"The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed...

"
An Overview of Continental Army Female Camp Followers
John U. Rees
1995, 2002
Published in ALHFAM Bulletin (Association of Living History, Farm and Agricultural
Museums), vol. XXVIII, no. 4 (Winter 1999), 18-21.

The Cries of Dublin by Hugh Douglas Hamilton

(This woman is carrying a large market wallet.)

Contents
1. A clog upon every movement. : Numbers
2. "Rations... Without Whiskey": Womens 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 Sullivans 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 Rosss Company, 3d New Jersey Regiment
C. Tent Assignments in Lt. Col. John Wrottesleys (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)

__________________________________________________________
A clog upon every movement.
Numbers
Like all the armies that preceded it the Continental Army was not just a community
of men. Numbers of women and their accompanying children followed the troops
throughout the war, performing tasks that contributed to the soldiers welfare.
From the wars beginning womens numbers fluctuated greatly between
regiments, and from company to company within each regiment. In December 1777
a return for the main army at Valley Forge showed a total of 400 women present, or
one woman for each forty-four enlisted men (though it is possible there were more
women with the army during the previous summer). In January 1783, a return for
the army at New Windsor gave an average of one woman for every twenty-six
enlisted men. During the intervening years the average ratio may have been within
the range of one-to-thirty and one-to-thirty-five, or approximately three percent of
the total number of troops. From available information, it seems that early in the
war it was not at all remarkable for an individual company to contain no women.
This situation had changed by 1783 when the average was two women for each
company in the main army. And, as a rule, some organizations, such as Washingtons
Life Guard, the Corps of Sappers and Miners, artillery units, and regiments or
companies from occupied areas of New York, had greater than average proportions
of women.1
Variation in follower numbers among different organizations is illustrated by a
series of five "Weekly return[s] of provisions and Stores Issued to the Grand Army
under the Immediate Command of ... General Washington Including the Park of
Artillery at Pluckemin." These documents cover the period 21 April to 28 May 1779

and are unique in showing numbers of women with eight brigades of the main army
under Washington at the end of the Middlebrook, New Jersey winter camp, and just
prior to the summer campaign. Middlebrook unit proportions are as follows:2
1779 Middlebrook Return: Average Number of Women Per Company
(Nine companies per regiment, unless otherwise noted)
1st Pennsylvania Brigade
Four regiments
28 women per regiment
3 women per company
2nd Pennsylvania Brigade
Four regiments
27 women per regiment
3 women per company
1st Maryland Brigade
Four regiments
21 women per regiment
2 women per company
2nd Maryland Brigade
Four regiments
22 women per regiment
2 women per company
Muhlenberg's Virginia 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
Woodford's Virginia Brigade
21-28 April
Five regiments 10 women per regiment (eight companies)
1 woman per company
22-28 May
Four regiments 26 women per regiment
3 women per company
Scott's Virginia 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

Information we have concerning American female followers is particularly

interesting when compared to numbers accompanying Crown forces regiments. In
February 1783, Robert Morris referred to "the british Prisoners of War who have
Herds of Women with them." This comment is borne out by returns of British camp
followers throughout the war. In May 1777 the ratio of women with British forces in
New York was about one for every eight men, while German units contained
approximately one woman for every thirty men. In August 1781 the troops in New
York and its outposts were shown to have a ratio of one woman to every four and
one-half British troops, and one to fifteen for the Germans.3

Dunlaps Partizan Corps returns to camp. Note the men and single female follower are
in marching order, wearing knapsacks, blanket rolls, or market wallets, and carrying
their cooking gear. (Picquet post event, Brandywine State Park, 2010, Augusta County
Militia and friends).

Regardless of numbers, the women who followed the Continental Army were
important in various ways. Unlike some of their British counterparts, most could not
support themselves unless the army sustained them. In their own words they "could
earn their Rations, but the Soldier, nay the Officer, for whom they Wash has naught
to pay them." They did, however, perform duties such as washing, and sometimes
cooking, for those men to whom they were related or otherwise associated with. As
the war progressed these dual duties (most particularly laundering) were
increasingly required of them in return for their continued presence with the army.
Importantly, besides performing practical tasks, they provided some semblance of
home life for the men. This seemingly minor service was extremely important
considering that the War for Independence continued for eight years and soldiers
fought tedium more often than they did the enemy.4
"Rations... Without Whiskey":
Womens Food Allowance
In May 1776 British General William Howes forces in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
boarded ship en route to New York. He stipulated on 2 May, Six Women p[e]r
Comp[an]y will be allowed to embark with each Reg[imen]t Provisions will be
allowed at the rate of half a Ration for each Woman, & a Quarter for each Child that
is left behind. Based solely on Howes orders it has often been assumed that
Continental Army followers were given a reduced ration. Admitting that the
fledgling American army mirrored prewar British usage, research shows that actual
British army practice in both conflicts was a full portion to women on campaign or
performing other army-approved services. Documentary evidence supports that
quantity for Continental Army women. A series of "Returns of the daily Issues of

Provisions to the Troops at the Post of Wyoming, from May 9th. to the [27th]" 1779,
shows that women were allowed the same ration as common soldiers (i.e., one full
ration per day) and that 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. In 1781 returns for Colonel
Joseph Vose's Light Battalion indicate two rations for each officer and one ration for
each common soldier and woman. And a "Return of the number of Women and
Children... that drew Rations under the late Regulations" lists the specific number of
rations allowed prior to January 1783. Under the "late Regulations," each woman
was given one full ration and each child a half-ration, similar to the British
dependent allowance in the French and Indian War, which consisted of either a full
or two-thirds of a ration of food.5
The food ration issued to Continental troops and their followers was based on a
standard originally set in 1776: "One pound of beef, or 3/4 of a pound of pork or one
pound of fish, per day. One pound of bread or flour per day. Three pints of peas or
beans per week, or vegetables equivalent, at one dollar per bushel for peas or beans.
One pint of milk per man per day. One half-pint of rice, or one pint of Indian meal
per man per week. One quart of spruce beer, or cider, per man per day, or nine
gallons of mollasses per company of one hundred men per week. Three pounds of
candles to one hundred men per week, for guards. Twenty pounds of soft, or eight
pounds of hard, soap for one hundred men per week." Eventually, a small amount of
rum or other alcohol was also included. In 1782, returns of women and children in
Colonel Henry Jackson's Regiment stipulated they be given "Rations... Without
Whiskey."6
Necessity and nutrition required that some method be found by which this basic
ration could be supplemented. This was especially important since items such as
milk, cider, vegetables and soap proved to be difficult, and often impossible, to
obtain. In July 1777, it was stipulated that "As nothing can be more comfortable and
wholesome to the army than vegetables, every encouragement is to be given to the
Country people, to bring them in [to market] The General recommends temporary
ovens to each brigade, which, by men who understand it, can be erected in a few
hours. Bread baked in these, will be much wholesomer than the sodden cakes
[firecakes] which are but too commonly used." Besides the occasional issue of
extraordinary edibles by the army, additional foodstuff was bought, bartered for, or
stolen by soldiers and their followers throughout the war.7
To add to the problem of feeding the army, the system of supplying the troops
sometimes failed due to bad weather, crop failure, economic conditions or
ineptitude in the quartermaster or commissary department. At Valley Forge in the
winter of 1778, it was necessary to temporarily adjust the daily ration. General
orders of February 8th noted, "that instead of the ration heretofore Issued there
should be Issued a pound and a half of flouer, one lb of Beef or 3/4 Salt pork and a
certain Quantity of Spirits..." It had been previously ordered on 29 January that "The
Commissaries in future to Issue [a] quart of Salt to every 100 lb fresh Beef." This
was to prove more or less the common ration during winter cantonments.8

"Some men washed their own clothing."

Women's Duties and Shelter
In August 1777, General George Washington wrote, "the multitude of women in
particular, especially those who are pregnant, or have children, are a clog upon
every movement. The Commander in Chief therefore earnestly recommends it to the
officers commanding brigades and corps, to use every reasonable method in their
power to get rid of all such as are not absolutely necessary..." He was, however, to
find it impossible to rid the army entirely of these persistent females who
performed any number of "necessary" tasks. As Washington admitted later in the
war, he "was obliged to give Provisions to the extra Women in these Regiments, or
loose by Desertion, perhaps to the Enemy, some of the oldest and best Soldiers In
the Service."9
Any females who chose to follow the army were allotted provisions; in return they
were expected to perform some sort of service to benefit the troops. Their primary
role was that of "Wash Women," a task various documents describe followers
performing from 1776 through 1783. During the 1776 campaign in New Yorks
Mohawk Valley, one company of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment contained seventyone enlisted men and three "Washer-Women," giving a ratio of one woman to
twenty-four soldiers. In sharp contrast to these numbers was the proportion found
in Colonel John Lamb's artillery regiment in September of 1780: "one Woman to
Wash for ten." The number of "Wash Women" in the 9th Massachusetts Regiment
over a period of three and a half months during the summer of 1782 is also
documented. The approximate average for those months was one laundress for
every thirty-five enlisted men. Due to the small number of women with the army,
especially early in the war, many men would have done their own washing. 10
It is evident that while some women washed primarily for enlisted men, others
performed the same service solely for officers. During the Yorktown Siege, follower
Sarah Osborn "took her stand just back of the American tents, about a mile from the
town, and busied herself washing, mending, and cooking for the soldiers, in which
she was assisted by the other females; some men washed their own clothing
[emphasis added]." First New York Regiment fifers wife Maria Cronkite stated that
she "accompanyed her husband... in the service... and continued in said service in the
capacity of washerwoman for the officers untill the close of the war where her
husband was duly discharged. That she had while in said service several children
..."11
Cooking was usually performed by the soldiers in messes of six, the same number
of men usually assigned to a tent. There were occasions when the soldiers duties
made it necessary to have followers prepare meals. At Yorktown in 1781, Sarah
Osborn mentioned that she "cooked and carried in beef, and bread, and coffee (In a
gallon pot) to the soldiers in the entrenchment." As to the day of Cornwallis's
surrender, she stated that "having provisions ready, [she] carried the same down to
the entrenchments that morning, and four of the soldiers whom she was in the habit
of cooking for ate their breakfasts." At the Battle of Brandywine, Jacob Nagle served
with Proctor's artillery. He described the situation at the actions onset:12

The provision waggons being sent a way, we ware three day without provisions
excepting what the farmers brought in to sell in their waggons and what the soldiers
could plunder from the farmers. I went to my father [lieutenant colonel, 9th
Pennsylvania], his rigment being on our right, and received a neats tounge from him
Mr. Hosner bought some potatoes and butter the evening before the Brittish
arrived, and we concluded to have a glorious mess for breakfast. Mr. Hosner gave it
to one of the soldiers wives that remained with the army to cook for us in the
morning. Early in the morning, she had the camp kittle on a small fier about 100
yards in the rear of the Grand Artilery, with all our delicious meal, which we
expected to enjoy. The Brittish at this time hoisted the red flag on the top of the farm
house on the rige of the hill a breast of us, and their artilery advancing towards us
down the ploughed field, we then begin a cannonading... Unfortunately one of the
enemies shot dismounted the poor camp kettle with the fier and all its contents
away with it. The woman informed Mr. Folkner. He replied, Never mind, we have no
time to eat now. Therefore we made another fast day.

In many respects regimental women were accorded the same treatment as

common soldiers. As previously noted they were given the same food ration as
enlisted men (excepting alcohol). It seems this parity was also extended when it
came to shelter. General John Sullivan's 17 August 1777 division orders stipulated
that six enlisted men occupy a tent, and also allotted one tent for every six
"Waggoners [or] weomen." Regimental orders for the Pennsylvania State Regiment,
while stationed at Fort Mercer, stated, May 24th 1777 ... Regular Division of Tents to
be made according to ye number of men in each Company - one tent for six men or 5
men and one woman ... And a roster of Capt. John Ross's Company, 3rd New Jersey
Regiment, in June 1777 emphasizes the inclusion of women in mess groups. In this
listing of eight messes, seven had five or six people, the same number assigned to a
tent. Two of the mess squads included women, one of whom was Margaret Johnson,
wife of Sergeant Samuel Johnson, the other being Elizabeth Evans, Private Emanuel
Evans wife. It is probable that, due to the exigencies of army life, the women in
these two mess squads shared tents with the men.13 (For more on the women of
Rosss company see, Remember[ing] the Ladies: Margaret Johnson and Elizabeth
Evans, Women of the New Jersey Brigade
http://www.scribd.com/doc/235418684/Remember-ing-the-LadiesMargaret-Johnson-and-Elizabeth-Evans-Women-of-the-New-Jersey-Brigade )

____________________________

Orders Concerning Women in the Summer of 1777 (Delaware Regiment

14
of Maj. Gen. John Sullivans Division
"Flemington [New Jersey] 18th June 1777
The Genl orders that all the troops be immedietly furnished with 3 days Provision to have it Cook'd
Dirictly & that no Soldier make any plea after the 3 Days is expired, that he has no provisions As the
Genl is Determined None Shall be Drawn till that time is Expired, the troops to hold themselves in
Readiness to march at A Moments Warning with their Knapsacks, Blankets & provisions. Proper
guards to be left with tents & Baggage Composed of those persons who are least able to undergo a
March the Weomen who are left at the other Side of Corrells ferry & the men who are left to guard
the Baggage to be Brought forwards immedietly to this Camp ..." The baggage was left at
Flemington when the troops marched on the 19th.
"Lincoln Mountain July 1st 1777
Regimental Orders
... That the Weomen belonging to the Regt be paraded tomorrow morning & to undergo an
Examination from the Serjeon of the Regt at his tent, except those that are married, & the husbands
of those to undergo said examination in their Stead, all those that do not attend to be immedietly
Drum'd out of the Regt."
"Head Quarters Kings ferry 26th July 1777 His Excellency Genl Washington has ordered, that a
Sufficient number of Waggons be ordered to Carry the tents, no other Baggage to be put into them,
and they must not be heavy loaded, that nothing might hinder us of Arriving in time where we are to
go; the Commissary will Strive all means to get hard Bread for the use of the Division on the Road.
The Waggon M.Genl to order two Waggons to be ready to march in the Rear of each Brigade, to take
in the Sick & the lame. The remainder of the Baggage will Stay behind the Division ... No Women to
go out with the Division, they are to stay with the Baggage & none of them allowed to go on the
Waggons except such Weomen, as the Capt may judge is realy Sick."
"Head Qrtrs Hannover 17th August 1777
Division Orders
... Those Regts which are yet of tents to make returns to the QrM.Genl to morrow morning by 8
OClock The Brigade Major to Call on the QrMasters for A Return of all the tents & Marquees that
are publick property & upon the Adjts for a Return of all the men & Weomen in their Respective
Regts. from which they are to make A Genl Return of each Brigade in the following manner Viz.
In one Collum the number of Feild officers 2ndly the Serjts 4thly Privates including Drums, Fifes
as also Waggoners & Weomen, then they are to State the number of tents in their Respective
Brigades, & Set forth the number wanting upon the following Calculations, Viz A tent to each Feild
officer, one to two Commissioned & Staff officers, one to 4 Serjts & one to 6 Privates including
Corporals, as Well as Waggoners weomen &c"
"[Washingtons army] After Orders Sepr 13th 1777
The following proportion of tents is Allowed the Army upon its next march Viz. 1 Soldiers tent for
the Field officers 1 Do. for 4 other Commissioned officers 1 Do. for 8 Serjeants, Drummer or fifers
1 Do. for every 8 Privates.
The Brigadiers to have Returns made out And the above proportion of tents taken for their
Brigades & one Waggon for every 50 tents & no more, no weomen on any pretence whatsoever to
go with the army but to follow the Baggage, the Soldiers to carry their Camp kettles, which if the
army Should Come to Action are to be put in the waggons with the tents ..."

____________________________
"Coming into the line of fire."
Women on the March or on Campaign
Army followers occasionally were exposed to battlefield dangers, though such was
the exception rather than the rule. Women were already present with the troops in
1775, though numbers were much less than in the later war years. At least two
Pennsylvania rifle companies had female followers on their march through the
Maine wilderness with Col. Benedict Arnold in 1775. John Joseph Henry leaves the
only account of these women; curiously, his narrative is one of the few providing
some insight into the characters of individual followers.
This morning, the first of November [1775], breakfasting on our bleary, we took up
the line of march through a flat and boggy ground. About ten o'clock A. M. we
arrived, by a narrow neck of land at a marsh which was appalling. It was three
fourths of a mile over, and covered by a coat of ice, half an inch thick. Here Simpson
concluded to halt a short time for the stragglers or maimed of [Capt. William]
Hendricks and [Capt. Matthew] Smith's companies to come up. There were two
women attached to those companies, who arrived before we commenced the march.
One was the wife of Serjeant Grier, a large, virtuous and respectable woman. The
other was [Jemima Warner] the wife of a private of our company, a man who lagged
upon every occasion. These women being arrived, it was presumed that all our party
were up. We were on the point of entering the marsh, when some one cried out
Warner is not here. Another said he had "sat down sick under a tree, a few miles
back." His wife begging us to wait a short time, with tears of affection in her eyes,
ran back to her husband. We tarried an hour. They came not. Entering the pond,
(Simpson foremost,) and breaking the ice here and there with the huts of our guns
and feet, as occasion required, we were soon waist deep in the mud and water. As is
generally the case with youths, it came to my mind, that a better path might be
found than that of the more elderly guide. Attempting this, in a trice the water
cooling my armpits, made me gladly return into the file. Now Mrs. Grier had got
before me. My mind was humbled, yet astonished, at the exertions of this good
woman. Her clothes more than waist high, she waded before me to the firm ground.
No one so long as she was known to us, dared intimate a disrespectful idea of her.
Her husband, who was an excellent soldier, was on duty in Hendricks' boat, which
had proceeded to the discharge of the lake with lieutenant M`Cleland.15

Female followers of Dunlap's Partizan Corps fording Brandywine Creek.

(Picquet post event, Brandywine State Park, 2010, Augusta County Militia and
friends.)

Henry wrote more in an afterward to his narrative:

The fate of James Warner, among others, was really lamentable. He was young,
handsome in appearance, not more than twenty-five years of age; he was athletic
and seemed to surpass in bodily strength. Yet withal, he was a dolt. His wife was
beautiful, though coarse in manners. The husband on the other hand, was a poor
devil, constantly out of view, or in the back ground of the picture.
We heard nothing of them after entering the marsh, and until a month had elapsed
at Quebec. In December, the wife or widow of poor James Warner, came to our
quarters on the Low-grounds, bearing her husband's rifle, his powder-horn and
pouch. She appeared fresh and rosy as ever. This arose from the religious and
gratuitous spirit of the Canadians.
The story Mrs. Jemima Warner told, was extremely affecting, and may be worth
remembering, as it is something like a sample of the whole of our distresses and
intolerable disasters.
The husband was a great eater His stores of provisions, after the partition, at the
head of the Chaudiere, were in a little time consumed. The consummate wife ran
back from the marsh, and found her beloved husband sitting at the foot of a tree,
where he said he was determined to die.
The tender-hearted woman, attended her ill-fated husband several days, urging
his march forward ; he again sat down. Finding all her solicitations could not induce
him to rise, she left him, having placed all the bread i.n her possession, between his
legs with a canteen of water. She bore his arms and ammunition to Quebec, where

she recounted the story. The nephews of Natanis, afterwards at Quebec, confirmed
the relation of this good woman. For when going up, and returning down the river
with our inestimable friend M`Cleland, she urged them, suffused in tears to take her
husband on board. They were necessarily deaf to her entreaties.16

Stated practice in the Continental Army through most of the war was for women
to travel with the armys baggage when on campaign. There were occasions when
women and children were purposely left behind when troops were sent with a
short-term detachment or on a special mission. During Major General John
Sullivan's 1779 expedition against the Indians of Pennsylvania and New York,
women and children accompanied the troops only as far as Tioga in northern
Pennsylvania. In late August the commanding general decided that for the advance
into New York, the Troops should Move as light as possible, the Officers are
requested to leave at the Garrison all the Baggage they can possibly spare. All the
Women & Children to be left at this place ... Consequently, orders were issued on the
24th that only those women "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" were to remain at the
new post, called Fort Sullivan. The rest were sent back to Wyoming, Pennsylvania,
where orders were given "to the Commissary... to Issue Rations to those [returned]
Women & Children."17
Similarly, on 1 August 1780, as Washington's army was preparing to move into
New Jersey to provision the army, the commander in chief ordered division and
brigade commanders "to exert themselves to get in readiness as fast as possible...
Convalescents and such men as are otherwise absolutely unfit to march yet capable
of doing duty in a fixed post are to be left at Verplanks and Stoney points... All the
Women and Children of the Army are also to be left at these Posts for a few days
where the commanding officers will see that they are furnished with rations as
usual." And when a detachment of troops under the Marquis de Lafayette was sent
south in February 1781, the soldiers wives were left behind, it being thought that
the "service will be but a temporary one." It was later discovered by both the
soldiers and their women that Lafayettes force would be absent longer than had
been expected. As a result, between May and July, four women made their way south
to join Vose's Massachusetts Light Battalion. Presumably, other females also were
able to rejoin the men of Lafayette's contingent in Virginia.18
Later in 1781, when a portion of the army was readying itself for the southward
march to Yorktown, General Washington directed that "as the Detachment under...
Major General Lincoln are to consider themselves as Light-troops who are always
supposed to be fit for action and free from every incumbrance [the commander in
chief] cannot help advising them to take the present opportunity of depositing at
West Point such of their Women as are not able to undergo the fatigue of frequent
marches and also every article of Baggage which they can in any wise dispence
with..." While numbers of women did accompany Washingtons troops to Yorktown,
exactly how many is not known. Based on a conservative and historically based
estimate placing female followers at 3 percent of unit rank and file strength, and
allowing for campaign limitations, roughly fifty women marched south with
Washingtons 2,525 enlisted men.19

As previously stated, female followers and their dependents were under orders to
march with the baggage wagons. The first such order was issued in July 1777, and
similar directives appeared at least once each subsequent year until 1781. In 1780,
one order stipulated that the officer commanding the baggage escort "is to allow no
women to ride in the waggons unless their peculiar circumstances require it." Sarah
Osborn, the wife of a commissary sergeant, in the company of three other females,
traveled with the baggage of Washington's army during the march to Yorktown in
the late summer of 1781. She was one of the lucky ones, being allowed the use of a
horse for at least part of the trip southward, though at other times she walked or
rode in a wagon. It is doubtful that many other female camp followers were likewise
afforded use of a horse. If army women elected (and were permitted) to stay with
the soldiers, they would have had to rely primarily on their own two feet.20
An example of followers occasional disregard for standing orders is found in the
cases of several women present at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777. One account,
previously cited, describes a woman from an unknown regiment trying to cook
while under fire (see Jacob Nagles account above). Another narrative records
women of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment who took "the empty canteens of their
husbands and friends and returned with them filled with water... during the hottest
part of the engagement [on Birmingham Hill], although frequently cautioned as to
the danger of coming into the line of fire." The day before the action, a directive had
been given that "No baggage is to be kept [with the army]... that can be dispensed
with..." The inclusion of women in this command is implied by the 10 July 1777
general order that all "Women [are]... to march with the baggage." Additionally,
army orders for 13 September attempted to rein in any recalcitrant camp followers
by ordering that "No woman under any pretence whatsoever to go with the army,
but to follow the baggage." This last order indicates that female followers
disobedience was an ongoing problem. Other women known to have marched
among the troops or to have been present on the field of battle include Mrs. Grier
and Mrs. Warner marching with Benedict Arnold's troops to Quebec in 1775,
Margaret Corbin, severely wounded at Fort Washington in 1776, Anna Maria Lane,
badly wounded at the Battle of Germantown, and Mary Hays, present at the 1778
Monmouth battle.21
Two accounts tell of anonymous American camp followers killed in the fighting
near Saratoga, New York during autumn 1777. Ensign Thomas Anburey, 24th
Regiment of Foot, wrote in a 10 November 1777 letter, I was convinced how much
the Americans were pushed in our late action, on the 19th of September [first battle
of Saratoga, known as Freemans Farm], for I met with several dead bodies
belonging to the enemy, and amongst them were laying close to each other, two men
and a woman, the latter of whom had her arms extended, and her hands grasping
cartridges. In recalling the campaign many years later, Ambrose Collins, of Colonel
Thaddeus Cooks Connecticut militia regiment, told an interviewer, the American
women followed close after the American soldiers, as they were advancing [during
the second Saratoga battle, 7 October 1777], and even exposed themselves where
the shot were flying, to strip the dead. These were doubtless the basest of their sex
I saw one woman while thus employed, struck by a cannon ball and literally
dashed to pieces. I also saw the women attempting to strip a wounded Hessian

officer. One woman was attempting to get his watch. He was able to speak and
although they could not understand what he said he made so much resistance that
they left him 22
Thomas Anburey also related the story of a woman attached to General John
Burgoynes army giving birth on the march to Cambridge, Massachusetts after the
surrender at Saratoga:
We were two days in crossing the Green Mountains the roads were almost
impassable, and to add to the difficulty when we had got half over, there came on a
heavy fall of snow in the midst of the heavy snow-storm, upon a baggage cart, and
nothing to shelter her from the inclemency of the weather but a bit of an old oilcloth, a [British] soldiers wife was delivered of a child, she and the infant are both
well It may be said, that women who follow a camp are of such a masculine
nature, they are able to bear all hardships; this woman was quite the reverse, being
small, and of a very delicate constitution.23

Compelling testimony to the indomitable spirit and hardiness of women with both
armies.
**************************
My thanks to Eric Schnitzer, Park Ranger, Saratoga National Historical Park, Robert
A. Selig, and Thaddeus Weaver for their contributions to this monograph.
Endnotes
1. "Account of Rations drawn by the Infantry of ye Standing Army" December 1777,
The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, National Archives Microfilm
Publications M247, (Washington, D.C., 1958), reel 38, 459. Though undated the
numbers of the "Privates fit for Duty" in this account agree with "A General Return
of the Army under the command of his Excellency General Washington ... December
3, 1777," Charles H. Lesser, Ed., The Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength
Reports of the Continental Army (Chicago, Il., 1976), 53.
2. "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, 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 76, item nos. 22185, 22186, 22187, 22188 and
22189. For brigade composition see, Lesser, Sinews of Independence, 112-115.
3. Washington to a Board of Officers, 12 June 1781, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The
Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, vol. 22
(Washington, DC, 1937), 203. "Return of the number of Women and Children in the
several regiments and Corps stationed at, and in the vicinity of West Point and New
Windsor, that drew Rations under the late Regulation, shewing also the Number of
Rations allowed for Women and Children by the present system," 24 January 1783,
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, National Archives Microfilm Publication M246,
Record Group 93, reel 136, 259-260.

4. Robert Morris to Washington, 5 February 1783, George Washington Papers,

Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington, D.C., 1961), series 4, reel 90. Walter
Hart Blumenthal, Women Camp Followers of the American Revolution (New York,
1974), 15-21, 19, 24-26, 28-29, 32, 33-34, 38-39. 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), 19-20, 26-28. Washington to the
Superintendent of Finance, 29 January 1783, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 26 (1938),
78-79.
5. Benjamin Franklin Stevens, General Sir William Howes Orderly Book at Charlestown,
Boston and Halifax, June 17 1775 to 1776 26 May (originally published 1890; reprinted
Port Washington, N.Y. and London; Kennikat Press, 1970), 262. The practice of
reduced rations for women in winter or garrison quarters was reiterated by Captain
John Knox, 43rd Regiment, at Quebec in November 1759: 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 townmajor: 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. John Knox, The
Siege of Quebec and the Campaigns in North America, 1757-1760, Brian Connell, ed.,
(Edinburgh, 1976), 228. "Returns of the daily Issues of Provisions to the Troops at
the Post of Wyoming, from May 9th. to the [27th]" 1779, Misc. Numbered Records,
Natl. Archives, reel 75, item no. 22023 (Document courtesy of Thaddeus Weaver).
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. "Nathaniel
Nason's Book" (Continental Army 1781-1782 / Massachusetts Line, First Regiment /
Returns of Clothing Camp Equipage and Provisions ... kept by Nathaniel Nason,
Lieutenant and Quartermaster / Col. Joseph Vose's Regiment) (Manuscript), donated
in 1930 to the Sons of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C., present location of
document unknown. Photocopy courtesy of Henry M. Cooke IV of Randolph,
Massachusetts. Forty-three provision returns for "Col. Voses Regiment L[igh]t
Infantry" cover the period from February 22, 1781 to July 3, 1781 (women are listed
on eighteen of the returns). During this period Vose's Light Infantry Regiment
consisted of eight companies and went from a high of 433 enlisted men to a low, at one
point, of 314. Return of the number of Women and Children in the several regiments
and Corps stationed at, and in the vicinity of West Point and New Windsor, that drew
Rations under the late Regulation, shewing also the Number of Rations allowed for
Women and Children by the present system," 24 January 1783, Revolutionary War
Rolls, Natl. Archives, reel 136, 259-260. Blumenthal, Women Camp Followers, 41, 51.
Kopperman, "British High Command and Soldiers' Wives," 22-23

6. "In Convention for the State of Pennsylvania Friday August 9, 1776 The Ration for
each man, as copied from the Minutes of the Honourable the Continental Congress
...," Peter Force, American Archives, series 5, vol. I (Washington, D.C., 1837-1853),
865. Provision and regimental strength returns of Jackson's 9th Massachusetts
Regiment, Henry Jackson Papers, 1772-1782, Library of Congress, microfilm edition,
no. 17,359, vol. 4, 379-443. For a detailed discussion of soldiers food see, "`To the
hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.: Soldiers' Food and Cooking in the War for
Independence

"The manner of messing and living together": Continental Army Mess Groups
Who shall have this?: Food Distribution
"A hard game ...": Continental Army Cooks
On with Kittle, to make some hasty Pudding : How a "Continental Devil" Broke His Fast
1. The Army Ration and Cooking Methods.
2. Eating Utensils.
3. The Morning Meal.
4. Other Likely Breakfast Fare.
Addenda
The men were very industrious, in baking, all the forepart of the evening.: Soldiers Ingenuity,
Regimental Bakers, and the Issue of Raw Flour
The Commissary [is] desired to furnish biscuit and salt provisions :
Hard Bread in the War for Independence.
"The victuals became putrid by sweat & heat ...": Some Peripheral Aspects of Feeding an Army
1. The Ways Soldiers Carried Food
2. The Burden of Rations, 1762-1783
3. Carrying Drink and Procuring Water
4. Equipment Shortages
5. Spoilage of Issued Meats
"We had our cooking utensils ... to carry in our hands.": Continental Army Cooking and Eating Gear,
and Camp Kitchens, 1775-1782
Endnotes:
#50. Compendium of Ration Allotments, 1754-1782
Continental Army rations (summary)
British Army rations (summary)
Caloric Requirements and Intake
#73. Miscellaneous returns of cooking gear and eating utensils, 1778-1781
(Appended) List of authors articles on food in the armies of the American Revolution

http://www.scribd.com/doc/129368664/To-the-hungry-soul-every-bitter-thing-issweet-Soldiers-Food-and-Cooking-in-the-War-for-Independence

7. General orders, 5 July 1777, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 8 (1933), 350-351.

8. General orders, 8 February 1778, 29 January 1778, George Weedon, Valley Forge
Orderly Book of General George Weedon of the Continental Army under Command of
Genl. George Washington, in the Campaign of 1777-8 (New York, N.Y., 1971), 224-225,
216-217. For a detailed examination of provisions 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). Columns include, "Sometimes we drew two days rations
at a time.: The Soldiers' Daily Issue, (FHN, vol. VII, no. 3, Winter 1995); "Drew 2
pound of Shugar and 1 pound of Coffee: Extraordinary Foodstuffs Issued the
Troops, (FHN, vol. VIII, no. 1, Summer 1996); "Complaint has been made by many
of the Inhabitants: Soldiers' Efforts to Supplement the Ration Issue (FHN, vol. VIII,
no. 2, Fall 1996); "Our pie-loving ... stomachs ... ache to even look.: Durable Foods

for Armies, 1775-1865 (FHN, vol. IX, no. 4, Spring 1998); "Tell them never to throw
away their ... haversacks or canteens: Finding Water and Carrying Food During the
War for Independence and the American Civil War (FHN, vol. X, no. 1 (37)); "The
victuals became putrid by sweat & heat: Equipment Shortages, the Burden of
Rations and Spoilage During the War for Independence and the War Between the
States (FHN, vol. X, no. 2 (38)). For information and back issues contact Food
History News at 1061 Main Rd., Islesboro, ME 04848 or email at
www.foodhistorynews.com.
9. General orders, 4 June 1777, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 8 (1933), 181. Washington to the
Superintendent of Finance, 29 January 1783, ibid., vol. 26 (1938), 78-79.
10. Mark E. Lender and James Kirby Martin, eds., Citizen-Soldier; The Revolutionary
War Journal of Joseph Bloomfield (Newark, N.J. 1982) 87. H.A. Mayer, Belonging to the
Army: Camp followers and the Military Community during the American Revolution,
PH.D. dissertation, College of William and Mary, 1990, 193-194. Provision and
regimental strength returns of Jackson's 9th Massachusetts Regiment, Henry Jackson
Papers, no. 17,359, vol. 4, 379-443.
11. Lender and Martin, Citizen-Soldier, 87. At the time of the return Bloomfield's
company was stationed at German Flats in the Mohawk Valley of New York state.
John C. Dann, The Revolution Remembered - Eyewitness Accounts of the War for
Independence (Chicago, Il., 1980), 243-246. 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. Dann, The Revolution Remembered, 243-246. John C. Dann, ed., The
Nagle Journal - A Diary of the Life of Jacob Nagle, Sailor, from the Year 1775 to 1841
(New York, 1988), 6-7.
12. For details on Continental Army mess groups see, "`To the hungry soul every bitter
thing is sweet.: Soldiers' Food and Cooking in the War for Independence
http://www.scribd.com/doc/129368664/To-the-hungry-soul-every-bitter-thing-issweet-Soldiers-Food-and-Cooking-in-the-War-for-Independence

Division orders, 17 August 1777, Joseph Brown Turner, ed., The Journal and Order
Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Line
(New York, 1970), 147. John W. Jordan, Orderly-Book of the Pennsylvania State
Regiment of Foot, May 10 to August 16, 1777, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History
and Biography, vol. XXII (1898), 5. The number of men assigned to a tent was usually
set at six though at times there were exceptions to this rule. "The Brigadier Genls. are
requested to get a Return of the actual Strength of each Regt. in their Respective
Brigades & also the Number of Tents drawn for the use of the Regts. ... The Quarter
Master Genl. is to proportion the Tents to the Strength of Regts. One Tent to each
five Privates ...," General orders, 24 May 1777, Order book of Col. Daniel Morgan's
11th Virginia Regiment, New Jersey, May 15 - June 9, 1777, Early American Orderly
Books, 1748-1817, Collections of the New-York Historical Society, microfilm edition,
(Woodbridge, N.J., 1977), reel 4, item 45. In order to lessen the baggage of the army
in the autumn of 1777 one tent was alloted to every eight non-commissioned
officers, musicians or privates, General orders, 13 September 1777, Fitzpatrick,
WGW, vol. 9 (1933), 213. The proportion of tents was standardized for the army in

1779 allowing one tent for every six non-commissioned officers, musicians or
privates, General orders, 27 May 1779, ibid., vol. 15 (1936), 162-163. "A Mess Roll of
Captn. Ross's Compy," 1777, Revolutionary War Rolls, Natl. Archives, reel 62, section
44-2. Muster rolls for Captain John Ross's company, 3rd New Jersey Regiment, May
and October 1777, ibid., section 44-1. A comparison of these two rolls indicates that
the date of the mess squad listing is June of 1777. During this month the 3rd New
Jersey was attached to the main army and posted near the Short Hills in northern New
Jersey. Muster rolls of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment, ibid., reels 62, 63 and 63. One
instance of the varying numbers of men per company within an individual regiment
comes from the 3rd New Jersey for June of 1777. The numbers are as follows: Ross's
Company, 49 enlisted men; Dickerson's Co., 65; Flanigan's Co., 42; Gifford's Co., 32;
Hagan's Co., 20; and Patterson's Co., 33. The full strength of a company of foot in 1777
was eighty-six enlisted men. Robert K. Wright, Jr., The Continental Army (Washington,
D.C., 1984), 47.
14. Joseph Brown Turner, ed., The Journal and Order Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood
of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Line (Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat
Press, 1970), 86-87, 94, 124-125, 146-147, 171.
15. John Joseph Henry, An Accurate and Interesting Account of the Hardships and
Sufferings of That Band of Heroes Who Traversed the Wilderness in the Campaign
Against Quebec in 1775 (Lancaster: Printed by William Greer, 1812), 65-66.
16. Ibid., 198.
17. General orders, 23 August 1779, Orderly book of Col. Oliver Spencer's Regt., 27
July 1779 - 28 September 1779, Early American Orderly Books, NYHS, reel 9, item
93, 86-87. John Sullivan to Israel Shreve, 24 August 1779, Otis G. Hammond, ed.,
Letters and Papers of Major-General John Sullivan Continental Army, vol. III (Concord,
N.H., 1939), 101-103. See also, "A Return of the Women & Children Left in Charge of
Baggage, Necessary to wash for Genl Clintons Brigade", probably August 1779, Israel
Shreve Papers, Rutgers University, Alexander Library, manuscript no. 287.
18. Washington to William Livingston, 1 August 1780, and General orders, 1 August
1780, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 19 (1937), 292, 300. Washington to Elias Dayton, 16
February 1781, ibid., vol 21 (1937), 233. Lafayette to the Chevalier de La Luzerne,
19 February 1781, Stanley J. Idzerda, ed., Lafayette in the Age of the American
Revolution - Selected Letters and Papers, 1776-1790, vol. III (Ithaca, N.Y., 1980),
330-333. Benjamin Gilbert to his father, 15 March 1781, from Annapolis, Maryland,
John Shy, ed., Winding Down - The Revolutionary War Letters of Lieutenant Benjamin
Gilbert of Massachusetts, 1780-1783 (Ann Arbor, Mi., 1989), 39-40. Lafayette to
Nathanael Greene, 17 April 1781, Idzerda, Lafayette, vol. IV (1981), leaving behind
soldiers wives, 37-40. Washington to William Livingston, 1 August 1780,
Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 19 (1937), 292. General orders, 1 August 1780, ibid., 300.
Forty-three provision returns for "Col. Voses Regiment L[igh]t Infantry" serving
with Lafayette in Virginia. The returns cover the period from 22 February 1781 to 3
July 1781 (women are listed on eighteen of the returns), "Nathaniel Nason's Book,"
Henry Cooke/SAR.
19. General orders, 22 August 1781, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 23 (1937), 37-38. Of
course, the 3 percent (or more) proportion is valid only for troops in settled
situations or normal campaign conditions. Some marching forces were ordered to

travel light, divesting themselves of unnecessary equipage, and female followers

strongly discouraged from attending them; thus a proportion of 1 to 1.5% would not
be unreasonable. Some units are exceptions to the basic 3% average, for which see:
"`The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of Female Camp
Followers with the Continental Army":
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" - Colonel Henry Jackson's Regimental
Provision Returns
1783: "The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed ..."

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)).
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/wnumb1.htm
"`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
20. General orders, 27 August 1777, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 9 (1933), 139. General
orders, 19 September 1780, ibid., vol. 20 (1937), 73. Dann, The Revolution
Remembered, 243-246.
21. "Revolutionary Services of Captain John Markland,", Pennsylvania Magazine of
History and Biography, vol. 9 (1885), 105 Dann, The Nagle Journal, 6-7. General orders,
10 and 13 September 1777, Washington to the President of Congress, 11 September
1777, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 9 (1933), 200, 208, 213. General orders, 10 July 1777,
ibid., vol. 8 (1933), 375. Kenneth Roberts, March to Quebec - Journals of the Members of
Arnold's Expedition (Portland, Me., 1980), 337, 338, 483, 495, 556, 683. Mayer,
Belonging to the Army, 199.
22. Ambrose Collins narrative, A.G. Hibbard, History of the Town of Goshen,
Connecticut (Hartford, 1897), 142-149.
23. Thomas Anburey, Travels Through the Interior Parts of America (New York: New
York Times & Arno Press, 1969), 10 November 1777 letter, vol. I, 436-437; 20
November 1777 letter, vol. II, 14.

A. An Estimate of Females with Continental Army Units

on the March to Yorktown, 1781
(Note: The following material on Continental Army female followers in the 1781
Yorktown Campaign is included in, Robert A. Selig, Washington-Rochambeau
Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail: Feasibility Study Executive Summary
Draft, August 2002 (copy, authors collection)):
Bases for Estimating American Followers on the Yorktown March.
1. The New Jersey regiments did have women with them, but one account states that
most of the women, children, and invalid soldiers had been sent to garrison
Wyoming, Pennsylvania in January 1781. How may actually went is not known, but
this may have been another factor in reducing numbers of Jersey followers on the
march to Yorktown.
Too, some Jersey female followers may already have been in Virginia with the Jersey
light troops under Lafayette. Supporting this contention is the fact that while women
did not originally accompany Lafayettes detachment (it was originally thought only to
be a brief expedition), several women attached to the soldiers of Voses Light battalion
(left behind when their men marched south in February), did in fact make their way to
Virginia in May and June of 1781. Further evidence of how determined (and
recalcitrant) camp women could be.
2. Hazens Canadian (Congresss Own) Regiment may have had a larger proportion of
women and children because of their refugee status. General Washington stated that
New York companies raised on Long and Manhattan Islands had more followers
because they, too, were cut off from their homes.
3. Artillery units generally seem to have had a larger proportion of women and
children than infantry regiments. I have actually taken the percentage of women to
men seen in the 1783 return (7.9%) rather than the larger 8.9 percent in 1781 New
Windsor return.
4. Scammells light troops would have had fewer women than line battalions, due to
the nature of their role. Still, some women must have accompanied that organization.
5. The single return available for Washingtons Life Guard shows a proportion of
women higher than 3 percent. The same seems to hold true for the Corps of Sappers
and Miners.
6. While no strength could be found for the detachment of Artificers, they, too, likely
had a higher proportion of women. Like Washingtons Guard, the artillery, and the
Sappers and Miners, the artificers normal circumstances were more or less stationary
and more conducive to the presence of wives and children. Of course, it could be
argued that as artificers were not combat soldiers, and often civilian employees, it is
doubtful their wives could have been induced to go campaigning. I still allowed them 2
women, if only as cooks.
Based on these proportions and variables, estimates are as follows:
Continental Army units, New Jersey to Yorktown March, August to October 1781
Regiments:
1st New Jersey -----]
]--- combined into one regiment
2nd New Jersey ----] 600 rank and file (3%; 18 women)
1st New York
325 rank and file ( ; 10 women)

2nd New York

350

( ; 10 women)
st
1 Rhode Island
450

( ; 13 women)
Hazens Canadian
200

( ; 6 women)
Lambs Artillery
225

(7.9%; 18 women)
Composite Organization:
Scammells Light Infantry 256 rank and file; 2 NH companies, 3 Mass. Companies,
3 Ct. companies. 26 Sept. 1781, Lesser, Sinews of Independence, 208.
(3%, 8 women)
Miscellaneous:
Commander in Chiefs Guard 69 rank and file (June 1781 return; 5 women)
Corps of Sappers and Miners 50

( ; 2 women)
Artificers
(strength unknown; estimate 2 women)
Delaware Recruits
60

no women calculated
(Joined at Christina Bridge) (10 old soldiers and 75 recruits; numbers courtesy of
Robert Selig)
TOTAL: 2525 rank and file (not including artificers and Delaware recruits)
Calculated female followers on Yorktown march:
Combined New Jersey Regiment, 6 women (1% of strength)
1st New York, 5 (1.5%)
2nd New York, 5 (1.5%)
st
1 Rhode Island, 7 (1.5%)
Hazens Regiment, 4
(2%)
Lambs Artillery, 9
(4%)
Scammells Light Battalion, 4
(1.5%)
Washingtons Life Guard, 3
(based on June 1781 return)
Corps of Sappers and Miners, 1
(
)
Artificers, 2
estimate
In optimal (garrison) conditions, female followers @ 3% of rank and file strength*,
92 female followers.
Campaign conditions, female followers @ 1.5 % of rank and file strength*, 46 women
Campaign conditions, female followers @ 1 % of rank and file strength*, 31 women
(* Note: As discussed above, several units have a still higher proportion of women
allowed them.)
Conclusion:
A high of 46 women marching with Washingtons troops would not be an
unreasonable figure. A low-end number of 30 to 35 female followers would also be
possible. Given the lack of data, I would conservatively place numbers as likely
between 35 to 45 females.

B. Mess Roll of Capt. John Rosss Company, 3d New Jersey Regiment

This document, dated June 1777, is significant in that it reveals the inclusion of females
along with enlisted men in the mess squads of an individual company.
"A Mess Roll of Captn. Ross's Compy," 3rd New Jersey Regiment
(A listing of mess squads for June 1777)
1st
2nd
George Grant, sgt.
Samuel Johnson, cpl.
William Andrews, cpl.
Margaret Johnson
George Leadbetter [captured 9/11/77]
Jonathan Emmons
Jacob [Likens?]
Edward Howell
Daniel Danaly
3rd
Jonathan McCully
Vincent Bishop
Francis Carbury
Jonathan Williamson
Simon Boney

4th
Abraham Peterson
Aaron Deacon
Daniel Ellis
Thomas Holland
Thomas Morris
Benjamin Norcross, drummer

5th
Emmanuel Evans
Elizabeth Evans
Edward Brady
Joseph Johnson
Patrick Ryan

6th
Thomas Dixon [deserted August 1777]
Jonathan Howard
Martin Wholahan [deserted 7/1/77]
Abel Addams
James Milsop
Paul Brewer

7th
Henry Burgher
James Deharmond
William Smith [captured 9/11/77]
Levi Johnson
Henry Flitcraft [deserted 9/1/77]
William [?]

8th
William Gibson, sgt.
James Shea, cpl.
Thomas Gibson
Henry Quigg [killed 10/4/77]
James Morris

9th
John Roy [died 8/31/77]
John Walter
Jonathan Freeman
Frederick Campbell
John Higgins
Peter [Bruchaw?]

10
Capt. Ross
Ensign Kersey
John Guy
Joseph Hunter
William Lyons
John Higgins

49 enlisted men and 2 women (1 woman for 24 men)

Most of the squads listed contained five or six people. These numbers coincide with
common usage during the war, which was a standard complement of six men per mess,
though this number was sometimes increased to as many as twelve. The use and size of

mess squads was related to the number of men (and also, it seems, women) assigned to each
tent. In the Continental Army throughout the war the optimum number of occupants for
each common soldier's tent was six, with occasional exceptions due to a shortage of tents or
a desire to minimize the baggage carried by the army. In June 1776 Captain Joseph
Bloomfield's company, 3rd New Jersey Regiment, had one tent allotted to shelter six
enlisted men while General John Sullivan's division orders of 17 August 1777 not only
stipulated the same number of enlisted men per tent but allotted one tent for every six
"Waggoners [or] weomen" as well. It is probable that, due to the exigencies of army life, the
women included with the two mess squads in Ross's company in June 1777 shared a tent
with the men of their squad.
"A Mess Roll of Captn. Ross's Compy", 1777, Revolutionary War Rolls, reel 62, section
44-2. Muster rolls for Captain John Ross's company, 3rd New Jersey Regiment, May and
October 1777, ibid., section 44-1. A comparison of these two rolls indicates that the date
of the mess squad listing is June of 1777. During this month the 3rd New Jersey was
attached to the main army and posted near the Short Hills in northern New Jersey. Muster
rolls of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment, ibid., reels 62, 63 and 63. One instance of the varying
numbers of men per company within an individual regiment comes from the 3rd New Jersey
for June of 1777. The numbers are as follows: Ross's Company, 49 enlisted men;
Dickerson's Co., 65; Flanigan's Co., 42; Gifford's Co., 32; Hagan's Co., 20; and Patterson's
Co., 33. The full strength of a company of foot in 1777 was eighty-six enlisted men. Robert
K. Wright, Jr., The Continental Army (Washington, D.C., 1984), 47.

C. Tent Assignments in Lt. Col. John Wrottesleys (3d) Company, 1st Battalion,
Brigade of (British) Guards
(Note: The document this was taken from also included assignments to mess group;
while the women were included in the tents with the men, none of the women were
given a mess assignment. Possibly they messed together in their own ad hoc mess.
Company
(1776-1777)
Lt. Col. Sir John Wrottesleys (3rd) Company, 1st Battalion, Brigade of Guards
Capt. John Thomas DeBurgh
Ensign Thomas Glyn
4 officers servants
Common Tents
No.
1 4 sergeants, 1 private
2 4 corporals, 2 drummers
3 6 privates
4 6 privates
5 6 privates
6 1 bat man, 5 privates
7 6 privates
8 - 6 privates
9 6 privates
11 5 privates
12 5 privates, Mrs. Briar (Pvt. David Briar)
13 6 privates
14 5 privates, Mrs. Williams (Pvt. Jno. Williams)
15 6 privates
16 5 privates, Mrs. Foster (Pvt. William Foster)
17 6 privates
18 5 privates, Mrs. Prigg ((Pvt. Stephen Prigg)
19 3 bat men, 1 private, Mrs. Dowdsworth (Pvt. Thomas Dowdsworth)
4 sergeants, 4 corporals, 2 drummers, 4 bat men (to care for pack horses and lading), 86
privates, 4 women (100 enlisted men, 4 women)
Compiled by Linnea M. Bass, with assistance from William P. Tatum, Feb. 2002, from
information in "Receipt Books and Guards Orderly Book," Newbold Irvine Papers - 4th
Floor - Box; Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
__________________

British camp follower. (Courtesy of Carmen Marusich

and the 40th Foot, 2d Battalion Light Infantry.)

British Army orders regarding female followers, summer 1777:

Head Qrs: N:York 3rd: June 77 Orders A Royal Salute of 21 Guns will be Fried: to
morrow at 1 Oclock in Honour of His Majesty's Birth day by the Garrison - Four Women
Pr: Compy: of Companys of 50 & 8 Women Pr: Compy: of Companeys of 100 are Allowed
to Embark with their Respective Regiments and to be Victualiid According to the Former
Regulations the Remainder of the Women and Children of their Corps will be sent to
N:York where Aproportion of Provisions & Qrs: or Old Camp Equipage will be provided
them
After Orders Half past 12 [Middlebush, New Jersey, June 16, 1777] All Women & Children
now with the Army are Immediately to be sent back to Brownswick, where Qrs: and the usal
Quantity of provisions will be Allowed them, they will have an Oppertunity of going under
the Escort from Middlebush this Evening at 7 Oclock... It is further Added that no woman or
child do stay in camp nor follow the Army
Head Qrs.. Near Elks Ferry [Head of the Chesapeake, Maryland] 26th: Augt. 77 ... One
Woman pr: Company is permitd to Land - Companys of 100 Establishment are allowed
two...
British Order Book [40th Regiment of Foot] April 20, 1777 to August 28, 1777, George
Washington Papers, Series 6B, Vol. 1, Reel 117. (Available online at "`Necessarys to be
Properley Packd: & Slung in their Blanketts: Selected Transcriptions 40th Regiment of
Foot Order Book, http://revwar75.com/library/rees/40th.htm
D. Period Images of Army Followers or Poor to Middling Female Civilians

The Market Girl (1776-1777), Henry Walton

(Yale Museum of British Art)

Artwork by Paul Sandby

"A Country Woman," artist unknown

(Yale Center for British Art)

A Soldiers Wife Begging (1764), Daniel Chodowiecki

(Artist unknown)

Early nineteenth century image of loyalist Rose Fortune. Ms. Fortune was
approximately ten years old when she was evacuated from the American
colonies to Nova Scotia. Over time, she established herself as a baggage carrier
at the Annapolis wharf, and meeting the boats that were traveling from Boston
and Saint John. Included as it is one of two remaining pictures of Black
Loyalists. (Courtesy of Todd Braisted)

Detail from "A Perspective View of an Encampment," Bowles & Carver, 1780.
(Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection Brown University) (Courtesy of Camp
Followers of the British Army https://www.facebook.com/Campfollowers

From Paul Dickfoss: Notice the black silk cloak! New York Gazette, 4 January 1773
`Run away . . . a Negro Wench . . . late the property of William Smith, Esq; She had on
when she went away . . . black silk cloak, and a black peelong bonnet.; New York
Gazetter, 18 November 1773 `Run away . . . a negro wench . . . before she went off she
took away . . . two black silk cloaks and hats; Pennsylvania Gazette, 9 August 1775
`Run away . . . an Irish servant girl . . . Had on, and took with her . . . an old black silk
cloak" "Run away . . . an Irish servant woman . . . had on . . . a black silk cloak, and a
black silk hat."

While painted some ten years before the American War for Independence, this rare
realistic period portrayal of a British Army female follower nicely personifies the
many women who served. Edward Penny, R.A. (1714-1791), An Officer Giving Alms
to a Sick Soldier (circa 1765, oil on canvas). The painting depicts an officer of the 3rd
Irish Horse (now the Scots Dragoons Guards) extending charity to an infantryman
and his family. It is a variant of the Marquis of Granby relieving a sick soldier, which
was exhibited by Penny at the Society of Artists in 1765 and which was presented to
the Bodleian by the artist in 1787. The 3rd Irish Horse fought under Granby at the
battle of Warburg in 1760 during the Seven Years War, and it is probable that this
painting may have been commissioned from the artist at the same date.

British Infantrymen in an Encampment, c. 1760 (English School)

Acc. No. 2001-12-35-1, National Army Museum, London

The Encampment on Black-Heath, 1780, Paul Sandby.

The Encampment on Blackheath, 1780, Paul Sandby

"A Military Encampment in Hyde Park", 1785, James Malton

(Yale Center for British Art)

"Camp In The Green Park,"1780, Edward Eyre. Main military camp in the
background. The women appear to be using the ruins of an ancient building as
support for their laundry kettles.

The Laundress, 1780, Paul Sandby

E. Modern Representations of Women Attached to the Armies

Female followers of Dunlap's Partizan Corps about to ford Brandywine Creek.

(Picquet post event, Brandywine State Park, 2010, Augusta County Militia and
friends.)

Followers of Capt. Jacob Bowers company, 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, during a halt on
a march. Welbourne Picquet Post tactical, October 2012.

Men and women cooking at an earthen kitchen. Note the kitchen flies
(canvas shelters) in the background, which were not in fact used by armies of
the American Revolution. (Battle of Brandywine event, Brandywine State
Park, 2010.)

Followers of the Grenadiers of Virginia making oyster stew. Battle of the Hook, 18-20
October 2013, Gloucester Point, Virginia.

(Photo courtesy of McAlpins Corps.)

(Photo courtesy of McAlpins Corps.)

Loyalist woman ready for a march, as portrayed by Larissa Sasgen.

Over one shoulder she carries a rolled blanket, on the other a market wallet.
(Photo courtesy of McAlpins Corps.)

(Courtesy of the 40th Foot, 2d Battalion Light Infantry.)

(Above and below) A "Bed Post Doll", excavated from a British military site in Lower
Manhattan. "This doll was not the only toy found at the Telco site. Salvagers also
picked up a hand-made whizzer and earthenware marbles. A whizzer is a metal disk
with two holes and a serrated edge used by children to produce a buzzing sound
when spun on thread. All of this material was found in the gray clay level which
contained material dating to the Revolutionary War period. This gray clay preserved
wood, leather, and bone items and produced a few Georgian coins and buttons of the
57th British Regiment as well."
The article contains some historical good references but also some of the beliefs
current at the date when the article was written.
Cohn, Michael; "Evidence of Children at Revolutionary War Sites". In "Northeast
Historical Archaeology". Volume 12 Issue 1 1983. Article 8. Symposium on
Archaeology of the Revolutionary War Period Held at New Windsor Cantonment State
Historic Site, New Windsor, New York. 1983.
http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1296&context=
neha

Artwork by Don Troiani

F. Online Articles Pertaining to Female Camp Followers and Related Subjects

During the War for American Independence
"`The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of Female Camp Followers
with the Continental Army":
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" - Colonel Henry Jackson's Regimental
Provision Returns
1783: "The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed ..."

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)).
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/wnumb1.htm

"`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-Insightson-Clothing-Worn-by-Female-Followers-of-the-Armies-During-the-AmericanWar-for
Remember[ing] the Ladies: Margaret Johnson and Elizabeth Evans, Women of the
New Jersey Brigade http://www.scribd.com/doc/235418684/Remember-ing-theLadies-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

Related issues:
(A marching army)
Reach Coryels ferry. Encamp on the Pennsylvania side.: The March from Valley Forge
to Monmouth Courthouse, 18 to 28 June 1778
http://www.scribd.com/doc/133301501/Reach-Coryels-ferry-Encamp-on-the-Pennsylvaniaside--The-March-from-Valley-Forge-to-Monmouth-Courthouse-18-to-28-June-1778
Endnotes:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/133293312/Endnotes-Reach-Coryels-ferry-Encamp-on-thePennsylvania-side--The-March-from-Valley-Forge-to-Monmouth-Courthouse-18-to-28June-1778
Contents
1. We struck our tents and loaded our baggage.: Leaving Valley Forge
2. Progress, June 18, 1778.
3. Progress, June 19, 1778.
4. Crost the dilliware pushed on about 5 milds : June 20, 1778: Progress and a River Crossing
5. 4 Wagons & Horses, and 1000 Men at a Try.: The Mechanics of Ferrying an Army
6. Halt on the first strong ground after passing the Delaware ...: June 20th River Crossing
7. The number of boats will render the passage of the troops very expeditious.:
June 21st Ferry Operation
8. The Troops are passing the River and are mostly over.: June 22d Crossing
9. The Army will march off : June 22d and 23d, Camp at Amwell Meeting
10. Just after we halted we sent out a large detachment : Camp and Council: Hopewell
Township, 23 to 24 June
11. Giving the Enemy a stroke is a very desireable event : Advancing to Englishtown,
24 to 28 June
a. Progress, June 25, 1778.
b. Progress, June 26, 1778.
c. Progress, June 27, 1778.
d. Forward to Battle, June 28, 1778.
12. Our advanced Corps took post in the evening on the Monmouth Road :
Movements of Continental Detachments Followng the British, 24 to 28 June 1778
a. The Advance Force: Scotts, Waynes, Lafayettes, and Lees Detachments.
b. Daily Movements of Detachments Later Incorporated into Lees Advanced Corps.
13. Echoes of 1778, Three Years After.
Addendum
1. Driving Directions, Continental Army Route from Valley Forge to Englishtown
2. Day by Day Recap of Route
3. The Road to Hopewell.
4. The Bungtown Road Controversy.
5. Weather During the Monmouth Campaign
6. Selected Accounts of the March from Valley Forge to Englishtown
a. Fifteen-year-old Sally Wister
b. Surgeon Samuel Adams, 3rd Continental Artillery
c. Henry Dearborn, lt. colonel, 3rd New Hampshire Regiment
d. Captain Paul Brigham, 8th Connecticut Regiment
e. Sergeant Ebenezer Wild, 1st Massachusetts Regiment
f. Sgt. Jeremiah Greenman, 2d Rhode Island Regiment
g. Dr. James McHenry, assistant secretary to General Washington
7. List of Related works by the author on military material culture and the
Continental Army
Endnotes contain:
1. Army General and Brigade Orders, June 1778.
a. Orders Regulating the Army on the March from Valley Forge.

b. Orders Issued During the Movement from Valley Forge to Englishtown.

2. Division and Brigade Composition for Washingtons Main Army to 22 June 1778
3. Washingtons army vehicle allotment for the march to Coryells Ferry,
4. Wheeled Transportation (a primer on the vehicles and artillery on the road to
Monmouth, including twenty-one illustrations)
5. Division and Brigade Composition for Washingtons Main Army after 22 June 1778

(Food)

"`To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.: Soldiers' Food and Cooking in the War
for Independence
"The manner of messing and living together": Continental Army Mess Groups
Who shall have this?: Food Distribution
"A hard game ...": Continental Army Cooks
On with Kittle, to make some hasty Pudding : How a "Continental Devil" Broke His Fast
1. The Army Ration and Cooking Methods.
2. Eating Utensils.
3. The Morning Meal.
4. Other Likely Breakfast Fare.
Addenda
The men were very industrious, in baking, all the forepart of the evening.: Soldiers Ingenuity,
Regimental Bakers, and the Issue of Raw Flour
The Commissary [is] desired to furnish biscuit and salt provisions :
Hard Bread in the War for Independence.
"The victuals became putrid by sweat & heat ...": Some Peripheral Aspects of Feeding an Army
1. The Ways Soldiers Carried Food
2. The Burden of Rations, 1762-1783
3. Carrying Drink and Procuring Water
4. Equipment Shortages
5. Spoilage of Issued Meats
"We had our cooking utensils ... to carry in our hands.": Continental Army Cooking and Eating Gear,
and Camp Kitchens, 1775-1782
Endnotes:
#50. Compendium of Ration Allotments, 1754-1782
Continental Army rations (summary)
British Army rations (summary)
Caloric Requirements and Intake
#73. Miscellaneous returns of cooking gear and eating utensils, 1778-1781
(Appended) List of authors articles on food in the armies of the American Revolution
http://www.scribd.com/doc/129368664/To-the-hungry-soul-every-bitter-thing-is-sweet-SoldiersFood-and-Cooking-in-the-War-for-Independence

(Cooking utensils)
"`To subsist an Army well ...': Soldiers' Cooking Equipment, Provisions, and Food
Preparation During the American War for Independence:
"All the tin Camp-kettles they can procure ...: Iron Pots, Pans, and LightWeight Military Kettles, 1759-1782
Subheadings:
Tin Kettles, 1759-1771
British Kettles in the American War, 1776-1781
Continental Army and States Militia, 1775-1780
American Sheet Iron Kettles, 1781-1782
Officers Cooking Equipment
Kettle Covers
The extreme suffering of the army for want of kettles :
Continental Soldiers and Kettle Shortages in 1782
A disgusting incumbrance to the troops :
Linen Bags and Carts for Carrying Kettles
The Kettles to be made as formerly
Kettle Capacity and Weight, and Archaeological Finds
Subheadings:
Kettle Capacity and Sizes, 1759-1782
Louisbourg Kettle, Cape Breton Island
Fort Ligonier (Buckets or Kettles?)
Rogers Island (Bucket or Kettle?)
1812 Kettles, Fort Meigs, Ohio
Overview of Cooking Equipment, 1775-1783
Addendum to online version:
Two brass kettles, to contain ten gallons each for each company
Brass and Copper Kettles

Military Collector & Historian, vol. 53, no. 1 (Spring 2001), 7-23.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/180835470/To-subsist-an-Army-well-Soldiers-CookingEquipment-Provisions-and-Food-Preparation-During-the-American-War-forIndependence

(Earthen kitchens)
"`As many fireplaces as you have tents ...': Earthen Camp Kitchens:
Contents
Part I. "Cooking Excavations": Their History and Use by Soldiers in North America
A. Advantages.
B. Digging a Field Kitchen.
Part II. Complete 1762 Kitchen Description and Winter Covering for Field Kitchens
Part III. Matt and I Dig a Kitchen.
Sequenced photos of kitchen construction, June 1997, Bordentown, New Jersey.
Part IV. Original Earthen Kitchens Examined by Archaeologists.
A. The Laughanstown, Ireland Earthen Kitchen.
B. The Gloucester Point (VIMS) Kitchen, 1781.
Appendices:
1. British Image of Cooking Excavations (Redcoat Images No. 2,000)
2. Newspaper Article on the Discovery of the Gloucester Point Kitchen
3. Miscellaneous Images of Earthen Camp Kitchens and Soldiers Cooking

http://www.scribd.com/doc/229610630/As-many-fireplaces-as-you-have-tentsEarthen-Camp-Kitchens
(Blankets)
"`White Wollen,' 'Striped Indian Blankets,' 'Rugs and Coverlids': The Variety of
Continental Army Blankets," The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 4 (Winter 2000), 1114. http://www.revwar75.com/library/rees/variety.htm
(Equipment)
Resource File: Examples of Continental Army Camp Equipage and Vehicle Returns,
1775-1781 (John U. Rees) http://www.scribd.com/doc/223095304/Resource-FileExamples-of-Continental-Army-Camp-Equipage-and-Vehicle-Returns-1776-1781John-U-Rees
G. Other Authors Monographs
(Women Following the Army)
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-theAmerican-Revolution-%E2%80%9D-The-New-England-Quarterly-vol-XX-no-3September-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-theHessian-Auxiliaries-during-the-American-Revolutionary-War-%E2%80%9D-TheBrigade-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%9CWomenwith-the-Hessian-Auxiliaries-during-the-American-Revolutionary-War-%E2%80%9DThe-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%9CWomenwith-Hessian-Military-Units%E2%80%9D-being-a-compendium-of-women-identified-ashaving-followed-German-corps-during-the-Amer

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-Commandand-Soldiers-Wives-In-America-1755-1783-Journal-of-the-Society-for-Army-HistoricalResearch-no-60

Don N, Hagist, Women on Burgoynes Campaign, The Brigade Dispatch, vol.

XXX, no. 4 (Winter 2000), 18-20
http://www.scribd.com/doc/213934713/Don-N-Hagist-%E2%80%9CWomen-onBurgoyne%E2%80%99s-Campaign-%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade-Dispatch-vol-XXX-no-4Winter-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 womans 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 womans experiences, from a
primary source).
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214783573/Mrs-Middleton-and-Mary-Driskill-the-Experiencesof-Two-Women-with-British-Regiments-Don-N-Hagist-%E2%80%9CMrs-MiddletonTakes-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), 2123.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214790248/Apparel-Worn-by-and-Goods-Issued-toFemale-Followers-of-American-Troops-Don-N-Hagist-She-was-very-fond-ofsoldiers-The-Brigade-Dispatch-vol-XXI
French Troops and Female Followers
Ren 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-ReneChartrand-%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-LoyalistRegiments-Part-1-Todd-W-Braisted-Refugees-Others-Loyalist-Families-in-the-AmericanWar-for-Independence

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-LoyalistRegiments-Part-2-Todd-W-Braisted-Refugees-Others-Loyalist-Families-in-the-AmericanWar-for-Independence