers," with female followers a rarity. Beginning in 1776, and increasingly as the conflict
progressed, the presence of women with the army became common, and their treatment mirrored
accepted European military practice. While providing useful services to the army, female followers
also created difficulties, not the least of which was an increased strain on the supply system.
The effect female followers had on the soldiers they encountered should be considered. Their
influence can be set against the circumstances of army life. One good description of conditions was
left to us by Dr. Jabez Campfield: "How hard is the soldier's lott who's least danger is in the field of
action. Fighting happens seldom, but fatigue, hunger, cold & heat are constantly varying his
distress."2 Given these living conditions the mere presence of women would (depending on the
circumstances) have been a great boon, even if only psychological, in easing the troops’ daily
existence. Besides providing some reminder of, or connection to, the domestic side of life, female
followers also performed services that contributed to the more mundane aspects of living. The most
common tasks allotted to these women were washing, nursing and, occasionally, cooking for the
troops. These were not glamorous tasks but then neither were the daily chores of the common
soldier who wielded a shovel, an axe or a cooking ladle more often than he fired a musket.
A previous article provided an in-depth look at the numbers of women with Washington's army
from 1776 to 1783. (See "The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of Female
Followers with the Continental Army," https://tinyurl.com/y922fkng )3 With the information
then available, some broad conclusions were arrived at concerning the presence and role of women
on active campaigns, and during more sedentary periods. In examining nine returns, or series of
returns, enumerating women present with various American organizations, it was ascertained that
on average adult female followers amounted to about three percent of the strength of the unit to
which they were attached. This roughly translates to one woman for every thirty men.4
Several recently discovered returns of women offer a new opportunity to delve into the numbers
of female followers. It is important to note that these new documents deal with the enumeration of
2
ration issues. In fact, there were only a few reasons that compelled commanders to deal with camp
women, viz., the allotment of food and shelter to the followers, ensuring that they did not fall foul
of army rules or interfere with the mobility of the troops, and finding women to serve as nurses in
hospitals. Probably the most pressing administrative consideration was to account for the provisions
needed to issue to women and children accompanying the troops; this is reflected by the fact that
the greatest number of documents providing a count of army followers had some association to the
need for rations.5
Such administrative concern was established well before the War for Independence, as one
document from the Seven Years' War in America (1754-1763) will attest. After capturing Quebec
on 13 September 1759, British troops occupied the city and went into winter quarters at the end of
the month. In November Captain John Knox of the 43d Regiment made the following note:
The officers have hitherto received rum from the stores, in proportion to their rank; as have
likewise the women who were on the victualling roll, but, by an order of early November, they
are all struck off; the women are, for the future, to be victualled at two thirds' allowance only;
for this purpose they are to be mustered to-morrow by the town-major: such as from sickness
cannot appear are to be certified for by their commanding officers. Provisions are issued to the
women upon a presumption that they are to be useful to the soldiers, either by attending
hospitals or by washing for them and the officers; but hereafter those who suttle are not to be
enrolled, nor will any be issued to those who do not reside in the men's quarters.6
Sixteen years later various records kept during the American War for Independence show the
same attitudes and procedures held true: female followers were commonly thought of in terms of
the rations they consumed and generally tolerated only when they made some contribution to the
welfare of the army.
When women were present their primary duties were washing and nursing. In November 1775
Benjamin Church wrote of the American army around Boston, "They have no women in the camp
to do washing for the men, and they in general not being used to doing things of this sort ... choose
rather to let their linen, etc., rot upon their backs than be at the trouble of cleaning 'em themselves."
During Sullivan's Expedition in 1779, the orders given to Colonel Shreve at Tioga regarding
women mention what were considered to be their special tasks. "It will ... be absolutely necessary to
send most of the Women and Children to Wyoming, returning only such as may be applied to the
use of the Hospital, or may be deem'd necessary to keep the Soldier's clean at their Return."7
Two regimental directives confirm the officers' determination that only those women who
complied with orders and performed their proper duties were to be tolerated. After prices for
washing were set in the 2d Pennsylvania Regiment in autumn of 1778, the unit commander issued
the order that, "Should any woman refuse to wash for a soldier at the above rate he must make
complaint to the officers commanding the company to which he belongs ... who [if he] finds it
proceeds from laziness or any other improper excuse he is to immediately to dismiss her from the
regiment ... but if she attempts to remain afterwards he must have her drummed out of the regiment
as the Colonel is determined no women shall draw rations from the continent in his regiment unless
they make use of their endeavours to keep the men clean." This was echoed four years later in
August 1782. After a board of officers in the 10th Massachusetts Regiment met to "affix the preces
of washing," the rates they set were confirmed by the colonel, who went on to order "that any
3
Woman who shall refuse to conform thereto shall be prohibited from drawing provision with the
regiment." The meaning was clear: although not on the army payroll, these followers could
sometimes expect to be paid for their services. On the other hand, while their presence with the
troops was accepted, that acceptance depended upon their willingness to live within the strictures
set by the officers.8
Before continuing on to examine and analyze numbers of female followers, a more basic question
should be addressed. What kind of women were those who chose, or were forced by circumstance,
to follow the army under very trying conditions? There are few first-hand descriptions of American
army followers available, but with what little we do have it seems that they were a mixed lot
indeed. Maria Cronkite was the wife of a musician in the 1st New York Regiment and seems to
have been quite well respected. She was thirty-two years old when she followed her husband into
the army in 1777. Mrs. Cronkite served "in the capacity of washerwoman for the officers untill the
close of the war where her husband was duly discharged ... [and] had while in said service several
children..." As might be expected in an army where black soldiers were a substantial minority,
followers also included some women of color. In an October 1778 runaway advertisement, the
colonel of the 3d Maryland Regiment described a "MULATTO slave, named Sarah, but since calls
herself Rachael; she took her son with her, a Mulatto boy named Bob, about six years old, has a
remarkable fair complexion, with flaxen hair: She is a lusty wench, about 34 years old, big with
child; had on a striped linsey petticoat, linen jacket, flat shoes, a large white cloth cloak, and a
blanket, but may change her dress, as she has other cloaths with her. She was lately apprehended in
the first Maryland regiment, where she pretends to have a husband, with whom she has been the
principal part of this campaign, and passed herself off as a free woman." (In a "Return of the
Negroes in the Army," 24 August 1778, the 1st Maryland Brigade contained sixty black soldiers
and the 2d Maryland listed thirty-five.)9
An unflattering view of the army's followers, this time on the move in 1780, comes from Joseph
Plumb Martin. Although women are not specifically mentioned in his account their presence is
inferred. After being separated from his unit Martin "had an opportunity to see the baggage of the
army pass. When that of the middle states passed us, it was truly amusing to see the number and
habiliments of those attending it; of all specimens of human beings, this group capped the whole. A
caravan of wild beasts could bear no comparison with it. There was 'Tag, Rag and Bobtail'; 'some in
rags and some in jags,' but none 'in velvet gowns.' [author's emphasis] Some with two eyes, some
with one, and some, I believe, with none at all ... their dialect, too, was as confused as their bodily
appearance was odd and disgusting. There was the Irish and Scotch brogue, murdered English, flat
insipid Dutch and some lingoes which would puzzle a philosopher ... I was glad to see the tail end
of the train ..."10
The reference to "velvet gowns," and the fact that the followers' allotted place on the march was
with the baggage train, both indicate that Martin's colorful description includes women under its
umbrella. Although the narrator's sectional proclivity shines through, there is probably more than a
grain of truth in his observations. The "middle states" would have been New York, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Delaware, and, possibly, Maryland. The reference to the "Irish and Scotch" brogues
may have been directed towards Pennsylvania, while "insipid Dutch" would do for either New
Jersey or New York. Despite his embroidery of the scene, and his Yankee attitude towards
"southerners," the sight of the army's baggage passing by, attendants and all, must have been one
4
not soon forgotten.
Sarah Osborn, Margaret Corbin, Maria Cronkite, Rachael (or Sarah) the "mulatto slave;" these are
just some of the follower's names that have come down to us, some whose life circumstances are
known, most of whom will merely remain entries on a document. From respected wives to women
on the margins of society, from free white women to enslaved women of color, they all found a
place, at one time or another, with the regiments of the Continental Army.11 [Note: For names and
biographies of some female followers see, “Spent the winter at Jockey Hollow, and … washed
together while there …”: American Revolution Army Women Names Project - Continental Army,
https://tinyurl.com/Follower-Bios )
Female Followers with the Troops at Wyoming:

Prelude to Sullivan's Campaign, 1779
To counter the depredations of the Loyalists and their allies, and in anticipation of a punitive
expedition led by Maj. Gen. John Sullivan against the Iroquois villages, detachments of Continental
troops were garrisoned at several places on the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania frontier during
the winter and spring of 1779. The fort and village at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, was to be a staging
area for Sullivan's army and Continental troops were sent there in early April to reinforce the
Independent Wyoming Valley company commanded by Capt. Simon Spalding.12
Three units moved down from Minisink, New York, to Wyoming: the German Regiment, Col.
Charles Armand-Tuffin, Marquis de La Rouerie’s corps, known as Armand's Legion, and Capt.
John Paul Schott's Independent Company. Accompanying the first two units were a number of
women and probably some children. One of these units, the German Regiment, had served along
the Hudson River at Fishkill and Newburgh, New York, during the autumn of 1778, taking part in
duties ranging from road repair to providing an escort for Gen. John Burgoyne's troops captured at
Saratoga in autumn 1777. The regiment then travelled to Easton, Pennsylvania, in time to celebrate
the New Year, moving from there to Minisink some time in February with its attendant followers.
The other unit containing women, Armand's Legion (a legion being a mixed command comprised
of both cavalry and infantry), had moved to Minisink in late November 1778. It was not long after
their arrival at the new post that it was noted that the officer commanding Pulaski's Legion had
"retired to Easton with the Horse of Count Pulaski's and Colo. Armands Corps, not being able to
procure Forage at Minisink or in that neighbourhood." At least some, perhaps all, of the women of
Armand's Legion remained behind with the infantry contingent at Minisink; as previously noted the
foot soldiers under Colonel Armand marched to Wyoming in early April of the following year,
again accompanied by their female followers.13
Previous to their arrival the commanders of these units had been informed they would "find
Barracks at Wyoming ready for the greatest part of them." Col. Zebulon Butler, the post
commander, having been told of the pending reinforcements, was also directed to "take the
necessary precautions for their barracks, and give proper notice to the commissaries to increase or
proportion their supply to your numbers." It was relative to these increased provisions that the
following return was made.14
5
"Returns of the daily Issues of Provisions to the Troops
at the Post of Wyoming, from May 9th. to the [27th]" 1779 15
What Regt.
Date Corps No. No. No. No.
May or Party Days Men Women Rations
10th Col. Armand's 3 77 6 249
12 Capt. Spalding's 3 43 7 150
12 Artificer's 3 14 163
11 Capt. Schott's 3 41 123
12 German 3 207 13 960
13 Col. Armand's 1 77 6 83
Col. Armand's 3 77 6 249
15 German 3 302 12 942
Artificers 3 14 63
Capt. Spalding's 4 62 8 280
17 Col. Armand's 3 81 * 243
17 German 3 304 12 948
17 Artificers 3 14 63
20th Capt. Schott's 3 44 132
Col. Armand's 3 93 * 279
21st Capt. Spalding's 2 84 9 186
Artificers 3 14 63
German 3 308 14 966
23rd Capt. Schott's 3 48 144
24 Col. Armand's 3 94 * 282
Capt. Spalding's 2 84 9 186
24th Artificers 3 14 63
German 3 273 14 861
26 Col. Armand's 3 95 * 285
Capt. Schott's 3 47 141
27 German 3 317 12 987
Artificers 3 14 63
* Denotes that this unit previously contained women.
The above return shows that women were allowed the same ration as common soldiers (i.e., one
full ration per day) and that the food issued during this period was typical for the war. From the
10th to the 20th of May rations consisted of one pound of flour, and either one pound of pork or one
and one quarter pounds of fish. Beginning on 21 May, pork disappeared from the ration and the
issue of fish decreased, eventually to be replaced entirely by one and one quarter pounds of beef.16
Interestingly, although numbers of females with the German Regiment and Spalding's
6
Independent Company fluctuated only slightly (from highs of fourteen and nine, to lows of twelve
and seven, respectively) all six women with Armand's Foot company disappeared from the rolls
after 14 May. As the mounted contingent of Armand's Legion were posted elsewhere, it is feasible
the followers were sent to join them, perhaps in order to ease the supply situation. (A January 1779
return shows that Armand's mounted troops numbered only six officers and staff, eight N.C.O.'s,
and nineteen rank and file. After 4 January they may have been located at or near Easton,
Pennsylvania.)17
The background of those units accompanied by women has some bearing on the reason why these
females attached themselves to the army. Spalding's Independent Company was a special case as
regards the number of followers. This company was formed from Durkee's and Ransom's
Independent Companies, both originally raised in 1776 and comprised of settlers in the Wyoming
area with ties to the state of Connecticut. (The presence of these "Yankees" in the area was the
result of a pre-war dispute of the territory between Pennsylvania and Connecticut, for which, see
endnote.) These two units had been assigned to the Main Army in 1777 and had seen a considerable
amount of service. On 23 June 1778 the Board of War reported, "That the two independent
companies raised in the town of Westmoreland [comprising a large area of northeastern
Pennsylvania, including Wyoming] lately commanded by the Captains Durkee and Ransom, are
reduced by various causes to about eighty-six non-commissioned officers and privates ... that the
said companies are now detached from the main army for the defence of the frontiers." Upon
receipt of this information, Congress resolved "That the two independent companies ... be united
and form one company [and] ... That Lieutenant Simon Spaulding be appointed captain ..." Until
April 1779 Spalding's Company was the sole defense for the area around Wyoming, and, as late as
the 28th of March, "a Body of the enemy, consisting of Indians and others, had made their
appearance at Wyoming, and had destroyed several Houses and Barns in the neighbourhood ..." It is
hardly surprising that a number of the men's dependents would opt to take shelter with the company
in the fort at Wyoming.18
As a military organization Armand's Legion was a bit of an oddity, even by Continental Army
standards. Besides the fact that it contained both horse and foot soldiers, "Foreign officers were
allowed as were German deserters in the ranks ..." The exact origin of all the men is not known. In
July 1778 Washington ordered "Armand's Regiment to be sent to Fort Arnold as the most proper
place of security, they being chiefly deserters." Six months later the unit's commander wrote the
commander in chief that "i wish to recrute again; and i think i could have [a] good many of french
men and somme Americains which if not pleased amongs[t] foreigners, could be exchanged for the
french soldears in several regiments of your army. in respect to the germains, if you would allow
me to recrute with such men only what could be necessary to complete my germains company, i do
believe that being amongs[t] the others [al]ready ordered and acquainted with our customs they
would be [a] great deal better than when my corps was entirely of recrutes." A high proportion of
Germans is emphasized by a captive officer who "observed Armand's Legion passing by his
barracks in 1780 and noted that all four hundred of these men were former Hessians." It is
reasonable to assume that at least a few women had accompanied them when the men deserted and
joined the Legion. (If these women had formerly been with Hessian regiments, this could account
for the small number of female followers with the unit.) The other regiment with a unique makeup
was the German Regiment, which comprised men of that nationality from the states of
7
"A Scetch of the Encampment at Wyoming," 1779, Adam Hubley, "Adm. Hubley, Jr., Lt. Colo.
Comdt. 11th Penna Regt., His Journal, Commencing at Wyoming, July 30th, 1779," Pennsylvania
Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 33 (1909), .
______________________
Maryland and Pennsylvania. In this regiment, like Armand's Legion, "German was undoubtedly
spoken in the ranks ..."19
The German Regiment, Spalding's Independent Company, and at least part of Schott's Company
(denoted the Independent Rifle Company under the command of Lt. Anthony Selin) marched with
Major General Sullivan into Indian country during the summer and early autumn of 1779. All or
part of the women listed on the May return may have made the march with Sullivan's troops as far
as Tioga. At that place a fortification was built and some followers were left to serve as nurses and
wash for the troops; the rest of the women and children were sent back to Wyoming. Upon the
return of Sullivan's army all three units were ordered to remain at Wyoming to garrison that post.20
The women enumerated in the Wyoming return would continue to accompany their chosen units,
some possibly until the end of the war. The German Regiment went on to serve at various posts on
the frontier until the summer of 1780, when it rejoined the main army in New York. The unit was
8
disbanded in the winter of 1780-81 and the men distributed among the Maryland and Pennsylvania
regiments. In June the detachment of Armand's Legion at Wyoming was ordered to New Jersey "to
join the remainder of the Corps with this [i.e., the main] Army." After the death of Count Casimir
Pulaski at Savannah, Georgia, as of October 1779 Colonel Armand was appointed commander of
the Pulaski Legion. With his command of one hundred and twenty men (sixty horse and sixty foot)
he joined the southern army in July 1780, where they were merged with the few survivors of
Pulaski's Legion and participated in the disastrous Battle of Camden. About forty survivors of the
corps joined Lafayette in May 1781 and fought at the Battle of Green Spring that July, and at
Yorktown in October. Four months after the capture of the British force at Yorktown, the Legion
was sent to join Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene's army in South Carolina. It was recalled to the Main
Army in September 1782. Spalding's Independent Company remained at Wyoming until January
1781. There are several differing accounts concerning the ultimate fate of the enlisted men of the
company; one second-hand source states that the unit was "broken up and its men assigned to the
1st Connecticut Regiment" while another merely relates that it was disbanded in 1781. Captain
Simon Spalding was transferred to the 1st Connecticut on the above-noted date; it is probable that
his men and some of their dependents followed him into that regiment.21
_______________________
(Following page) Comparative situations of the Wyoming post and Middlebrook Encampment. "Map
of the Middle Colonies and Quebec," Cappon, Lester J., ed., Atlas of Early American History - The
Revolutionary Era 1760-1790, 4. Copyright 1976 by Princeton University Press. Reproduced by
permission of Princeton University Press.
9
10
"Provisions and Stores Issued to the Grand Army"
Female Followers at Middlebrook, 1779
During the winter of 1778-79, a large part of the Continental Army wintered over at Middlebrook,
New Jersey. The first soldiers reached the site shortly after 1 December 1778 and immediately
began constructing shelters, the last of which were not completed until about the middle of January
1779. Initially the army had to live in tents while working on the huts and "suffered extremely from
exposure to cold and storms." Despite this rough beginning the troops found the winter to be
"remarkably mild and temperate," and living conditions improved after the huts were completed. As
at Valley Forge in the previous winter, many of the women with the regiments must have remained
with their units throughout the cantonment. This is supported by the return discussed below.22
Towards the end of the Middlebrook camp consideration was given towards the opening of the
summer's campaign. Among other matters some concern over the army’s provisioning resulted in
the following request from the commander in chief, General George Washington:
As the daily issues of Provisions exceed, considerably, the total number of the Troops in this
Camp, I wish to know on what days, in what manner, and by whose Orders the Provisions are
drawn ... You will be pleased to add the number of rations issued to the women in camp.23
A series of five returns for the period of one month, 21 April to 28 May 1779, shows the number
of women with eight brigades of the main army under Washington at Middlebrook.24
1st Pennsylvania Brigade

1st, 2d, 7th and 10th Pennsylvania Regiments
21-28 April 1-7 May 8-14 May* 15-21 May 22-28 May
1,252 men 1,235 men 1,300 men 1,300 men 1,393 men
105 women 106 women 113 women 113 women (no women
(1 woman to (1 to 12) (1 to 11) (1 to 11) returned)
12 men) * 8.2 percent of
brigade strength
2d Pennsylvania Brigade
3d, 5th, 6th and 9th Pennsylvania Regiments
21-28 April 1-7 May* 8-14 May 15-21 May 22-28 May
1,053 men 1,409 men 1,061 men 848 men 1,143 men
106 women 106 women 107 women 104 women 99 women
(1 woman to (1 to 13) (1 to 10) (1 to 8) (1 to 11)
10 men) * 10.1 percent
of brigade strength
11
1st Maryland Brigade
1st, 3d, 5th and 7th Maryland Regiments
21-28 April 1-7 May 8-14 May* 15-21 May 22-28 May
(no return 1,264 men 1,291 men 1,292 men 1,244 men
given) 75 women 82 women 80 women 81 women
(1 woman to (1 to 16) (1 to 16) (1 to 15)
of brigade strength
2d Maryland Brigade
2d, 4th and 6th Maryland Regiments
(As of the 22-28 May return the Delaware Regiment was
added to this brigade.)
21-28 April 1-7 May 8-14 May 15-21 May* 22-28 May
of brigade
strength
Muhlenberg's Brigade
1st and 10th Virginia Regiments,
1st and 2d Virginia State Battalions
(As of the 22-28 May return Gist's Regiment (formerly Grayson's Additional)
and the 6th Virginia Regiment were added to the brigade, and the 1st and 10th consolidated.)
996 men 997 men 1,026 men 1,256 men 1,531 men
of brigade
strength
Woodford's Brigade
2d, 3d, 5th, 7th and 11th Virginia Regiments
(As of the 22-28 May return this brigade consisted of the
3d & 4th, 5th & 11th, 7th and 8th Virginia Regiments)
892 men 923 men 936 men 1,112 men 1,471 men
of brigade
strength
12
Scott's Brigade
4th, 6th and 8th Virginia Regiments,
Delaware Regiment and Grayson's Additional Regiment
(As of the 22-28 May return Scott's Brigade had been dissolved and the regiments
transferred to Muhlenberg's, Woodford's and 2d Maryland brigades.)
1,084 men 1,210 men 1,198 men 1,079 men (no return
86 women 87 women 93 women 81 women given)
(1 woman to (1 to 14) (1 to 13) (1 to 13)
of brigade strength
Knox's Artillery
Four companies, 3d Continental Artillery
Seven companies, 2d Continental Artillery
Eleven companies, 1st Continental Artillery
(no return 994 men 878 men 798 men 967 men
given) 70 women 67 women 67 women 73 women
(1 woman to (1 to 13) (1 to 12) (1 to 13)
14 men)
* 7.1 percent
of brigade strength
Ratios and Percentages for Combined Strength of All Brigades
21-28 April 1-7 May* 8-14 May 15-21 May* 22-28 May
14 men) * 6.7 percent * 7.4 percent
of army strength of army strength
* All ratios rounded up if .51 or higher; if .50 or less the figures have been rounded down.
Due to space constrictions, and the need for some simplification, the following subjective
criteria were instituted in determining the percentage of women in comparison to the overall
strength of each brigade. This calculation has been made only for those returns giving the
highest number of troops; if two returns are close in numbers the one showing the greater
number of women has been used. The reasoning behind this is the supposition that the higher
numbers give a more accurate impression of the true troop strength, some soldiers being
absent on command, guard duty or for other reasons.
At the end of May the army at Middlebrook made ready to leave camp. On 3 June the commander
in chief informed General William Alexander, Lord Stirling that, "The enemy have landed at
Kings-ferry, are in such force, and seem to have such capitol objects in view, that I must move my
whole strength towards the No[rth]. [i.e., Hudson] River ..."25
13
Area of the Middlebrook winter camp, 1778-79. Peter Angelakos, "The Army at Middlebrook 1778-
1779," Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, vol. 70 (April 1952), between 132 and 133.
General Arthur St. Clair's Pennsylvania troops were the first to set out, on 29 May, followed by
Stirling's Virginia Division on the 2d of June and Baron DeKalb's Maryland Division the day after
that. Writing on 3 June from the Park of Artillery at Pluckemin, Commissary Samuel Hodgdon
related. "We are all upon the move the Park marches tommorrow the rout I understand to be
towards North River where it is conjectured the Enemy mean to open the Campaign, and it is with
heart felt satisfaction that I now can inform you our Army are well accoutred and in high Spirits."26
Having survived yet another winter with the army, and probably with the addition of some new
women, female followers accompanied the troops as they headed north in early summer 1779. This
movement of the army, and the documents we have concerning the numbers of women present with
the troops, take on more meaning when set against information pertaining to the place of women on
the march. As in all such operations the assigned place of those women marching with the army
was with the baggage train. Relative to that matter this movement saw the issuance of yet another
general order decrying "the pernicious practice of suffering the women to incumber the Waggons
[which] still continues notwithstanding every former prohibition." All told, during the eight-year
14
conflict, there were eight army-wide orders directing women to march with the baggage or
prohibiting them from riding on the wagons; three in 1777, two in 1778, and one each in 1779 and
1780.27 The final order referring to the practice relented on previous strictures. General orders, 19
June 1781:
No Women will be suffered to ride in waggons or walk in the ranks this Campaign unless there
are very particular reasons for it ... a written permission only will avail; without this the officers
of the day or police are not only authorized to turn them out, but requested to inflict instant
punishment ...28
The movement by Washington's main army into New York in 1779 had no immediate result other
than to cover the river fortifications and discourage the British from making any further moves. A
month after the army left Middlebrook one soldier wrote: "No particular news in Camp, daily
expectation of the enemies advances to the Fort at West Point but at present they are quite still."
Except for the successful coup at Stony Point on 16 July by Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne's Light
Infantry and the capture of an enemy fort at Paulus Hook, New Jersey, in August, Washington's
army (and its followers) spent the remainder of the campaigning season in relative quiet around the
city of New York.29
Although it is known that certain Continental regiments contained more women than others,
while some had very few or none at all, it is interesting and of some use to try to determine the
average number of followers per regiment in each brigade at Middlebrook. One purpose for this
exercise would be to ascertain just how many women may optimally have been in each company,
given the unlikely circumstance that all the followers were divided evenly among the regiments in
each brigade. This gives us an idea of the frequency of interaction between women and men at the
company level and the possible effect women had on these units. This approximation can be
obtained by a study of army organization and some simple computation. One caveat has first to be
given. When accounting for the average number of women per regiment, the three Virginia brigades
pose a problem. By the end of May 1779, due to the consolidation of several regiments from the
state, Scott's Brigade had been dissolved and its units dispersed among the other two brigades. It
was in mid-May that eight under strength units were merged to form four full regiments; at this
same time the Delaware Regiment was transferred to the 2d Maryland Brigade. Unfortunately, as
regards the Virginia troops, this serves to make their actual brigade composition for the latter half of
the month somewhat vague. In examining the returns it can be seen that brigade strength fluctuated
during May, hence it is possible that some units were attached to their new brigades immediately
while others did not join until the end of the month. It is certain that for the first return in April the
original brigade composition was still in effect and that by the 22-28 May return the reorganization
had taken place. Because of this there are two figures given for the Virginia Brigades, one for the
initial April return and one for the final one in May. For the other brigades the numbers of women
are taken from those returns utilized to determine the unit percentages.30 (See Middlebrook returns
for those marked with an asterisk.)
15
Estimates of Average Numbers of Followers for Sub-Units
1st Pennsylvania Brigade

Four regiments 28 women per regiment
3 women per company *
2d Pennsylvania Brigade
3 women per company
1st Maryland Brigade

2 women per company
2d Maryland Brigade
2 women per company
Muhlenberg's Brigade
21-28 April
Four regiments 11 women per regiment (eight companies)
1 woman per company
22-28 May
Five regiments 15 women per regiment
1 woman per company
Estimates of Average Numbers of Followers for Sub-Units (continued)
Woodford's Brigade
21-28 April
Five regiments 10 women per regiment (eight companies)
1 woman per company
22-28 May
3 women per company
Scott's Brigade
21-28 April
Five regiments 17 women per regiment (eight companies)
2 women per company
Knox's Artillery
Twenty-two companies 3 women per company
* Unless otherwise noted it is assumed that there were nine companies per regiment.
According to the 1779 table of organization a company contained sixty-one sergeants,
corporals, musicians, and privates.31
16
"Plan of a Regiment. Soldier's Hutts 14 by 16;" "We began to hut the 19th - and go on with great
Alacrity ...," Josiah Harmar, 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, Millstone Camp, 23 December 1778. The
women who wintered over at Middlebrook would have been accommodated in huts like these.
"Letter Book No: 1. Lieut. Colonel Josiah Harmar", 20 January 1778 to 9 November 1778 (Letter
Book A), 14, Josiah Harmar Papers, William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Courtesy of
William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.
Another element that adds to the interest of the Middlebrook returns is the lack of information for
some state's troops. Until now there were no known records of female followers for any
Pennsylvania infantry units or the Delaware Regiment. Only one return for the 1st Virginia
Regiment at Winchester Barracks has been found, along with a single return for a Maryland
detachment of two hundred and fifty-one men in New York state, both in 1783. (Admittedly the
figure given for the Delaware Regiment was obtained by default and at best approximates the actual
number of women, but it is more than was known before.)32
Previously known returns contained information on the numbers of followers with units from
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, as well as
smaller contingents of troops such as the Corps of Sappers and Miners, the Commander in Chief's
Guard, and the Artillery Regiments. In these returns there can be seen proportions of women similar
to those found in the 1779 ration return, most notably for the Commander in Chief's Guard in 1781
and the Maryland Detachment and New York Regiments in 1783.33
It is feasible that, contrary to the overall trend, the numbers of women decreased in a few
regiments during the later war years. Most particularly this could have been true for the
Pennsylvanians who, three months after their January 1781 mutiny, marched to Virginia under
General Wayne. One man stated that the Pennsylvania mutineers at Princeton, New Jersey, in
January had "about 100" women with them. It is not known if this was the full complement of
17
followers with those regiments, or whether some women had remained behind at their camp near
Morristown. If this was the total number of women, their numbers had been greatly reduced since
1779. (In the 8 to 14 May 1779 return at Middlebrook the two Pennsylvania brigades had 2,361
men and 220 women, for a ratio of one woman for eleven men. By contrast, the November 1780
return for the two brigades shows 2,794 non-commissioned officers, rank and file, in ten regiments.
Allowing one hundred women with these units, the ratio had increased to one woman for thirty
men.) After the successful culmination of the Siege of Yorktown the Pennsylvanians, with some
female followers, were sent further on to South Carolina where they remained until late May 1783.
These movements, which took them progressively further from their home state, could easily have
resulted in fewer women being able, or choosing, to accompany the Pennsylvania soldiers.34
“The women belonging to their respective corps"

Further Analysis and Comparison of the Returns of Women
Although some interesting correlations can be seen between the Wyoming and Middlebrook
returns, it must be noted that both sets of returns were made under disparate circumstances, and for
differing numbers of troops during the same period of time, thus making any similarities and
differences significant. To continue our analysis, the proportions of women in the units listed on
both sets of returns need to be contrasted. The statistics for the women at Wyoming with the two
largest Continental units agree with the figure of three percent of unit strength previously set forth
as the average for the war. This claim is at least partially tied to the supposition that the followers
listed on the return for Armand's Corps represent the total number of women with that unit; even
discounting this assumption it is notable that the other unit, the German Regiment, should mirror
the three-percent average while all of the units on the return for the main army during the same
period show a much higher percentage of followers. Among the explanations for this could be that
the German Regiment just may have been one of those units with fewer female followers. On the
other hand, some women may have remained behind at other posts, or left the regiment entirely,
during the movements before the unit's arrival at Wyoming. This last point is especially compelling
when the difficult traveling and living conditions on the frontier are considered.
18
Statistics Concerning Women at Wyoming in 1779
German Regiment
12 women and 317 men on 27 May
1 woman for 26 men (3.5 percent of unit strength)
Armand's Corps
6 women and 77 men (120 men) *
1 woman for 13 men (1 woman for 20 men)
(3.8 percent of total unit strength)
Spalding's Company
9 women and 84 men
1 woman for 9 men
* The total strength of Armand's Corps, including the detached cavalry, may have amounted to
120 men in May 1779.35
In the Middlebrook returns the percentage of women in individual brigades ranged from a high of
10.1 percent in the 2d Pennsylvania Brigade for the period 8 to 14 May to a low of 5 percent in
Muhlenberg's Virginia Brigade from 22 to 28 May 1779. Compared to previously known returns,
which indicated an average of closer to three percent of unit strength (or one woman for every thirty
men), even the percentage of women in Muhlenberg's Brigade was markedly greater. Averaged for
the entire war the figure of three percent may still be true. In support of this contention it must be
considered that in 1775 there were very few women present with the army. The following year saw
an increase in the numbers of female followers, but it was not until 1777 that relatively large
numbers of women attached themselves to the army. It is possible that during the years from 1777
to 1780, a period for which unit returns of women are sorely lacking, there were overall larger
numbers of females than during the other five years of the war. A summer 1778 allotment of female
followers points to this: 25 July, "Head Quarters, White Plains ... The Brigade Majors are reminded
to bring on the Super-numeraries (i.e., those in excess of the necessary number), one to every
twelve men." Thus, for the four years in question (1777-1780) the numbers and proportion of
women seen in the 1779 return may have been the norm.36
As it concerns a large portion of the "moving Army" during a period for which we hitherto have
had no data the Middlebrook returns can lay claim to being the more important of these newly
found documents. Prior to this only three returns for a comparably sized portion of the Continental
Army were available to give us an overall view of numbers of women. The December 1777 return
was made just as the army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge and shows 400 women for a
force of 17,757 non-commissioned officers and rank and file (much larger than the Middlebrook
troop strength). Unfortunately, the number shown on this return is either an estimate of followers or
a rounding-off of the actual number. A June 1781 return lists 137 women for a force of 4,410
N.C.O.'s, rank and file, and a January 1783 return gives 405 women and 302 children with a force
totaling 10,443. The 1781 list is for a detachment approximately half the size of the force at
Middlebrook and the last return was made in the final year of the war during the middle of a winter
cantonment. The circumstances under which these other documents were made hinder a completely
19
equitable comparison with the Middlebrook return which contained both a large number of troops
and was made at the end of a winter camp and just prior to a major movement of the army.
Additionally, the winter at Middlebrook stands out from most other winter camps. Unlike the forces
around Boston in 1775-76 and at Morristown in the winter of 1776-77, the army at Middlebrook
was reorganized, disciplined, and experienced, and had been accompanied by a relatively large
contingent of women and children for the previous two years. When compared to Valley Forge and
the winter camps at Morristown in 1779-80 and 1780-81, the supply situation and economy of the
country were markedly different, both criteria being in relatively good condition during the
Middlebrook winter. The winters in the New York Highlands in 1781-82 and 1782-83 were rather
more similar, though some units had moved southwards and the state lines reduced in manpower.37
Leaving aside the dissimilarity in numbers, there are some points obliquely alluded to by both sets
of returns. These have to do with the presence of women during a winter cantonment and their
accompanying troops on campaign. First let us address the matter of the winter months. If the
December 1777 return of four hundred women with the army at Valley Forge is accurate, and the
large numbers recorded in the 1779 Middlebrook and 1783 New Windsor army returns are an
indication, then one question begs to be asked: Did the majority of these women accompany the
army as it entered a cantonment and winter over with the troops or were their numbers lower at the
beginning of winter, only to increase as the weather began to moderate?
The women on the Wyoming return had probably remained with their units throughout the winter, this
being inferred by the situation of these organizations at the time: Spalding's Company was a locally raised
unit in a war-ravaged community whose families may have been unable or unwilling to leave their homes
while at the same time needing some assurance of safety; Armand's Corps had been sent to the frontier late
in 1778, and the German Regiment had been moved about quite frequently before its arrival at the Wyoming
post. Some of their followers may have remained behind in New York or New Jersey when the troops
marched west, but the probability of any such women rejoining their units given the distances involved and
the difficult traveling conditions is unlikely, except perhaps when the dogged determination of female
followers is taken into consideration. Added to this is prior evidence of the reluctance of those women to
separate from their consorts in spite of very trying circumstances. (For examples of this determination see
John U. Rees, "'The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of Female Followers with
the Continental Army", https://tinyurl.com/multitude-of-women and "’The proportion of Women
which ought to be allowed...’: An Overview of Continental Army Female Followers”
https://tinyurl.com/proportion-of-women )
As for followers remaining in camp throughout the winter, this can only be assumed to have been
the case for those women enumerated in the Middlebrook returns. Some women had previously
wintered over with the army at Valley Forge. Unfortunately, accurate numbers of those who stayed
cannot be known, even though we have the December 1777 return of four hundred women, the
names of several individual females present at Valley Forge, and John Laurens’ remark that the
"camp whores, who have become numerous, are being used as nurses." The only comprehensive
and credible winter camp return is the one made in January 1783 for the army at New Windsor.
That document shows large numbers of female followers with the troops; whatever the case was
during the intervening years cannot be known for certain.39
It must be noted that the Valley Forge return of female followers is particularly interesting, as it
was made at the close of an especially arduous campaign, at the beginning of which Washington
had complained of "the multitude of women ... [who] are a clog upon every movement." In these
20
circumstances it is possible the number of women with the army in December 1777 was less
(perhaps much less) than had been present during the previous summer. It is also reasonable to
assume that the number of followers in a winter cantonment increased as the warm season
approached, with a proportion of the newly arrived women remaining with the army in the ensuing
campaign. The appeal of joining troops in a garrison or winter camp, especially when living
conditions became better (or at least stabilized) and food supply improved, is apparent. Hence, the
Middlebrook return may show the army in a situation where conditions were conducive for the
accommodation of the highest number of followers for the year.40
While it is probable that large numbers of women were with the army for at least part of the
winter at Middlebrook, as well as at some other winter camps, their presence during such times
could be especially troublesome. Supplying food to soldiers in winter was a difficult task.
Occasionally even the basic ration of "Salt Beef and Ash Cake" was hard to obtain due to the state
of the economy, administrative inefficiencies, or vagaries of weather. By the time the army reached
Valley Forge in December 1777 the Quartermaster and Commissary Departments had broken down
and the army suffered during the three or four months it took to reorganize them. Several times
during the severe winter of 1779-80 at Morristown there was "Great scarcity of Provisions in
Camp" due to heavy snowfall and a poor economy. It may have been the inadequate food supply
that prompted the commander of the 2d Canadian Regiment to order that "No provision is to be
allowed to any Woman or Women whatever, but such as may be ordered by the Commanding
officer of the Regiment."41
There is one known instance when the women of a regiment may have been removed en masse
from their unit in winter. In December 1780 the commander of the New Jersey Brigade was
directed "to put a Captain with a full Company in readiness to march to Wyoming to relieve the
Garrison at present there." This detachment, consisting of three officers and seventy men, marched
from Pompton, New Jersey, early in the new year.42 A musician in the 3d New Jersey noted that
On the 8 Day of January 1781 all the Odd Criples Envaleads Weoman and Children of [the]
Jersey Bragd [brigade] Marcht for Wiomy In order to keep Garason for 1 Year ...43
The composition of this command was partially confirmed a year later when the men were
described as being "by reason of age lameness & other infirmities, fit persons for Garrison duty
only ..." (The women may have been sent to Wyoming to care for the invalids and assist them in
their duties, or in order to place them in a situation where their presence was less of a burden on the
army.) Evidently only a part of the followers marched with the Wyoming detachment since some
women were present when the New Jersey regiments mutinied on 20 January. The women and
children of the Jersey Brigade who did go to Wyoming in 1781 returned to the main army before
the rest of the garrison, which was not relieved until February 1783. This is verified by the
previously mentioned January 1783 return of followers showing thirty-nine women and twenty-
seven children present with the Jersey troops at New Windsor.44
The presence of women on campaign with the army has been addressed in a previous article, but
several new perspectives merit further discussion. As stated before, both returns examined in this
study were compiled at the end of a winter camp and just prior to a major troop movement. Just
how many women and children marched with the army when it left Middlebrook in 1779 cannot be
known but the attendance of at least some followers is verified by the 7 June general order
21
concerning women riding on baggage wagons.45 On this march, as in others, the presence of women
was tolerated by the commanders only insofar as they did not retard the army’s progress.
By contrast as General John Sullivan's army moved towards Tioga, near the New York border, his
orders frequently mentioned female followers. The first reference to women with the expedition
occurred on 2 June 1779 at Easton, Pennsylvania, when regimental commanders were directed to
"examine particularly the baggage of their soldiers & women and prevent their carrying more than
their circumstances absolutely demand." During the march up the Susquehanna River the women's
presence was taken advantage of. Though some of the army's baggage moved by water Sullivan
also stipulated that "Every article ... that can possibly be loaded on Pack horses is to be fixed for
that purpose and carried in that manner." The troops left Wyoming on 31 July; two days later it was
decided that the women could facilitate the army's march by performing a task normally allocated to
soldiers.46
Com[mandin]g officers of regiments will please to order all the women belonging to their
respective corps, who can ride, immediately to quit the boats & proceed by land, as there will
be a sufficiency of pack horses & as the women going on horseback will diminish the number
of drivers from the army.47
Commanders eventually relented in other ways; in June 1781 the commander in chief admitted
that some women would have to be permitted "to ride in waggons [and] walk in the ranks" with the
troops while on the march.48
All in all, there is much that remains to be discovered about the women who followed the
Continental Army. In regard to this particular study there are a number of items to put on the wish
list. First, the (unlikely) discovery of a similar return (or series of returns) for the troops at the
beginning of the Middlebrook winter would help address the question of numbers of followers
throughout that cantonment. Additionally, during that winter large numbers of Continental troops
were situated elsewhere. The New Jersey troops were cantoned at Elizabethtown and Newark, New
Jersey, while the North Carolina Brigade spent the winter at Paramus in the same state. The
Massachusetts regiments were stationed along the Hudson River at Fishkill, Peekskill, and West
Point, and the Connecticut and New Hampshire troops found winter quarters at Danbury,
Connecticut. It is unfortunate no returns are available for these detached units during this same
period, especially as there is no information concerning women with the North Carolina troops
during the war and data on followers in the New Jersey regiments is meager at best. In addition, the
opportunity for further comparison between all of the brigades (or regiments) of the army during the
same month would be helpful in order to observe any differences in numbers of camp followers
among different organizations. Possibly, similar returns were made for those brigades that did not
winter at Middlebrook, which, if they do exist, may be discovered at some future date.49
Another unknown element concerns the constancy of American army women. What was the
proportion of women with the regiments who served consistently over a number of years or for the
entire war. Soldiers were bound by the terms of their enlistment; women would not have been
considered deserters if they left and would only have been sought for some very compelling reason
such as the commission of a crime. Some turnover among the followers, even during a single year,
was inevitable. The only way to ascertain this would be to put some names behind the numbers that
we now have. This would have to be in conjunction with a series of returns or a first-hand narrative
22
containing the names of female followers and indicating their presence with and departure from the
parent unit. Again, an unlikely possibility, but one can always hope.
It seems that no matter how much information is found concerning these remarkable, but
unremarked, women there will always remain a large void that will never properly be filled. The
attendance of these followers was taken for granted, often begrudgingly, although in many instances
their presence was taken advantage of to the benefit of the troops and the army as a whole.
Although their contributions were rendered beyond the scope of the historical spotlight and the
minutiae of their lives with the army have been all but relegated to obscurity, perhaps with a little
luck further insights into the mundane and delightfully human aspects of their relationship with the
community of the Continental Army will be brought to light.
Acknowledgements
As with my other writings, there are a number of people who made vital contributions to this work.
Special thanks go to Thaddeus Weaver who discovered the Wyoming return of women, a find that led
me on to uncover the Middlebrook returns in the same collection. Ron Beifuss and Henry M. Cooke
IV made available previously unknown documents concerning female followers. Peter Copeland
made me aware of the 1778 runaway advertisement for Sarah, the mulatto slave, while both he and
John R. Wright were kind enough to allow use of their illustrations in the article. The William L.
Clements Library and Princeton University Press allowed me to reproduce two maps in their
holdings. Finally, my thanks to Don Hagist, who continues to be a moving force concerning the
dissemination of new information on the women who followed the armies of the American
Revolution, and, most of all, to Holly Mayer who once again plied her red pen and good advice in an
effort to keep me on my toes. My thanks to all.
Endnotes
1. Holly A. Mayer, Belonging to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American
Revolution (S.C., 1996). "Substance of the Contract for the moving Army", 9 July 1782, George
Washington Papers, Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington, D.C., 1961), series 4, reel 86.
2. Journal of Dr. Jabez Campfield, 4 August 1779, Journals of the Military Expedition of Major
General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 (Glendale, N.Y., 1970), 53.
3. John U. Rees, "`The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of Female
Followers with the Continental Army":
Contents
1777 and 1780: A Common Thread?
1776 to 1782: “Necessary to keep the Soldier's clean"
1781: "Their Wives all of whom ... Remained": Women on Campaign With the Army
1781: "The women with the army who draw provisions"
1782: "Rations ... Without Whiskey": Col. Henry Jackson's Regimental Provision Returns
1783: "The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed ..."
Appendices
A. Images, Articles and Additional Information Related to Sullivan’s 1779 Campaign
and Fort Sullivan, Tioga.
B. Articles Providing Contextual Information on the 1781 Virginia Campaign
C. Miscellaneous References to Army Women
23
1. 1775, 1776, and 1781: “Fire Ships,” “Veneral Disorder,” and Women in Hospital
2. A Woman with the Continental Army, 1777-1783
3. Hospitals, Nurses and a Female Spy, 1776 and 1777
4. Orders Concerning Female Followers, Maj. Gen. John Sullivan’s Division, 1777
5. Horses Belonging to Camp Followers
6. Women Riding Pack Horses on Maj. Gen. John Sullivan's 1779 Expedition
7. Women, 1778-1782: On the March, Doing Laundry, Selling Military Goods, and Sergeant's
Responsibility For Followers
8. Army Orders and George Washington Correspondence Concerning Female Followers
9. Link to Second Study Examining Numbers of Continental Army Female Followers
D. Additional Articles on Continental Army Female Followers by the Author
The Brigade Dispatch (Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution)
Three parts: vol. XXIII, no. 4 (Autumn 1992), 5-17; vol. XXIV, no. 1 (Winter 1993),
6-16; vol. XXIV, no. 2 (Spring 1993), 2-6 (Reprinted in Minerva: Quarterly Report
on Women and the Military, vol. XIV, no. 2 (Summer 1996)).
https://www.academia.edu/36174985/_The_multitude_of_women_An_Examination_of_the_Numbe
rs_of_Female_Followers_With_the_Continental_Army
4. ibid., vol. XXIV, no. 2, 3.
5. Of five letters written by Washington (for sources, see below) in which female followers are
covered, one discusses rations and women serving as nurses, two solely concern rations for women,
one asks for a proposal for setting the proportion of women to be allowed and the rations allotted to
them, and two explain why the proposed proportion of one woman for fifteen men cannot be
adhered to.
The nineteen general orders for the army which deal with women cover a variety of subjects.
Since two topics were sometimes covered in tandem by a single order the following breakdown
does not mirror the number of orders found:
Number of Orders
Dealing With the
Subject Subject of General Order
1 Directs to sergeants to relay army orders to women in their units.
1 States a proposal for the set proportion of women allowed with the army in 1783.
2 Concern women serving as nurses.
2 Request returns of the number of women with the army.
2 Relate specific instances when women were not to accompany the troops
during a movement.
4 Direct a reduction of the numbers of women with the army.
4 Deal with the allotment of rations to women.
7 Order women to march with the baggage or prohibit their riding on wagons.
George Washington's letters concerning female followers:
Washington to John Stark, 5 August 1778, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington
from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, vol. 12 (Washington, DC, 1934), 283-284. Washington
to Charles Stewart, 21 April 1779, ibid., vol. 14 (1936), 423. Washington to Col. Van Schaik, 19 October
1779, ibid., vol. 17 (1937), 489. Washington to a Board of General Officers, 12 June 1781, ibid., vol. 22
(1937), 203. Washington to the Superintendent of Finance, 29 January 1783, Washington to Henry Knox, 8
March 1783, ibid., vol. 26 (1938), 78-79, 199-200.
Female followers in Washington's general orders:
24
- 4 June, 17 June, 10 July 1777, ibid., vol. 8 (1933), 181, 257, 375.
- 4 August, 27 August, 13 September 1777, ibid., vol. 9 (1933), 17, 139, 213.
- 31 May 1778, ibid., vol. 11 (1934), 497-498.
- 19 June 1778, ibid., vol. 12 (1934), 94.
- 7 June 1779, ibid., vol. 15 (1936), 240.
- 1 August 1780, ibid., vol. 19 (1937), 300.
- 19 September 1780, ibid., vol. 20 (1937), 73.
- 14 June, 19 June 1781, ibid., vol. 22 (1937), 215, 233.
- 22 August 1781, ibid., vol. 23 (1937), 37-38.
- 30 August, 8 September, 28 December, 31 December 1782, ibid., vol. 25 (1938), 93-95, 139, 479-
480, 496.
- 5 January 1783, ibid., vol. 26 (1938), 12.
My first study dealt with the number of women with the army based on information garnered from a
number of returns covering the years 1776 to 1783. Of those returns studied all gave numbers of women in
conjunction with some other factor relating to their presence with the army. (For analysis and citations of
these returns see, Rees, "... the multitude of women", parts 1, 2 and 3)
6 individual returns or series of returns list the number of women in relation to the rations they
consumed.
1 1779 return listed the women who remained as "Washer women" after the surplus followers
had been sent away.
1 1776 return for a single company had the number of Washer-Women" appended. An
interesting point is that although the number of needed tents is given no tentage was
allowed for the three women.
1 1777 listing of mess squads included women with two of the groupings. A mess squad was a
unit which related to both shelter and rations.
Although not a return of numbers, a 1777 order for Sullivan's Brigade stipulated the number of
women allotted to a tent.
6. John Knox, The Siege of Quebec and the Campaigns in North America, 1757-1760, Brian
Connell, ed., (Edinburgh, 1976), 228.
7. Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris, The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six (New York, N.Y.,
1975), 153-154. Rees, "... the multitude of women", XXIII, 4, 6.
8. Regimental orders, 30 September, 7 October 1778, Orderly Book of the 2d Pennsylvania
Regiment, 1778, unpublished manuscript, private collection. Regimental orders, 14 August 1782,
Orderly Book of the Tenth Mass. Regt., 1782, Daughters of the American Revolution Museum,
accession no. 64.296 (Courtesy of Henry M. Cooke IV).
9. Pension papers of Patrick Cronkite, fifer, 1st New York Regiment, 1777-1783, supplementary
depositions of Maria Cronkite (nee Humphrey) and Hendrick Plimley, Revolutionary War Pension
and Bounty - Land - Warrant Application Files, National Archives Microfilm Publication M804,
reel 695, W16932. Mordecai Gist, runaway advertisement, 18 October 1778, The Brigade
Dispatch, vol. X, no. 4 (Sept./Oct. 1974), 15. "Return of the Negroes in the Army," 24 August
1778, GW Papers, series 4, reel 51:
25
Sick On
Brigades Present Present Command Total
North Carolina 42 10 6 58
Woodford 36 3 1 40 (Virginia)
Muhlenberg 64 26 8 98 (Virginia)
Scott 20 3 1 24 (five regiments from Virginia, one from Delaware)
Smallwood 43 15 2 60 (Maryland)
2d Maryland 33 1 1 35 (three regiments from Maryland, and German Regt.)
Wayne 2 2 (Pennsylvania)
2d Pennsylvania
Clinton 33 2 4 39 (New York)
Parsons 117 12 19 148 (Connecticut)
Huntingdon 56 2 4 62 (Connecticut)
Nixon 26 1 27 (Massachusetts)
Patterson 64 13 12 89 (Massachusetts)
Late Learned 34 4 8 46 (Massachusetts)
Poor 16 7 4 27 (three New Hampshire regiments,and 2d Canadian Regt.)
Total 586 98 71 755
1778 brigade composition, Charles H. Lesser, Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Reports
of the Continental Army (Chicago, Il. and London, 1976), 80-81. See also: Benjamin Quarles, The
Negro in the American Revolution (New York, London, 1973), 68-93. John U. Rees, "'I Expect to
be stationed in Jersey sometime ...': An Account of the Services of the Second New Jersey
Regiment, December 1777 to June 1779", TMs, The David Library of the American Revolution,
Washington Crossing, PA. At least 2 blacks, 4 mulattoes and 3 Native Americans served in the 2d
New Jersey Regiment. "Blacks, Mulattoes and Indians Known to Have Served in the 2d New Jersey
Regiment of 1778-79," Appendix to the foregoing unpublished manuscript.
10. Joseph Plumb Martin, Private Yankee Doodle: A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers
and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (New York, N.Y., 1962), 197-198. For Martin's
references to "southerners" and "southern troops" see, 112-113, 135-136, 145-146.
11. Richard O. Eldred, "The Heroine of Yorktown," Daughters of the American Revolution
(November 1984), 634-636, 698. Sandra Gioia Treadway, "Anna Maria Lane: An Uncommon
Soldier of the American Revolution", Virginia Cavalcade, vol. 37, no. 3 (Winter 1988), 134-143.
Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds., Dictionary of American Biography, IV (New York, N.Y.,
1930), 438.
12. Washington to Edward Hand, 24 March 1779 and 1 April 1779, Washington to Zebulon Butler,
1 April 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 14 (1936), 286-287, 321-322, 323-324 (see also pagenote,
324).
13. Daniel Burchardt, major, German Regiment, to Washington, 20 March 1779, GW Papers.
Henry J. Retzer, The German Regiment of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the Continental Army
1776-1781 (Westminster, Md., 1991), 26. Washington to Edward Hand, 7 February 1779,
Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 14 (1936), 74-75. Edward Hand to Washington, GW Papers, series 4, reel
56. Washington to Philip Schuyler, 16 November 1778, Washington to Edward Hand, 20
November 1779, Washington to the Officer Commanding Pulaski's Corps, 16 December 1778,
Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 13 (1936), 265, 293, 402.
14. Washington to Edward Hand, Washington to Zebulon Butler, 1 April 1779, ibid., vol. 14
26
(1936), 321-322, 323-324.
15. "Returns of the daily Issues of Provisions to the Troops at the Post of Wyoming, from May 9th.
to the [27th]" 1779, Miscellaneous Numbered Records (The Manuscript File) in the War
Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, 1775-1790's, Record Group 93, National
Archives Microfilm Publication M859, reel 75, item no. 22023.
16. The contention that the women on the Wyoming return are allowed a full ration is based on the
supposition that officer's rations are not included, officers usually being issued more than one
ration. The fact that for each entry the rations issued exactly equals the number of days multiplied
by the number of men and women seems to support the idea that each person listed was allotted one
ration. For a general study of rations in the Continental Army see: John U. Rees, "'It was my turn to
cook for the mess': Provisions of the Common Soldier in the Continental Army, 1775-1783",
feature column in Food History News beginning with vol. VII, no. 1 (Fall 1995). For specific
information on officer's rations see, John U. Rees, "'A better repast ...': Officer's Fare in the
Continental Army" (unpublished manuscript). For rations and camp followers see: Rees, "... the
multitude of women", vol. XXIII, no. 4, 15, endnote no. 2.
17. "Return of the Independent Corps of Cavallerie and of Foot, Commanded by Collonel Armand.
Menesing January 4. 1779," Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, National Archives Microfilm
Publication M246, Record Group 93, reel 115, section 16-2.
18. Fred Anderson Berg, Encyclopedia of Continental Army Units: Battalions, Regiments and
Independent Corps (Harrisburg, Pa., 1972), 39, 104, 113. Worthington Chauncey Ford, Journals of
the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, vol. XI (Washington, D.C., 1908), 634. Washington to
Zebulon Butler, 1 April 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 14 (1936), 324. For enemy incursions at the
time see: Washington to Edward Hand, 24 March and 1 April 1779, ibid., vol. 14, 286-287, 321-
322.
Although not strictly pertinent to this study, the unusual presence of Connecticut Settlers in
Pennsylvania merits some explanation. The following has been excerpted from, Anne M.
Ousterhout, A State Divided: Opposition in Pennsylvania to the American Revolution (New York,
Westport, Ct., London, 1987), 232-234: "The Wyoming area originally had been settled by people
from Connecticut, but their claims fell within the boundaries of Pennsylvania's charter. Both sides
claimed charter grants and Indian treaties to support their claims to the Wyoming Valley. The
Susquehannah Company of Connecticut, organized in 1753 to settle the area, claimed that the 1662
charter of Connecticut had granted to that colony land from sea to sea nineteen years before
William Penn had secured his charter granting him land overlapping the area previously given to
Connecticut. The company recognized the intervening land of New York, whose eastern border
Connecticut had accepted in 1664, but argued that Connecticut could overjump New York territory
and continue its old charter claims to the 'South Seas' ... after the Indian treaty of Fort Stanwix
opened this area to legal white settlement ... Several Connecticut groups moved into the region
under the auspices of the Susquehannah Company, but the settlers were driven off by
representatives of the Penns. In February 1770, the Paxton Boys from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who
had already had their own conflicts with the Pennsylvania authorities, joined the New Englanders
and, in exchange for land, provided that group with the military muscle needed to displace the
Pennsylvanians." After a series of minor conflicts, in which each side sustained losses, in 1771
"Pennsylvania's support for its settlers was so weak and disorganized that the Susquehannah
27
Company settlers were able to capture the Pennsylvania fort and once more take charge of the
region. By the following spring, Connecticut people ("Yankees") were moving into the Wyoming
Valley in substantial numbers, and this time were there to stay." The Pennsylvanians (or
"Pennamites") were determined to confine Yankee settlement to the east branch of the Susquehanna
River, and were successful in doing so. In 1774 the Wyoming Valley area was made into a large
town called Westmoreland by the Connecticut government, and assigned to the Connecticut county
of Litchfield. In the remaining few years prior to the War of the Revolution both Pennsylvania and
Connecticut surveyors were active in the area, although "Connecticut had de facto control over the
area and Connecticut settlers were flocking there to claim land under the auspices of that colony. In
December 1775, one last Pennsylvania expedition ... failed to dislodge the New Englanders. The
Penns continued to protest the Connecticut settlements on their land, but it was not until December
1782, at Trenton, that congressional commissioners heard the respective claims and decided in
favor of Pennsylvania." For removal of Spalding's Company from the Wyoming area and settlement
of the dispute see: Washington to Zebulon Butler, 29 December 1780, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 21
(1937) 32. Washington to the Secretary at War, 6 November 1782, ibid., vol. 25 (1938) 321.
Washington to John Dickinson, 12 January 1783, ibid., vol. 26 (1938) 33.
19. Berg, Encyclopedia of Continental Army Units, 9-10: "On June 11, 1777 Lieutenant Colonel
Charles Armand-Tuffin, Marquis de la Rouerie, succeeded to the command of Baron Ottendorf's
Independent Company. Armand was an officer in the French Army. By November of that year the
unit ... was down to 42 privates. Armand ... initiated a recruiting drive. His recruiters brought in
their share of wretched characters, including German prisoners of war." The unit was also known as
Armand's "Free and Independent Chasseurs" or Partisan Corps. On 21 June "a Corps of German
Volunteers was incorporated into the unit." Washington to William Malcom, 27 July 1778,
Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 12 (1934), 240. Armand to Washington, 20 January 1779, Letters of Col.
Armand, Marquis de la Rouerie, 1779-1791, vol. II, Collections of the New-York Historical Society
for the Year 1878, XI (New York, N.Y., 1879), 307-308. Charles Patrick Neimeyer, America Goes
to War: A Social History of the Continental Army (New York and London, 1996) 61. Bruce E.
Burgoyne, "Women with the Hessian Auxiliaries during the American Revolutionary War", part 1,
The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 1 (Spring 1996), 2-4: One table in this article gives the
number of women with six German regiments in the last two months of 1779. When the ratios of
women to men are calculated they are similar to the Continental average, that is, about one woman
for thirty-three men. Retzer, German Regiment, V-VI, 1-6. Neimeyer, America Goes to War, 49-50.
The strength of Armand's Corps (noted as being at Minisink) in the spring of 1779 was 64 present
fit for duty, 3 sick present, 5 on command, 1 on furlough. Total: 73. Washington's memorandum of
the Strength of the Continental Army, Spring 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 14 (1936), 401. A 25
June return shows a total of 84 officers and enlisted men in the unit, then stationed at Wyoming, "A
Return of the Independend Corps commanded by Collo Armand Wyoming June 25th 1779,"
Revolutionary War Rolls, National Archives, reel 115, section 16-2.
20. Journals of Sullivan's Expedition, 325-326. Rees, "... the multitude of women", vol. XXIV, no.
1, 6-8. Retzer, German Regiment, 33-34.
21. German Regiment: ibid., 33-34, 43-46. Washington to Joseph Reed, 1 August 1780,
Washington to Ludowick Weltner, colonel, German Battalion, 1 August 1780, Fitzpatrick, WGW,
vol. 19 (1937), 294-295, 296. Armand's Legion: Washington to John Sullivan, 21 June 1779, ibid.,
28
vol. 15 (1936), 295.Mark M. Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (New York,
N.Y., 1966), 1127-1128. Charles Bracelen Flood, Rise, and Fight Again: Perilous Times Along the
Road to Independence (New York, N.Y., 1976), 285-286. Washington to Stephen Moylan, 26
October 1781, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 23 (1937), 270. Spalding's Company: Berg, Encyclopedia of
Continental Army Units, 113. Robert K. Wright, Jr., The Continental Army (Washington, D.C.,
1983), 243. Boatner, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, 1040. Washington to Zebulon
Butler, 29 December 1780, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 21 (1937) 32.
22. Peter Angelakos, "The Army at Middlebrook 1778-1779", Proceedings of the New Jersey
Historical Society, vol. 70 (April 1952), 105. Christopher Ward, The War of the Revolution (New
York, N.Y., 1952), 594-595.
23. Washington to Charles Stewart, 21 April 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 14 (1936), 423.
24. "Weekly return of provisions and Stores Issued to the Grand Army under the Immediate
Command of ... General Washington Including the Park of Artillery at Pluckemin ...", five returns
for the period 21 April to 28 May 1779, Misc. Numbered Records, reel 76, item nos. 22185, 22186,
22187, 22188 and 22189. For brigade composition see, Lesser, Sinews of Independence, 112-115.
25. Washington to Lord Stirling, 3 June 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 15 (1936), 217.
26. Angelakos, "The Army at Middlebrook", 119-120. Samuel Hodgdon to Benjamin Flowers, 3
June 1779, Letters sent by Commissary General of Military Stores and Assistant Quartermaster
Samuel Hodgdon ... July 19, 1778-May 24, 1784, Numbered Record Books Concerning Military
Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement of Accounts, and Supplies in the War Department
Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93, National Archives Microfilm
Publication M853, reel 33, vol. 111, target 2, 200-201.
27. General Orders, 7 June 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 15 (1936), 240. For the orders concerning
women on the march see: General orders, 10 July 1777, ibid., vol. 8 (1933), 375. General orders, 27
August 1777, 13 September 1777, ibid., vol. 9 (1933), 139, 213. General orders, 31 May 1778,
ibid., vol. 11 (1934), 497-498. General orders, 19 June 1778, ibid., vol. 12 (1934), 94. General
orders, 7 June 1779, ibid., vol. 15 (1936), 240. General orders, 19 September 1780, ibid., vol. 20
(1937), 73.
28. General orders, 19 June 1781, ibid., vol. 22 (1937), 233.
29. Samuel Hodgdon to Major Peirson, 30 June 1779, Numbered Record Books, Military
Operations, reel 33, vol. 111, target 2, 223-224. Ward, War of the Revolution, 596-610.
30. Wright, The Continental Army: additional regiments from Virginia., 101; 1779 reorganization,
147; reorganization of Virginia additional regiments, 148; Unit histories, Virginia numbered
regiments, 283-293; Gist's, Grayson's and Thruston's Additional Regiments, 321, 322, 325.
31. ibid., 126-128.
32. Rees, "... the multitude of women", vol. XXIV, no. 2, 2-3. Mayer, Belonging to the Army, 155-
156, endnote 37.
33. Rees, "... the multitude of women", vol. XXIV, no. 1, 9; vol. XXIV, no. 2, 2-3.
34. John B.B. Trussell, Jr., The Pennsylvania Line: Regimental Organization and Operations,
1776-1783 (Harrisburg, Pa., 1977), 18-20. Joseph Reed to the Council of Pennsylvania, 11 January
1781. John B. Linn and William H. Egle, eds. Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, vol. XI
(Harrisburg, Pa., 1880), 669-670. Lesser, Sinews of Independence, 188. Regimental orders, 25
February 1783, "Camp on James Island", South Carolina. "Lieutenant Colonel Harmar's Orders for
29
the First Pennsylvania Regiment [Book] No. 1.", 6 November 1782 to 28 March 1783, Josiah
Harmar Papers, William C. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
35. Some confusion exists as to what total unit strength was for Armand's Corps. A 14 June return
shows a total of 82 officers and enlisted men in the unit, then stationed at Wyoming, "Return of the
Independend Corps Commanded by Collo. Armand Wyoming June 14th 1779," Revolutionary War
Rolls, National Archives, reel 115, section 16-2. This roll differs from those found in Lesser,
Sinews of Independence, 88-89, 100-101, 128-129. Strength reports for Armand's Legion: October
1778, 170 men; January 1779, 113 men at "Upper Smithfield", Pennsylvania: August 1779, 154
men.
36. Commager and Morris, The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six, 153-154. For material supporting the
conclusions for the rest of the war see Rees, "... the multitude of women", vol. XXIII, no. 4, 5-17;
vol. XXIV, no. 1, 6-16; vol. XXIV, no. 2, 2-6. General orders, 25 July 1778, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol.
12 (1934), 231. "Brigade-major, is an Officer appointed to act to a particular brigade. The most
ingenious and expert Captains should be chosen for this post; they are to wait at orderly time to
receive the orders which they carry, first to their proper General, and afterwards to the Adjutants of
regiments ... [the Adjutants] regulate together the guards, parties, detachments, and convoys, and
appoint them the hour and place of rendezvous, at the head of the brigade, where the Brigade-major
takes and marches them to the place of general rendezvous." Among other duties "He ought to
know the state and condition of the brigade ..." Military Dictionary 1768.
37. ibid., vol. XXIII, no. 4, 5; vol. XXIV, no. 1, 9; vol. XXIV, no. 2, 2-3.
38. For the strong-willed nature of German followers see, Burgoyne, "Women with the Hessian
Auxiliaries" (part 1) vol. XXVI, no. 1, 4.
39. John W. Jackson, Valley Forge: Pinnacle of Courage (Gettysburg, Pa., 1992), 169. John B.B.
Trussell, Jr., Birthplace of an Army: A Study of the Valley Forge Encampment (Harrisburg, Pa.,
1983), 72-73, 84-85. Rees, "... the multitude of women", vol. XXIV, no. 2, 2-3.
40. ibid., vol. XXIII, no. 4, 5. General orders, 4 August 1777, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 9 (1933), 17.)
41. John N. Cummings to John Ladd Howell, 24 February 1781, Howell Papers, Stewart
Collection, Savitz Library, Rowan State College, Glassboro, New Jersey. Jackson, Valley Forge:
Pinnacle, 80-101. Samuel Stelle Smith, Winter at Morristown, 1779-1780: The Darkest Hour
(Monmouth Beach, N.J., 1979), regimental order cited as coming from Hawkins Order Book, 2
January 1780, Sergeant Major John F. Hawkins Orderly Books Nos. 1 and 2 for Moses Hazen's
Regiment, Hand's Brigade, Pennsylvania Historical Society, Manuscript Division, 11-15, 19, 50,
53. "Lieut. Colonel Josiah Harmar's Journal. No: 1. Commencing November 11th: 1778.", 11
November 1778 to 2 September 1780, Harmar Papers, 79, 81-82, 91-92, 101.
42. Washington to Israel Shreve, 28 December 1780, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 21 (1937) 29. Israel
Shreve to Mary ["Polley"] Shreve, 7 January 1781, Israel Shreve to George Washington, 8 January
1781, Israel Shreve Papers, Rutgers University, Alexander Library.
43. Music Book of Aaron Thompson, fifer 3d New Jersey Regiment, Miscellaneous Manuscript
Collection, Yale University Library, Mss. Group No. 352 (microfilm edition, frame 113).
44. Elias Dayton to Washington, 9 February 1782, GW Papers. General orders, 19 February 1783,
Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 26 (1938) 147. From Pompton, New Jersey, Colonel Shreve wrote: "It is
with pain I inform Your Excellency that the troops at this place revolted this evening and have
marched toward Trenton ... I was informed by a woman, of their intentions late this afternoon ...",
30
Israel Shreve to Washington, 20 January 1781, GW Papers, series 4, reel 74. Carl Van Doren,
Mutiny in January (New York, N.Y., 1943), 208. Rees, "... the multitude of women", vol. XXIV,
no. 2, 2-3.
45. General Orders, 7 June 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 15 (1936), 240.
46. General orders, 2 June 1779, Order Book of Lt. Col. Francis Barber, 26 May 1779 to 6
September 1779, Louise Welles Murray, ed., Notes from Craft Collection in Tioga Point Museum
on the Sullivan Expedition of 1779, (Athens, Pa., 1929), 4. General orders, 27 July 1779, 30 July
1779, ibid., 47, 53.
47. After orders, 2 August 1779, ibid., 58.
48. General orders, 19 June 1781, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 22 (1937), 233.
49. Angelakos, "The Army at Middlebrook", 99-101.
Additional Online Articles on Female Followers
“Spent the winter at Jockey Hollow, and … washed together while there …”: American
Revolution Army Women Names Project - Continental Army
https://www.scribd.com/document/322026319/American-Revolution-Army-Women-Names-
Project-Continental
or https://tinyurl.com/Follower-Bios
The aim of this project is to compile names and biographies of women attached to the military forces
of the War for American Independence, 1775 to 1783; Whig (Continental), French, Spanish, British,
German, and Loyalists. This includes females (and their offspring) who followed the troops on campaign,
or served in a camp, garrison, or other settled military post (including artificers and other military support
groups). Spouses and retainers of both enlisted men and officers are eligible. The project will begin with
Continental army and Whig militia female followers. Eventually, we hope to convince people with
special knowledge of the other nations’ armies involved to participate.
Material may be sent to the editor at ju_rees@msn.com or via Facebook messaging (John U. Rees).
Names must be accompanied by supporting source material and a transcription of the same. Please
include available pension narratives and as much detail from other sources as is available. Contributors
will be listed with their submissions. Appended is the recommended structure for entries (courtesy of
Eliza West, revised by John Rees):
BASIC FACTS
Date of birth/age at time of first service with the army:
Date of death:
Names of spouse(s) and date of marriage(s):
Names and birthdates of children:
MILITARY FACTS
Unit (army, regiment, company, etc.):
Campaigns:
Garrison locations:
Battles participated in/observed:
Active dates, during which she was part of the military establishment:
31
DOCUMENTATION
(Personal account, pension record, company or other returns, etc.)
NARRATIVE(S) and/or WEBLINK(S)

________________
"`The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of Female Followers with the
Continental Army":
Contents
1777 and 1780: A Common Thread?
1776 to 1782: “Necessary to keep the Soldier's clean"
1781: "Their Wives all of whom ... Remained": Women on Campaign With the Army
1781: "The women with the army who draw provisions"
1782: "Rations ... Without Whiskey": Col. Henry Jackson's Regimental Provision Returns
1783: "The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed ..."
Appendices
A. Images, Articles and Additional Information Related to Sullivan’s 1779 Campaign
and Fort Sullivan, Tioga.
B. Articles Providing Contextual Information on the 1781 Virginia Campaign
C. Miscellaneous References to Army Women
1. 1775, 1776, and 1781: “Fire Ships,” “Veneral Disorder,” and Women in Hospital
2. A Woman with the Continental Army, 1777-1783
3. Hospitals, Nurses and a Female Spy, 1776 and 1777
4. Orders Concerning Female Followers, Maj. Gen. John Sullivan’s Division, 1777
5. Horses Belonging to Camp Followers
6. Women Riding Pack Horses on Maj. Gen. John Sullivan's 1779 Expedition
7. Women, 1778-1782: On the March, Doing Laundry, Selling Military Goods, and Sergeant's
Responsibility For Followers
8. Army Orders and George Washington Correspondence Concerning Female Followers
9. Link to Second Study Examining Numbers of Continental Army Female Followers
D. Additional Articles on Continental Army Female Followers by the Author
The Brigade Dispatch (Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution)
Three parts: vol. XXIII, no. 4 (Autumn 1992), 5-17; vol. XXIV, no. 1 (Winter 1993),
6-16; vol. XXIV, no. 2 (Spring 1993), 2-6 (Reprinted in Minerva: Quarterly Report
on Women and the Military, vol. XIV, no. 2 (Summer 1996)).
https://www.academia.edu/36174985/_The_multitude_of_women_An_Examination_of_the_Numbe
rs_of_Female_Followers_With_the_Continental_Army or https://tinyurl.com/multitude-of-women
32
"`The number of rations issued to the women in camp.': New Material Concerning Female
Followers With Continental Regiments":
Female Followers with the Troops at Wyoming: Prelude to Sullivan's Campaign, 1779
"Provisions and Stores Issued to the Grand Army": Female Followers at
Middlebrook, 1779
“The women belonging to their respective corps": Further Analysis and Comparison of the
Returns of Women
The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVIII, no. 1 (Spring 1998), 2-10; vol. XXVIII, no. 2
(Summer 1998), 2-12, 13. http://revwar75.com/library/rees/wnumb2.htm
"'`Some in rags and some in jags,’ but none ‘in velvet gowns.’ Insights on Clothing Worn by
Female Followers of the Armies During the American War for Independence," ALHFAM
Bulletin (Association of Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums), vol. XXVIII, no. 4
(Winter 1999), 18-21. http://www.scribd.com/doc/122521121/Some-in-rags-and-some-in-
jags-%E2%80%99-but-none-%E2%80%98in-velvet-gowns-%E2%80%99-Insights-
on-Clothing-Worn-by-Female-Followers-of-the-Armies-During-the-American-War-for
"’The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed...’: An Overview of Continental Army

Female Followers”
1. “A clog upon every movement. “: Numbers
2. "Rations... Without Whiskey": Women’s Food Allowance
3. "Some men washed their own clothing.": Women's Duties and Shelter
4. Orders Concerning Women in the Summer of 1777 (Delaware Regiment of Maj. Gen. John
Sullivan’s Division
5. "Coming into the line of fire.": Women on the March or on Campaign
Appendices
A. An Estimate of Females with Continental Army Units
on the March to Yorktown, 1781
B. Mess Roll of Capt. John Ross’s Company, 3d New Jersey Regiment
C. Tent Assignments in Lt. Col. John Wrottesley’s (3d) Company, 1st Battalion,
Brigade of (British) Guards (Including “British Army orders regarding female
followers, summer 1777”)
D. Period Images of Army Followers or Poor to Middling Female Civilians
E. Photographs of Army Women at Living History Events
F. Online Articles Pertaining to Female Camp Followers and Related Subjects
During the War for American Independence
G. Other Authors’ Monographs (Women Following the Army)
The Continental Soldier, vol. VIII, no. 3 (Spring 1995), 51-58. ALHFAM Bulletin
(Association of Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums), vol. XXVIII, no. 4 (Winter
1999), 18-21.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/255868431/The-proportion-of-Women-which-ought-to-be-allowed-
An-Overview-of-Continental-Army-Female-Camp-Followers or https://tinyurl.com/proportion-of-
women
33
“’Remember[ing] the Ladies’: Margaret Johnson and Elizabeth Evans, Women of the New Jersey
Brigade” http://www.scribd.com/doc/235418684/Remember-ing-the-Ladies-Margaret-Johnson-
and-Elizabeth-Evans-Women-of-the-New-Jersey-Brigade
“Reading List: Women and the Military During the War for Independence," The
Continental Soldier, vol. IX, no. 1 (Winter/Spring 1997), 52.
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/wread.htm
“`To Cash paid the Revrd. John Mason for Servant Hannah’s wages …': Hannah Till, General
Washington’s Wartime Cook"
https://www.scribd.com/document/330715949/To-Cash-paid-the-Revrd-John-Mason-for-Servant-
Hannah-s-wages-Hannah-Till-General-Washington-s-Wartime-Cook
"`Sospecting the prisner to be a tory ...': A Continental Army Court Martial, July 1777,"
This court martial of a civilian took place in Brigadier General Prudhomme de Borre's 2d
Maryland Brigade, Major General John Sullivan's Division. De Borre’s brigade contained the 2d,
4th, and 7th Maryland Regiments, along with the German Regiment and Hazen's 2d Canadian
Regiment. Of particular interest in these proceedings are the arguments used to entice the soldiers
to desert, reasons for their dissatisfaction, and the testimony of Alice Wood, attached to Hazen's
Regiment, who had left her children behind when she followed her husband into the army.
The Continental Soldier, vol. IX, no. 1 (Winter/Spring 1997), 45-46, and,
Military Collector & Historian, vol. 60, no. 3 (Fall 2008), 167.
https://www.scribd.com/document/364103303/Sospecting-the-prisner-to-be-a-tory-A-Continental-
Army-Court-Martial-July-1777
Other Authors’ Monographs

(Women Following the Army)
Don N. Hagist, “The Women of the British Army in America”

Contents
1. A Look at the Numbers
2. Married to a Soldier
3. Widows and Orphans
4. Restrictions on Marriage
5. Employment
a. Women as Sutlers
b. Women as Nurses
c. Women as Laundresses
d. Women as Seamstresses
e. Other Employment
6. Occupations and Numbers
7. Habitation in Garrison
8. Habitation on Campaign
9. Life on Campaign
10. Women in Battle
11. Hazards
34
12. Domestic Distress
13. Notes on Clothing and Behavior
14. Notes on Children
Conclusion
https://www.academia.edu/36119670/Don_N._Hagist_The_Women_of_the_British_Army_in_Ame
rica_
Celena M.Meloche (2014) "British Army Women in the Seven Years' War," The Great Lakes
Journal of Undergraduate History:, vol. 2, no. 1 (2014)
Available at: http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/gljuh/vol2/iss1/1
http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=gljuh
Charlotte Brown, “The Journal of Charlotte Brown, Matron of the General Hospital, with the
English Forces in America, 1754-1756,” in Isabel M. Calder, Colonial Captivities, Marches and
Journeys (Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, Inc., 1935; reprinted 1967), 169-198 (French
and Indian War).
https://www.scribd.com/doc/274738578/Charlotte-Brown-The-Journal-of-Charlotte-Brown-
Matron-of-the-General-Hospital-with-the-English-Forces-in-America-1754-1756
Holly Mayer, “From Forts to Families: Following the Army into Western Pennsylvania, 1758-
1766.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History andBiography 130 (January 2006): 5-43.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/273462949/Holly-Mayer-From-Forts-to-Families-Following-the-
Army-into-Western-Pennsylvania-1758-1766
Elizabeth Cometti, “Women in the American Revolution,” The New England Quarterly, vol. XX,
no. 3 (September 1947), 335-337.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/213814242/Elizabeth-Cometti-%E2%80%9CWomen-in-the-American-
Revolution-%E2%80%9D-The-New-England-Quarterly-vol-XX-no-3-September-1947-335-337
(Part 1) Bruce E. Burgoyne, “Women with the Hessian Auxiliaries during the American
Revolutionary War,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 1 (Spring 1996), 2-8.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214066869/Bruce-E-Burgoyne-%E2%80%9CWomen-with-the-
Hessian-Auxiliaries-during-the-American-Revolutionary-War-%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade-
Dispatch-vol-XXVI-no-1-Spring-1996-2
(Part 2) Bruce E. Burgoyne, “Women with the Hessian Auxiliaries during the American
Revolutionary War,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 1 (Spring 1996), 19-23.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214077163/Part-2-Bruce-E-Burgoyne-%E2%80%9CWomen-with-the-
Hessian-Auxiliaries-during-the-American-Revolutionary-War-%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade-
Dispatch-vol-XXVI-no-1-Spring
Bruce E. Burgoyne, “Women with Hessian Military Units” (being a compendium of women
identified as having followed German corps during the American War, 1775-1783), The Brigade
Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 3 (Autumn 1996), 2-10.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214347053/Part-1-Bruce-E-Burgoyne-%E2%80%9CWomen-with-
Hessian-Military-Units%E2%80%9D-being-a-compendium-of-women-identified-as-having-
followed-German-corps-during-the-Amer
35
Paul E. Kopperman, "The British High Command and Soldiers' Wives In America, 1755-1783,"
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, no. 60 (1982), 14-34. Married women, 14;
women's duties, 15-16, 21; number of women in the Continental Army, 16; the thoughts of the high
command concerning women, 16; the number of women in the army and individual regiments, 19-
20, 26-28; women's rations, 22-23; women as patients in hospital, 31, 33.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214779011/Paul-E-Kopperman-The-British-High-Command-and-
Soldiers-Wives-In-America-1755-1783-Journal-of-the-Society-for-Army-Historical-Research-no-60
Don N, Hagist, “Women on Burgoyne’s Campaign,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXX, no. 4 (Winter
2000), 18-20
http://www.scribd.com/doc/213934713/Don-N-Hagist-%E2%80%9CWomen-on-
Burgoyne%E2%80%99s-Campaign-%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade-Dispatch-vol-XXX-no-4-Winter-
2000-18-20
Mrs. Middleton and Mary Driskill, the Experiences of Two Women with British Regiments
Don N. Hagist, “Mrs. Middleton Takes Prisoners,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXIX, no. 3 (Autumn
1999), 17 (a British Army woman’s experiences, from a primary source).
Don N. Hagist, “Mary Driskill, 10th Regiment of Foot,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXX, no. 2
(Summer 2000), 15 (a British Army woman’s experiences, from a primary source).
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214783573/Mrs-Middleton-and-Mary-Driskill-the-Experiences-of-
Two-Women-with-British-Regiments-Don-N-Hagist-%E2%80%9CMrs-Middleton-Takes-
Prisoners-%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade
Apparel and Goods Issued to Female Followers of American Troops
Don N. Hagist, “She was very fond of soldiers,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXIX, no. 2 (Summer
2000), 15-16.
Don N. Hagist, “The Women of Fort Jefferson” (goods issued to individuals at a Kentucky fort,
1780-1781), The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXX, no. 1 (Spring 2000), 21-23.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214790248/Apparel-Worn-by-and-Goods-Issued-to-Female-Followers-
of-American-Troops-Don-N-Hagist-She-was-very-fond-of-soldiers-The-Brigade-Dispatch-vol-XXI
French Troops and Female Followers

René Chartrand, “Notes Concerning Women in the 18th Century French Army,” The Brigade
Dispatch, vol. XXV, no. 3 (Summer 1995), 2 (explanation of the relative paucity of women with
French forces in America).
Donald J. Brandt, “Rochambeau's Army, and Women in America,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol.
XXV, no. 3 (Summer 1995), 3 (insights on women with and around a French regiment).
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214927135/French-Troops-and-Female-Followers-Rene-Chartrand-
%E2%80%9CNotes-Concerning-Women-in-the-18th-Century-French-Army-%E2%80%9D-The-
Brigade-Dispatch-vol-XXV-no
Refugees and Women following Loyalist Regiments (Part 1)

Todd W. Braisted, "Refugees & Others: Loyalist Families in the American War for Independence,"
The Brigade Dispatch (Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution), two parts: vol. XXVI, no.
4 (Winter 1996), 2-7; vol. XXVII, no. 2 (Summer 1997), 2-6.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214984897/Refugees-and-Women-following-Loyalist-Regiments-Part-
1-Todd-W-Braisted-Refugees-Others-Loyalist-Families-in-the-American-War-for-Independence
36
Refugees and Women following Loyalist Regiments (Part 2)
Todd W. Braisted, "Refugees & Others: Loyalist Families in the American War for Independence,"
The Brigade Dispatch (Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution), two parts: vol. XXVI, no.
4 (Winter 1996), 2-7; vol. XXVII, no. 2 (Summer 1997), 2-6.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214995035/Refugees-and-Women-following-Loyalist-Regiments-Part-
2-Todd-W-Braisted-Refugees-Others-Loyalist-Families-in-the-American-War-for-Independence
37

"The Number of Rations Issued To The Women in Camp." New Material Concerning Female Followers With Continental Regiments

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"The Number of Rations Issued To The Women in Camp." New Material Concerning Female Followers With Continental Regiments

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"The number of rations issued to the women in camp.

Female Followers with the Troops at Wyoming:

* Denotes that this unit previously contained women.

1st Pennsylvania Brigade

Ratios and Percentages for Combined Strength of All Brigades

1st Pennsylvania Brigade

1st Maryland Brigade

Estimates of Average Numbers of Followers for Sub-Units (continued)

“The women belonging to their respective corps"

Additional Online Articles on Female Followers

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"’The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed...’: An Overview of Continental Army

Other Authors’ Monographs

Don N. Hagist, “The Women of the British Army in America”

French Troops and Female Followers

Refugees and Women following Loyalist Regiments (Part 1)

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