Chapter II

FOOD AND CLOTHING

If the problem of housing was a serious one and one which caused a great amount of suffering the question of food was even more serious. The theory of getting the food for the soldiers was all very simple, but not so simple in practice. According to theory the various colonies were apportioned the amount they were to supply and were to deliver their portion to the camp which might be designated by the commander-in-chief. The lack of authority of congress which played havoc so many times with the smooth running of affairs also played havoc in the commissary department.

The apportionment plan was carried out to some extent, but of course was not to be depended upon for often the colonies got the supplies to camp, but more often they did not. The amount to be supplied was divided up among the inhabitants of the states, in the case of meat some giving one hundred and fifty pounds and others one hundred and eighty pounds according to their ability. The other supplies were divided up in the same way. When a given community was ready to send their supply some of the farmers would take the job of driving the cattle to the camp, receiving about a dollar a day and expenses while they were traveling.[37]

A Frenchman who traveled in America during the revolutionary period told of his experience when he tried to get a room in an inn, which was filled with farmers on their way to camp with a herd of cattle. In that particular group there were thirteen men and two hundred and fifty cattle.

July 19, 1775, Joseph Trumbell was made commissary general of stores and provisions[38] by the continental congress. November 4, of the same year the following resolution was made in congress in regard to the rations of the private soldier. "Resolved, that: A ration consist of the following kind and quantity of provisions viz.:

1 lb. of beef, or ¾ lb. pork or 1 lb. salt fish, per day.

1 lb. bread or flour per day.

3 pints of pease or beans per week, or vegetables equivalent, at one dollar per bushel for pease or beans.

1 pint of milk per man per day or at the rate of 1/72 of a dollar.

1 half pint of rice, or 1 pint of indian meal per man per week.

1 quart of spruce beer or cider per man per day, or nine gallons of molasses per company of 100 men per week.

3 lb. candles to 100 men per week for guards.

24 lb. of soft or 8 lb. of hard soap for 100 men per week."[39]

The rations mentioned in orderly books or journals were the same as the above except that butter was added in some cases and a pint of rum was allowed on the day a man was on fatigue duty or on special occasions,[40] but in the large the rations given at the beginning of the war by congress were followed whenever there were supplies enough to admit of any definite plan being followed. The officers received rations according to their rank.[41]

Thus would have ended the story of the revolutionary soldiers food if the theory had been practicable, but as it was not, there is a different story to tell. The conditions on the march to Quebec with Arnold were almost unendurable. The march was only started when the soldiers were put on short rations receiving three-fourths of a pound of meat and bread instead of a whole pound,[42] and as they proceeded the conditions only grew worse until when they were not yet nearing their destination the last of the flour was divided. There were just seven pints for each man. That amount was to last seven days, thus each man had a pint a day to live on and that had to be divided into a gill for breakfast, half a pint for dinner and the remaining gill for supper. It was mixed with clear water with no salt and laid on the coals to heat a little and then was nibbled as the soldiers marched on or else it was boiled like starch and eaten in that fashion.[43] It happened sometimes that some soldier had the good fortune to kill a partridge, much to his joy, for that meant soup could be made.[44] The condition only grew worse instead of better and all the food was gone, the next move was to kill the dogs which were in camp[45] even the legs and claws were boiled for soup. When the situation had become so acute that the soldiers had given up their moose skin moccasins to boil in an attempt to get a little nourishment,[46] a moose was killed, a halt was called and soup was made for the hungry soldiers of the entire animal, hoofs, horns and all.[47]

If we follow the division of the army which was sent against the Indians in Sullivan's expedition in 1779, the conditions will be found to be somewhat different for that march was made during the summer and fall rather than fall and winter as the march to Quebec had been, and besides the western campaign was into a country which abounded in beans, peas, corn, cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes, and watermelons.[48]

The soldiers were short on rations[49] and out of bread, but it was not felt so keenly because of the substitutes they could get.[50] The main object of the expedition was to devastate the Indian's land and one duty was to destroy or take all the food which came in their way. When the soldiers came to a field of corn, their first duty was to feast on it and then destroy all they could not use or carry away with them.[51] If the corn was in a condition for roasting, they did that or made succatash; if it was too hard for roasting they converted some old tin kettles found in the Indian villages into large graters by punching holes in the bottom. Then one of the military duties of the soldiers was to grate the corn into a coarse meal which was mixed with boiled pumpkins or squash and kneaded into cakes and baked on the coals[52] and even that coarse food was relished by the men when fatigued after a long march.

This rather amusing entry, yet terrible if true, is found in one diary of the expedition "July 7—I eat part of a fryed Rattle Snake to day which would have tasted very well had it not been snake".[53]

The conditions in the camp were somewhat different than those on the march for in camp what the rations were depended on the amount of supplies. If they were plentiful, full rations could be drawn by each soldier, but when they were scarce each soldier had to take less. The time and place of drawing supplies seemed to vary with circumstances, and no definite plan was followed.

It is a mistake to think that the soldier of the American Revolution was always suffering for the want of food. The picture drawn for us most often is that of the distressing conditions. There was a brighter side, although it is true that the soldier suffered many times. When the camps were situated in or near an agricultural community the farmers swarmed to camp with their produce charging exorbitant prices, but if the soldier had any money he was usually willing to buy. In the course of eight days the caterer of a single mess purchased three barrels of cider, seven bushels of chestnuts, four of apples, at twelve shillings a bushel, and a wild turkey[54] which weighed over seventeen pounds.

In winter when there was no produce to be brought in and no way of securing provisions the story was not so bright. The conditions at Valley Forge are quite well known. How the rations were cut down until it was "Fire cakes and Water" for breakfast, and water and fire cakes for dinner[55] or how the soldiers ate every kind of horse feed but hay[56], and often they were without meat for eight or ten days[57] and longer without vegetables.

Supplies were gathered from every conceivable source, sometimes cows were part of the supply company, taken along for the purpose of supplying milk. One man writes in his diary his appreciation of a cow which supplied them milk on the march with Sullivan's expedition.[58]

The methods used at that time for cooking seem very simple and inefficient now. Huge bake ovens were built in the camp and whenever there was flour to use, bakers baked the bread for the camp.[59] The quality of the bread furnished in that way was certainly not beyond reproach for often it was sour and unwholesome.[60]

There were huts built for kitchens, one for each company and there the soldiers took turns cooking for their company[61] or else each soldier cooked his own food over an open fire. At times the fuel became so scarce that the fences[62] around the camp were torn down and burned, and after that the food had to be eaten raw because of the lack of fuel.[63] If there was material to be used for fuel and other supplies some distance from the camp, it was no uncommon sight to see soldiers yoked together acting the part of horses[64] in order to get the supplies to camp.

Today, this question of food for the revolutionary soldier, in the light of present day events, looks rather inefficient and unscientific.

When there was plenty the soldiers feasted, when food was scarce they fasted, but it must be remembered that there was no dependable supply, no directing force, and no distributing agency, and beside those hindrances there were no ways of preserving food as there are today.

A naked or half clothed army did not make a very imposing looking force, even if they did have a place to live and something to eat. They had to have something to wear if they were to meet the enemy on the field. Steuben wrote "The description of the dress is most easily given. The men were literally naked some of them in the fullest extent of the word. The officers who had coats had them of every color and make. I saw officers at a grand parade at Valley Forge mounting Guard in a sort of dressing gown made of an old blanket or woolen bed cover".[65] This description, no doubt was appropriate for part of the army, part of the time, but not for all the army all the time.

The troops as they were assembled at Boston did present a peculiar picture, each person wearing the costume best suited to his individual notion of a suitable uniform, with a tendency toward frill, ruffles, and feathers, each thinking that the gorgeousness added to the dignity and effectiveness of the whole. Some were in citizens clothes, some in the hunting shirt of the back-woodsman, and some even in the blanket of the Indian, for, it was the notion of some, that riflemen should ape the manners of the savage.[66]

Washington took the matter into consideration and wrote congress "I find the Army in general and the Troops raised in Massachusetts in particular very deficient in necessary clothing upon Inquiry there appears no probability of obtaining any supplies in this quarter and the best consideration of this matter I am able to form I am of the opinion that a number of hunting shirts not less than ten thousand would in a great Degree remove this difficulty in the cheapest and quickest manner I know nothing in a Speculative view more trivial yet if put in practice would have a happier Tendency to unite the men and abolish those provincial Distractions which lead to jealousy and dissatisfaction".[67]

He suggested the hunting shirt because it was cheap and "besides it is a dress justly supposed to carry no small terror to the enemy who think every such person a complete marksman".[68]

It was decided that the hunting shirt should be used and also that the continental government should supply the clothing and then ten per cent of each man's wages should be withheld each month.[69] The quartermaster general had charge of the clothing supply and at regular intervals he was supposed to distribute clothing to the soldier, but the supply varied to such an extent that no regular plan could be followed.

The following was considered an ordinary man's outfit for a year:

Two linen hunting shirts, Two pairs of overalls, A leathern or woolen waist coat with sleeves, A pair of breeches, A hat or leathern cap, Two shirts, Two pair of hose, Two pair of shoes.[70]

The whole was to amount to about twenty dollars.

The soldier was considered in full uniform when he appeared on parade with "a clean shirt, leggings or stockings, hair combed, shirt collar buttoned with stock. Hunting shirt, well put on hat".[71]

Since the material for the hunting shirts was difficult to get, the officers as well as the men were to dye their shirts in a uniform manner.[72]

The different ranks of a soldier were shown by the hunting shirt. A captain's was short and fringed, the private's short and plain, the sergeant's was to have a small white cuff and be plain, and the drummer's was to have a dark cuff. Both officers and soldiers were to have hats cut round and bound with black, the brims of the hats were to be two inches deep and cocked on one side with a button and a loop, and a cockade which was to be worn on the left side. There was also a distinction made by the wearing of a certain colored cockade in the hat. The field officers were red or pink, the captain yellow or buff, and the subaltern green.[73]

The material for the soldier's clothing was supplied by the various colonies. The following resolution is typical of numerous ones passed by the different colonies. "That a quanity of home made cloth or other if that can't be obtained as far as may be of a brown or cloth colour, sufficient for three thousand coats and the same number of waist coats and as many blankets as can be obtained in the colony 3000 felt hats, cloth of check Flannel or some linen if that can't be obtained sufficient for six thousand shirts and also six thousand pairs of shoes"[74] or as in Massachusetts a committee was appointed to collect four thousand pairs of stockings.

The material after being collected was made up by regimental tailors, the commanding officer was to make a report as to the number of tailors employed in the regiment and also whether there were not more tailors in the regiment than were employed in making clothing.[75]

The women at home aided very materially in the clothing problem by their spinning, knitting and collecting of linen.[76] When persons called on Mrs. Washington, whether she was at home or in camp, they usually found her knitting and she had sixteen spinning wheels running at one time.[77] Other women all over the country followed her example.

Instances, almost without number, are mentioned in diaries and journals of the nakedness of the army, some without shoes, with only pieces of blankets wrapped around their feet,[78] thousands without blankets,[79] others with their shirts in strings,[80] and added to all that the paymaster without a dollar and the quartermaster in almost the same situation.[81]

Even the soldiers had to suffer from the want of clothing yet they were able to see the funny side of the situation. The story is told in one diary of a party that was given by an officer for which invitations were extended to all, the only restriction being that no one with a whole pair of breeches could be admitted.[82]

[Footnote 37: Chastellux, _Travels in America_, p. 58.]

[Footnote 38: _Journals of Congress_, Vol. II, p. 190.]

[Footnote 39: _Journals of Congress_, Vol. III, p. 322.]

[Footnote 40: See, Lyman, _Journal_, App. and Thacher, _Military Journal_, p. 62.]

[Footnote 41: See, Thacher, _Military Journal_, p. 62.]

[Footnote 42: Meigs, _Journal_, (Oct. 15, 1775) p. 233.]

[Footnote 43: Thayer, _Journal_, (Oct. 28, 1775) p. 12.]

[Footnote 44: Ibid.]

[Footnote 45: Headley, _Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution_, p. 100, and Thayer, _Journal_, Nov. 1, 1775.]

[Footnote 46: Thayer, _Journal_, (Nov. 1, 1775) p. 14.]

[Footnote 47: Headley, _Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution_, p. 100.]

[Footnote 48: Barton, _Journal_, (Aug. 27, 1779) p. 7; Burrows, _Journal_, (Aug. 27, 1779) p. 43.]

[Footnote 49: Burrows, _Journal_, (Aug. 30, 1779) p. 44; Hubley, _Journal_, (Oct. 1, 1779), p. 166.]

[Footnote 50: Barton, _Journal_, (Aug. 27, 1779), p. 7.]

[Footnote 51: Burrows, _Journal_, (Aug. 27, 1779) p. 43; Fogg, _Journal_ (Aug. 29, 1779) p. 94.]

[Footnote 52: Davis, _Journal_, Hist. Mag. Ser. 2, Vol. III, p. 203.]

[Footnote 53: Dearborn, _Journal_, (July 7, 1779) p. 74.]

[Footnote 54: Trevelyan, _American Revolution_, Vol. I, p. 327.]

[Footnote 55: Waldo, _Journal_ (Dec. 21, 1777) p. 132.]

[Footnote 56: Thacher, _Military Journal_, p. 180.]

[Footnote 57: Ibid., p. 80.]

[Footnote 58: Hubley, _Journal_, (Oct. 1, 1779) p. 166.]

[Footnote 59: Roger, _Journal_, (June 24, 1779) p. 248.]

[Footnote 60: Coits, _Orderly Book_, (July 7, 1770) p. 36.]

[Footnote 61: Lyman, _Journal_, (Nov. 21) p. 127, and (Dec. 3, 1775) p. 131.]

[Footnote 62: Greene, _Life of Greene_, Vol. I, p. 141.]

[Footnote 63: Greene, _Life of Greene_, Vol. I, p. 141.]

[Footnote 64: Lossing, _Life of Washington_, Vol. VI, p. 572.]

[Footnote 65: Kapp, _Life of Steuben_, pp. 116-117.]

[Footnote 66: Henry, _Journal_, in Penn. Ar. Ser. 2, Vol. XV, p. 59.]

[Footnote 67: Ford, _Washington Writings_, Vol. III, p. 13.]

[Footnote 68: Ibid.]

[Footnote 69: Ibid. and "Uniforms of the American Army" in _Mag. of Am. Hist._, Vol. I, p. 476.]

[Footnote 70: Elbert, _Orderly Book_, p. 7.]

[Footnote 71: Lewis, _Orderly Book_, (Aug. 18, 1776), p. 77.]

[Footnote 72: Lewis, _Orderly Book_, (April 3, 1776), p. 13.]

[Footnote 73: Lewis, _Orderly Book_, (April 3, 1776), p. 13.]

[Footnote 74: Elbert, _Orderly Book_, (Mar. 16, 1708) p. 8.]

[Footnote 75: _American Archives_, Ser. 5, Vol. I., pp. 302, 456.]

[Footnote 76: Thacher, _Military Journal_, p. 234.]

[Footnote 77: Humphreys, _Catherine Schuyler_, p. 171.]

[Footnote 78: Shreve, _Journal_, Am. Hist., Mag. Vol. III, p. 568.]

[Footnote 79: Thacher, _Journal_, May 26, 1775.]

[Footnote 80: Waldo, _Diary_, (Dec. 14, 1777) p. 130.]

[Footnote 81: Ford, _Washington Writings_, Vol. III, p. 146.]

[Footnote 82: Kapp, _Life of Steuben_, p. 119.]