“With my pack and large blanket at my back …”

British and American Officers’ Equipage and Campaign Gear

John U. Rees
(Note: The material below is a preview of a work-in-progress.)

See also: "’The load a soldier generally carries during a campaign …”’: The British Soldier's
Burden in the American War for Independence”
https://www.scribd.com/document/335479170/The-load-a-soldier-generally-carries-during-a-
campaign-The-British-Soldier-s-Burden-in-the-American-War-for-Independence
_____________________________

Captain, 5th Massachusetts Regiment, 1777

Artwork by Don Troiani (Courtesy of the artist, www.historicalimagebank.com)
 Contents
1. “Things necessary for a Gentleman to be furnished with …”
Officers’ Kit for Regimental Service
a. British Officers’ Belongings
b. Continental Army Officers’ Kit.
c. Cooking and Eating Utensils.
2. "The officers must be satisfied walking …”: Allotment of Horses
3. Officers and Knapsacks: A Compendium of Accounts and Images
a. 1762, British Grenadiers
b. 1771, 7th Regiment
c. Undated, Brigade of Guards
d. August 1776, Gen. Sir William Howe’s troops
e. 1776, Brigade of Guards
f. 1777, 40th Regiment, Personal Effects and Blanket Slings
g. 1777, 49th Regiment, Personal Effects and Blanket Slings
h. 1778, Guards Battalion
4. Other Resources (Online Articles)
Appendix A.
Officers and Knapsacks: A Compendium of Accounts and Images
a. Knapsack: Rufus Lincoln, Massachusetts militia and 14 th Massachusetts
b. 1775, British, 43d Regiment, officer’s knapsack
c. 1776, 17th Regiment, Officer’s Rolled Blanket (“Pedlar's Pack “) and
Personal Belongings
d. 1776, Continental, 22d Continental Regiment, knapsack and belongings
e. 1777, Massachusetts Militia officer carrying a knapsack
f. 1777, British, 42d Regiment, portmanteau, no knapsack
g. 1777, British 49th Regiment, officers’ blanket slings
h. 1777, Continental Officers’ Knapsack Contents Described by a German Officer
i. 1777, British Officers, Saratoga Campaign, Knapsacks and Packhorses
j. 1779, British, 43d Regiment, officer’s marquee and possibly officer’s knapsack
k. 1781, British, Cornwallis’s Southern Army, officers and knapsacks
l. 1782, Continental, 2d Maryland Regiment, lieutenant colonel wearing a knapsack.
m. 1782, Continental Army, New Jersey Regiments, officers issued canteens
but not knapsacks
Appendix B.
Miscellaneous Narratives on Officers’ Belongings and Campaign Living
a. 1776, British, Suggested Officers’ Campaign Equipage
b. 1776, British, 5th Regiment, campaign camp and food
c. 1776, Continental, 3d Virginia officer’s chest
d. 1776, Continental, Gen. Thomas Mifflin’s blanket coat and Colonel Lippitt’s andirons
e. 1776/1777, Militia, 1st Battalion Philadelphia Associators, Deceased Officer’s Belongings
f. 1776/1777, British, 33d Regiment, Officer’s Necessaries
g. 1777, British, 40th Regiment, Reduction of Officers’ Baggage
h. 1777, British, 24th Regiment and 24th Regiment, Saratoga Campaign
i. 1777, British, 46th Regiment, Officer’s Field Equipage
j. 1777, Continental, 7th Pennsylvania Regiment, Officer’s Belongings
k. 1777-1778, Continental, Rev. Enos Hitchcock’s personal belongings
l. 1777 and 1782, British and Continental, a bed made of chairs or stools (In honor of Joshua Mason)
m. 1778, Continental Officers and Horse Canteens
n. 1778, British, 42d Regiment, campaign living
o. 1780, German, Jaeger Camp Description
p. 1781, Continental Maryland Regiments, Officers’ Portmanteaus
q. 1781, French Officer’s Remarks on Continental Officers’ Life Style
r. 1781, Continental, 3d Maryland Regiment, Officer’s Greatcoat and wearing red coats
Appendix C. Continental Army Officers and “superfluous baggage”
 ______________________________________

Description of a British camp in Virginia: “June 8. [1781] On the 5th the Enemy [i.e., Maj. Gen.
Charles Earl Cornwallis’s army] decamped from Mrs. Nicholas’s & took the road leading to
Goochland Court House [Virginia] … The day after the Enemy left Mrs. Nicholas’s I went over to
her house where I saw the devastation caused by the Enemy’s encamping there … all round the
house. The fences pulled down & much of them burnt; Many cattle, hogs, sheep & poultry of all sorts
killed; 150 barrels of corn eat up or wasted; & the offal of the cattle &c. with dead horses & pieces of
flesh all in a putrefying state scattered over the plantation … There was not one Tent in the British
army, all of them lying under temporary sheds or arbours, made with the boughs of Trees, fence rails
&c. even officers of the highest rank, for … only Lord Cornwallis & his aids staid in the House.”1

Ensign Ephraim Kirby, Olney’s Rhode Island Battalion, to Ruth Marvin, 18 October 1782:
“Camp Var-Planks Point, October 18, 1782 My Dear Ruthy, I am in a tent, destitute of any fire,
(except a little at some distance where my servant cooks my victuals) and a violent cold northeast storm
of rain, (which has raged two days and nights) beats about my ears, & still appears to encrease. Am so
chill’d with cold … that I now write you with my gloves on.”2
____________________________________

Officers’ Campaign Clothing and Equipment. The plight of the Revolutionary common soldier is
well known, with poor or difficult living conditions in camp and on campaign. Revolutionary
officers, with more privileges and sometimes additional resources, did all they could to make their
own lot as comfortable as possible. In a winter cantonment, fortified post, or settled camp all
manner of furniture was procured and made use of, but campaign living was quite different. When
armies needed to move quickly, of necessity both officers and common soldiers had to divest
themselves of all but the most requisite equipment. The general orders, letters, and returns below
will give an overview of the problems experienced by the armies as they balanced the need for
mobility against the desire for creature comforts.

“Things necessary for a Gentleman to be furnished with …”

Officers’ Kit for Regimental Service

Each regimental officer needed his own complement of clothing, bedding, and other equipment
for general service and personal comfort. Given that British, Loyalist, and Continental officers
shared military customs and read the same treatises, their equipment standards were also similar.
British Officers’ Belongings. One pre-war example is Capt. Simeon Ecuyer’s equipage, used by
him when he commanded Fort Pitt during Pontiac’s Rebellion in 1760. Here is the captain’s list:3
My camp desk with papers and writing materials
My chest of clothes and weapons.
My comfortable, folding camp chair.
My folding iron campaign bed like that of Frederick, the great King of Prussia.
Six lanthorns and many candles - see to it.
One Dozen best English, woollen blankets.
The charcoal foot warmer left by Gen. Stanwix - and the charcoal
The leather chests and portmanteaus containing the valet supplies and toilet contraptions
One small arms chest with ammunitions and necessities for the up keep of the pistols and muskets.
One chest for Indian corn for the horses.
One chest upon a chest to sit at the front of the wagon.
Two hamumucks or hanging beds, after the manner of sleeping picked up by the 42nd Regiment in the
West Indies.
Rye straw deep and as many buffalo robes as you can come by.
a pot of tar and a brush for repairing the tarpaulin.
Neats-foot oil for the saddle, harnesses and boots.
While most of these items were certainly more suited to garrison living, the roster includes
several items not seen in other lists of Revolutionary officers’ belongings; among the notable
items are a “comfortable, folding camp chair,” “Two hamumucks or hanging beds” (whose
origin is attributed to the 42nd Regiment), and “pot of tar and a brush” for repairing a wagon or
packhorse cover; all practical items, quite useful for campaigning, if and when baggage was
nearby.
Another list enumerating campaign equipage dates from December 1758. This was the close
of the year when Colonel George Washington, commanding a Virginia regiment, took part in
Brigadier General John Forbes’ expedition against the French at Fort Duquesne, in western
Pennsylvania.4
Decr. 12th. 1758
One Marke & Tent Table (Iron Screw to Do Missing) 4 Camp Stools Bedstead, 2
Mattrases, 4 Blankets, 6 Pack Saddles (one of Which Miles Carrys with him) 2
Oyl Cloths, 2 Candle Sticks 1 Pr. Snuffers, 1 Pr. Curtins, 1 Bottle Oyl 5
Cups & Six Saucers (some of which have peaces broke out of them) 2 Tumblers,
1 Do. Broke, 3 Table Cloths, 2 Pr. Sheets, 1 Box of Candles, 1 Curry Comb &
Brush, 1 Pr. Saddle Bags, 3 horse Beels (one of Which is at Winchester) 1
Cag of Wine, 13 Plates 1 Bason, 1 Blanket Coat, 4 Wanteys, Hors Shoes &
Nails, 2 Boxes, 2 Pr. Legings 1 Copper kettle (the Cover missing Miles says
it is at Winchest. 1 Tin Quart Mug, 1 Tea Kettle, 1 Small Tent 1 Tomehock 2
Delph Bowls 7 Knives 9 Forks -- Part of a Bottle of Musterd -- some Spices,
2 Pewter much bent Dishes, 7 Table Spoons, 3 Tea Do. 2 Pieses of Supe [possibly pocket or portable soup]
3 Neats Tongs [smoked or salted beef tongue] --
... I have Recd. the before Mentiond things (except such as is excepted in the
Memorandom) I say Recd. Pr. Me ... Christopher Hardwick" [According to one source Hardwick was
plantation manager at Mount Vernon.]

What was considered a complete and proper outfit for an officer, and how did it compare with
what individuals actually purchased for service? The best templates are found in Thomas Simes’
works Military Medley (first edition, 1768) and Military Guide for Young Officers, (first edition,
1772):
Things necessary for a Gentleman to be furnished with, upon obtaining his first Commission in the
Infantry.
A Full suit of cloths; 2 frock suits; 2 hats; 2 cockades; 1 pair of leather gloves; sash, and gorget; fuzee, or
espontoon; sword, sword-knot and belt; 2 pair of white spatterdashes (if in the foot-guards); 1 pair of black
[gaiters], and tops; 1 pair of short [gaiters]; 1 pair of garters; 1 pair of boots, (all regimentals); a case of
pistols; a blue surtout coat; a Portugal cloak; 6 white waistcoats, 12 white and 2 black stocks; 18 pair of
stockings; 10 handkerchiefs; 1 pair of leather breeches; 6 pair of shoes; 24 shirts; 8 towels; 3 pair of sheets;
3 pillow cases; 6 linen night caps, and 2 yarn; a field bedstead, and a painted canvas bag to hold it; bed-
curtains, quilt, three blankets, bolster, pillow, 1 mattrass, and a pailace. * Those articles should be carried in
a leather valise; a travelling letter-case, to contain pens, ink, paper, wax, and wafers; a case of instruments
for drawing, and Muller’s Works on Fortification, etc. It is also essential that he should have a watch, that
he may mark the hour exactly when he sends any report, or what he may have discovered that is of
consequence.
[* “a sack or mattress of stout material filled with straw and serving as an under-bed; a straw mattress.”] 5

Furthermore, “if he is to provide a tent, the ornaments must be uniform, according to the
facing of his corps,” and sized as follows:
 Common Dimensions of the Tent, for a Captain or Subaltern. 6
Ft. Ins.
Length of the ridge pole 7 0
Height of the standard pole 8 0
Length from the front to rear of the marquee
between the half walls 14 0
Breadth of the marquee between the half walls 10 6
Height of the half walls of the marquee 4 0

In the event, British officers serving in the field during the War for Independence usually made
do with common soldiers’ tents at the best of times, and, more often, brush huts (wigwams)
when baggage was absent.7
After receiving his ensign’s commission in the 10th Regiment late in 1770, the following
spring Jeremy Lister told his father of his purchases. They included gloves, two hats, one
regimental, an ink stand, sealing wax and paper, a black neck cloth, two buttons and a stock buckle,
six pairs of shoes and a pair of boots, watch and seal, pocket glass, scissors, an army list, shaving utensils,
curling irons, puff, powder bag and powder, six cotton night caps, a sash, a breast buckle, and a pair of spurs.8
And that was not all:

The bills which I have collected here which is to pay is a Gun, which is about 4 Guineas, a Sword about as
much, Pouch, Powder Horn and net about 22 or 23 Shillings, a Camp Bedstead and Bedding, Shirts, 2 dozen
Stocks, one dozen Towels, one dozen Handkerchiefs, a dozen Neck cloths, 2 sheets, 3 pairs Trunks, 2 Hats (one
Regimental and one round), one Clothes Brush, Shoe Brushes, 4 cakes of Blacking, box of Shaving Soap and a
Glass, Pomatum Powder, Neck and Hair Ribbon, this week’s Washing, Tailor’s bill, 2 suits of Regimentals, 1
of blue, 1 of brown, which is 4 suits, 2 Waistcoats and Breeches for one of the Regimentals, 2 linen Waistcoats
and a silk Waistcoat to make up, a Blue Top coat, a Hat box to fasten upon a trunk to travel with, £20 I must
pay for my passage, a Boot jack.9

Lister also noted,

as to my clothing I have got a good stock, but not without Colonel Fawcett’s and the Captain of the ship’s
advice, as everything of that kind will be very dear in America … I had in my pocket when I got to Town, four
guineas, received of my Agent the 26th of February £10, and the £30 you sent me, in all £44 4s. I have now
about three guineas and a half.10

Additional purchases and expenses were enumerated in a 13 April 1771 letter to his father,

As my intended journey is postponed till next Wednesday, therefore take this opportunity of acquainting you
that the linen which I have got comes to near £30. The bed and inveliece [valise] to put it in comes to about
£17. Hats £2.16.6d. Washing, brushes, soap, boxes and little odd things which I mentioned in my particulars of
in my last, £2.11.0. What the trunks and hat boxes will be I cannot tell.11

In August 1775 American forces captured the British store-ship Hope; among the goods on
board was baggage belonging to several Crown officers. The belongings of two of those men
consisted almost wholly of items particularly suited to military service, as follows:
 William Stapleton, [surgeon’s mate] 22d Regiment:
One large Chest, containing 1 Field Bedstead, Matress, a suit of curtains, 1 pair Blankets, bolster & pillow.
One Trunk – 1 Bed-quilt, 8 pr. Shoes, 1 case Instruments, 18 Shirts, 11 Stocks, 1 scarlet Coat; Coat,
Westcoat & Breeches, Cloth colour; 2 Westcoats & 2 pr. Breeches of Buff Cassimer; 1 Coat, 2 Jackets & 1
pr. Breeches, of Black Cloth; 1 Coat & Westcoat, Claret colour; 1 Jacket & 1 pr. Breeches, Buff Cassimer,
with lining, not made up; 6 pr. Brown hemp Stockings, 10 pr. white thread Stockings, 2 pr. yarn Stockings,
5 pr. silk Stockings, 2 pr. sheets, 2 pillow cases, 1 embroider’d Silk Westcoat, 1 Table Cloth, 1 Towel, 2
Night Caps, 2 papers of Coat & West[coat] Buttons, 2 pr. worked Ruffles, 2 worked Chitterlings, * 1 pr.
Ruffles, 1 Chitterling, (old), 2 old Muslin Handkerchiefs, 1 pr. linen Drawers, 5 bound books, 1 pamphlet
and 1 Memorandum Book ...

[Ensign] George Cleghorn, 22d Regiment….

One trunk, containing 1 case Instruments, part of a sword belt, old black Cravat, 1 small box with powder
& puff, 1 shoe horn, 1 cork screw, tweezers, 1 black lead pencil, 1 penknife, 1 brass lock for saddle bags,
Silver Hat loop, Buff ball & Chalk, 1 old Ruffle … 8 Shirts, 8 pr. thread & three pr. worsted stockings, 1
pr. yarn, do., 6 Towels, 6 pillow cases … 1 old ragged shirt, 1 pr. casimer Breeches, 1 casimer Wastecoat, 1
superfine scarlet Cloth Coat … 1 canvass Portmanteau, containing 3 Blankets, 1 Coverlid, Matress, 1
curtain for a field bed, 1 bolster and pillow; one box painted red, containing 1 field Bedstead … 1 pair foils,
1 horse whip, 6 pr. Shoes …
[* “a frill, ruff, or ornamental pleating; esp. the frill down the breast of a shirt.”] 12

In the above we have many interesting items, several of which to be remarked upon. Both
soldiers had cases of instruments; Surgeon’s Mate Stapleton’s surely medical instruments, while
Ensign Cleghorn’s were possibly for drawing (as per Simes’ recommendation). Both had field
bedsteads and associated coverings, and both beds were packed in a chest or box. Mr. Stapleton
seems to have had a deeper pocketbook or at least finer aspirations, with his silk waistcoat,
chitterlings, eighteen shirts, and surfeit of other clothing, and the ensign looks to have been the
stereotypically underfunded junior officer. And, there various small things not often mentioned;
a shoe horn, cork screw, tweezers, pencil, and penknife.
Other events brought to light officers’ belongings:
Camp on the Heights of Charlestown
10th Sepr 1775.
The effects of Lt. [Richard Harpur] Higgins [died of wounds incurred at the Breed’s Hill battle, 24 June]
and Ens. Greene [David Gramme, died of wounds on 4 July] late of the 52d Regiment to be Sold at Vandue
tomorrow Morning at 10 oClock at sd Regiments Mess Room at Charlestown, Among which are the
following Articles, Vizt A Watch - a Steel and Silver mounted Sword, a Case of Silver mounted Pistols - 2
Sashes - a flute - 2 new mattrasses, Blankets, Sheets and Cot - a piece of Silk for a Waistcoat and Breeches
- 2 new plain Hats and 2 laced - Some White Manchester Cotton for Breeches, Shirts, Stockings, Books -
Boots - Spurs &c &c &c. 13

None of these accounts, excepting Simes, mention tenting, but two 1776 documents, one for
troops preparing for America and the other for the 4th Grenadier Battalion, already in New York,
do so. First, written on the back of an undated list of goods intended for the Guards battalions:
Col [Edward] Mathew of the Detachment of Guards
1 Field Off Tent & Markey Lined Green Tamy *
1 Fly & Tent for his Servt.
Common Size
1 [tent and marquee?] Capt [Edmond] Stevens Lined with Tamy
1 Tent & Fly for Servt
[Brigadier General Mathew was commander of the Guards detachment sent to America, and Captain
Stevens was Brigade Major.]
[* tammy, “a fine worsted cloth of good quality, often with a glazed finish.”] 14
And, a 17 September memorandum included in the diary of 42nd Regiment Grenadier Captain
John Peebles, “Lost a Vallice containing a Round Tent & Markee & Bag containg two camp
chairs a bag containg a Camp Table all of them markd Capt Cavendish Lister of the Guards
whoever has them to give Notice at Genl Mathews Qrs.” The undated reference mentions a
marquee and “Common Size” tents, the latter likely common soldiers’ tents, covered with a tent
fly to shelter the officers’ servants. The September 1776 document includes both a marquee and
round tent. An example of the latter type can be seen in the background of Joseph Blackburns’
1776-77 portrait of Guards Captain Thomas Dowdeswell.15
Lieutenant and Captain Thomas Dowdeswell, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, ca.1778
by Joseph Blackburn (ca.1700-1780), Photo courtesy of the Guards Museum, London.
This very important portrait shows an officer of a battalion company of the Brigade of Guards
wearing modified American service campaign dress, as ordered in 1776 by Guards commander,
Brigadier-General Edward Mathew. As a battalion company officer, Dowdeswell was depicted
with the fusil, bayonet, and cartridge pouch which he used in America. Note his lack of sword and his
fusil's wooden rammer. (Commentary courtesy of Eric Schnitzer.)
 In 1777 Ens. Daniel Gwynne, 9th regiment of Foot, was preparing to take ship for
America. In March he wrote his uncle in London, enclosing several bills for clothing and
equipment:16
To Nickson & Gwynne
Cash paid for Captn Daniel

March 1 To John Hume a Set of Accoutremts — as p bill £ 1 . 7 . 6

To Jas Bryant1 for Trunks. . . as p bill 17. 6 . 6
To Robert Wagdon,2 a Fusee & Bayinet as p bill 4 . 4. —
To Chipchase & Lambert3 Tent bed & beddg as p bill 12.10. —
Padlocks for Trunks &c . . . . . 6 .—
Pewter Spoons, Combs & Pamatum . . . . 5 .—
Nicoll & Miller, Regimental Hats. . . as p bill 4 . 2 .—
Duncan & Pugh Hose &c. . . . as p bill 9 . 9 . 6
Making 2pr Sheets & Pillow cases . . . . 2.6
Ruffling & Shirts—————————————————— 6 .—
£ 49 . 19 .—

March 3d 24 Yards Sheetg for 2 pr Sheets & pillow Cases 16 1 .12.—

2 Yards fine Lawn for Ruffles for 8 Shirts 9/ .18
To Cash p his Note. . . . . 40.—.—
£ 92 . 9 . 0
Notes by Eric Schnitzer
1. According to his trade label, James Bryant was located at the sign of the Trunk and Bucket in Cheapside,
London. He made and sold trunks, leather buckets, and other leather goods.
2. Although famed gunsmith Robert Wogdon of Charing Cross, London, was a well-known pistol maker,
he is known to have produced private longarms, as demonstrated in this receipt.
3. Chipchase & Lambert operated out of London’s Warwick Street, selling bedsteads, beds, and bedding
needs. According to this inventory, they were also able to supply an officer’s tentage.

Ensign Gwynne also left an inventory of goods “In two trunks viz”:17
1 Regt Coat
3 Waistcoats
3 Pr Breeches
3 Pr Drawers
18 Pr Thd Stockings
16 Pr Worsted Do
6 Pr Silk Do
4 Night Caps
13 Handkerchiefs
1 Pillow Case
2 Towels 2 Stocks
1 Pr Sheets 3 balls worsted
18 Shirts 12 Pr Shoes
8 Ps Nankien
2 Ps Flannel
2 Hatts 1 ps Linen
2 Pr Ruffles
 Ens. William Johnson provides perhaps the best single accounting of a British officer’s actual
belongings in America. Johnson, of the 29th Regiment, served under Maj. Gen John Burgoyne
during the 1777 Saratoga Campaign, and compiled two lists, one of his total gear and the second
“an Account of my Campaign Things.” Here is the first accounting:18
A List of my Cloaths & Necessarys in General

Coats 1 pair of short leather gaiters 2 pair of silk

a laced uniform 1 pair of long leather gaiters gloves, 1 pair
a plain frock with tops of thread Ditto
a plain brown frock 2 pair leather dit.
a lapelled frock Arms
a brown wide coat a silver regimental sword a razor strap &
a grey surtout a tom[m]y hawke, a case of razor, lathering
small pocket pistols box & brush, a tooth
Britches 3 sword belts brush a powderbag
a brown cloath britches puf & 3 combs
a yellow Stuff Britches 5 white cloathe waistcoats
3 pair of white cloath britches 1 brown waistcoat 3 pair of white plain
14 ruffled shirts silk stockings
Drawers 2 plain night Do 1 pair of white ribed
4 pair of inside Drawers 5 towels, 4 linnen rock spun silk
3 pair of blue check Trowzers pocket handkerchiefs 1 plain pair do
2 pair of white linen Trowzers 2 cotton Do 2 pair of white
one white & a black silk thread stockings
a laced uniform hat handkerchief 2 pair of grey Do
1 plain uniform hat 2 cloaths brushes 1 pair of coloured
1 straw hat silk stockings
a sash & gorget
1 pair of plain boots 2 landoes [bandoes?] 3 head worsted
1 pair of turned wth tops cloaths, 2 wollen 5 pair of stockings
night caps, 1 cotton a fur cap
3 pair of strong shoes night cap, 6 fine a double barrel’d gun
1 pair of pumps cambrick stocks a blanket coat
3 muslin stocks 1 flannel waistcoat
2 black silk stocks

paper pens, wax a black Silk stock

& a paper book, a memo a black S—handkerchief
random book a looking
glass. A gaiter key

Ensign Johnson’s regiment was not with Burgoyne’s army as it moved south, but Johnson was
a volunteer officer with the Canada Indian Department, and, as such, serve under Burgoyne
during the Saratoga campaign. Here are the belongings he took with him:

paper pens, wax a black Silk stock

& a paper book, a memo a black S-- handkerchief
random book, a looking
glass, A gaiter key
an Account of my Campaign things
a plain Regimental frock, 3 white cloath waistcoats, A pair of Regtl cloath Britches, 2 linen
Britches, 1 linnen waistcoat, a yellow britches, a brown lapelled Coat, 6 fine shirts, 2 plain coarse
 whites [shirts?], a fur cap, a plain regimental Hat, a Straw bonnet, a pair of boots, 2 pair of strong
shoes, a pair of mocasins, 3 pair of blue check trowzers, a sash, a double barrel Gun, a Carbine, a
Case of Small pistols, razor, shaving box & strap, knife & fork, 4 pair thread stockings, 2 pair
silk, 2 pair of worsted, 2 pair of silk gloves, 1 leather pair, 1 flannell waistcoat, 3 camp stools, a
bear skin, a matrass, 2 over & an under Blankett, a blanket Coat, a brow wide Coat, A pair short
leather Gaiters, a pewter bason, 2 towells, a flannell knight cap, a cotton cap, 2 bandoes
[bandannas?], a shot bag, 2 powder horns, a bayonet & belt, a fox skin.”

(Note: For more on British officers during the Saratoga campaign, their equipage an how it was
transported see below,
Appendix A. 1777, British Officers, Saratoga Campaign, Knapsacks and Packhorses
Appendix B. 1777, British, 24th Regiment and 53d Regiment, Saratoga Campaign )

Continental Army Officers’ Kit. This early-war American record can be set against the British
officers’ belongings discussed above. The “Inventory of all the Effects to be found in Camp or
quarters belonging to Lieutnt Benaiah Turner of Captn [Roger] Mores Company of the 4th Regiment
of North Carolina Continentals …,” contains the following items: 1 chest, 1 hunting shirt, 1 “Pair
Sadle Bags,” 3 pairs of breeches, 1 surtout coat, 6 (waist?) coats, 3 pairs of shoes, 4 jackets
(waistcoats or sleeved waistcoats?), 1 pair of drawers (undergarments shaped like breeches), 4
shirts, 9 pairs of stockings, 7 stocks (neckstocks?), 1 pair of half boots, 4 handkerchiefs, 1 pair
“Riffle” (rifled) pistols, 1 spelling dictionary, 1 pocket book, 1 pair of moccasins, 1 ink holder, 1 (b
-- ?), 1 belt, 1 pair of gloves, 2 (p -- ?), 2 sheets, 1 blanket, 1 rug, 1 cot, 1 “silver mounted cuttoe”
(sword), 14 “Basket Buttens” (?), 1 pair of knee buckles, 1 case of lancets, 1 fur hat, and 20 pounds
10 shillings North Carolina money. Perhaps most notable are the rifled pistols, two examples of
which can be seen in George C. Neumann’s History of Weapons of the American Revolution. Both
of those were likely made in Pennsylvania, and each had an octagonal rifled barrel. The other
weapon, a cuttoe, was a type of light hunting sword (after the French “couteaux de chasse”), usually
under twenty-six inches long, and more suited for show than for combat. Articles such as the
hunting shirt and moccasins have a particularly American connotation. Many of the other items
noted are reflected by Simes’ suggestions and British officers’ choices, though it is interesting the
sole book in the inventory is not a military manual but a dictionary.19
Given the goods considered necessary for regimental service, let us look at our first intimation
that campaigning in North America required that an officer’s kit be reduced, with only those
items suited to easy carriage and hard wear being taken into the field. Having participated in the
battles of White Plains and Fort Washington in New York, and then being stationed in Rhode Island
since 8 December 1776, the battalion to which Grenadier Captain John Peebles belonged took ship
for New York, where it arrived in February 1777. In anticipation of field service Peebles noted on
the 12th, “went aboard [ship] and got our heavy Baggage ashore & lodged in the store … Bo[ugh]t
a Portmanteau & a pair of boots £7. filled the portmanteau with Campaign articles & left all the rest
of my Baggage (except the Canteen Box & my Bedding) vizt. 2 trunks, Box with Bedstead, little
Case, & tent &ca. in the Regtal. Store …”20
Cooking and Eating Utensils. One final species of officers’ belongings still needs to be covered;
eating utensils and cooking equipment. The subject will be discussed in detail in the section
dealing specifically with officers’ food, but since this gear was necessary for daily living, it
merits at least an overview here. With the exception of cook kettles, officers were expected to
supply their own mess gear. Continental Army tin or sheet-iron kettles were generally
apportioned as noted in a 1783 document headed "The allowance of kettles for the last campaign
[1782] … ":21

3 field officers of a regt – 3 [kettles]

3 captains & subalterns - 2
regimental staff - 3
Non commissioned staff of a regt. 2
A brigade quarter master 1
A chaplain - 1

The British army, too, provided their officers with kettles, often with a cover or frying pan lid.
For field operations, some individual officers, particularly on the Crown side, provided their own
supply of edibles and dining gear, carrying them in a horse canteen (a form of leather pack made
specially for the purpose, and carried on bat horses). A more common mode was to form messes
comprising several officers, who pooled their rations and money, procured utensils and extra food
and drink, and dined together. Surgeon Samuel Adams gives a good picture of the Spartan meals
officers often shared, writing at West Point in December 1779:

I live Soldier-like indeed … Coffee made in an open Camp Kettle, and a Beef Steak composed my breakfast
– my dinner a piece of fresh Beef boiled & a potatoe … will inform you of an article of luxury that I had with
my breakfast, viz. Goats-Milk in my Coffee – also that I had bread – which is what two-thirds of the Garrison
have not.22
Unless soldiers ate directly from camp kettles, several additional food containers were needed at
mealtimes. One militia private described a repast prepared and consumed during a brief halt on a
march. Taking the "Kittle of Pudding, [he] turned it out in six Piles on the Board" taken from a
fence, a crude but practical substitute for bowls. Lt. Col. Henry Dearborn, 3rd New Hampshire
Regiment, noted in December 1777 using “an old short handled frying pan in which we ware
Obliged to Eat it haveing No other Platter …” It is likely that bowls, when available, were also
shared between several men. In 1776 the Connecticut militia were to be supplied with two thousand
cooking pots and "four thousand Wooden Bowls." Supposing six men in a mess, this meant three
soldiers to each bowl. Other documents list similar utensils. The receipt book of James Abeel,
deputy quartermaster general and superintendent of stores at Morristown, New Jersey, shows a
December 1778 issue of "38 Wooden Bowls, thirty six Trenchers & 36 wooden Dishes... for the use
of the 1 Jersey Regt." Three monthly returns for Captain Maxwell's Company, 2nd Massachusetts
Regiment, in 1779 list a total of eight camp kettles and eight bowls, on hand or deficient, an
indication that only one bowl commonly accompanied each kettle. In January 1781 Quartermaster
General Timothy Pickering wrote of carts made to "carry all the kettles of a regiment, with one
small bowl to each..." Seventeen months later Pickering described camp kettle covers, "which
would be vastly convenient... as a dish to eat out of"; further evidence of common soldiers using
communal eating receptacles.23
Staved wooden bowl belonging to a soldier left sick along the line of march from Valley Forge
to Monmouth Courthouse in June 1778. “The common necessaries of life …” A
Revolutionary Soldier’s Wooden Bowl,” including, “’Left sick on the Road’: An Attempt to
Identify the Soldier Left at the Paxson Home, ‘Rolling Green,’ June 1778.”)
http://tinyurl.com/at3dj3e

Turned wooden mess bowls were likely more common than staved ones. Above is a wood bowl
from the wreck of the HMS Invincible, sunk in 1758. A total of 11 wood bowls (ranging
from 9 inches to 13.4 inches in diameter), the fragments of 13 other wood bowls, plus 1
pewter bowl, 1 gourd bowl, and the remains of a “green glazed stoneware” bowl were
recovered from the Invincible. Image courtesy of John Broomhead, director Invincible
Conservations Ltd. (http://www.invincible1758.co.uk/)
 Several documents mention government supply of bowls, cups, spoons, and even some
knives; some are estimates of needs, while others are returns of items actually on hand. A blank
regimental "Ledger of Accounts of the Camp Equipage," dated 1779, lists covered kettles, common
kettles, bowls, "Mess Tubs" (possibly trenchers), and iron spoons, while a "Plan for the Cloathing
of the [Light] Infantry" stated the soldiers' necessaries: a "Pocket Knife," "Tin Spoon" and
haversack were the only food-related items given. In June 1779 Timothy Pickering included
among the “Articles to be imported in the Department of the Board of War & Defence,” “Jack
Knives, or Pocket Knives _ 10,000 Doz[en], “English fashioned knives and forks with [bone?]
handles 1500 Doz,” “Pewter or other Cheap spoons for soldiers 10,000 Doz,” and “Spoons of a
better kind for Officers _ 1000 Doz.” And among the items noted in a two other equipment
estimates were 1,400 iron cups, 15,000 wooden bowls, and 20,000 iron spoons “Requisite for an
Army of 40,000 Men," and 4,000 wooden trenchers, 12,000 wooden bowls, and 40,000 pewter table
spoons “for an Army of Twenty five thousand Men." 24
Cups, spoons, and bowls were included on returns of camp equipage actually in use. Deputy
Quartermaster General Abeel's receipt book lists "Fifty Iron Cups" issued "for the use of Genl
Maxwells Brigade" on 10 June 1779. The September to November 1779 returns of Captain
Maxwell's 2nd Massachusetts company show that while spoons were wanted for each man, none
were on hand. And two August 1779 returns for units at or near West Point (including the 2nd
Massachusetts) list wooden bowls, "Iron Cups" and "Iron spoons," though not nearly enough for
every man. Five more equipment returns for various Continental units from 1778 to 1781 show
similar shortfalls of bowls, cups, and spoons, making it probable that some men ate directly from
camp kettles, while others found their own bowls. It is also likely most men procured the non-issue
spoons, knives, and tin or horn cups. (See endnotes for equipment returns.)25 (See endnote for
Continental Army equipment returns, 1778 to 1781.)
When eating utensils were not to be had, soldiers again improvised. Here are a few accounts of
officers and enlisted men making do with ad hoc utensils. John Howland (Col. Henry Babcock’s
Rhode Island State Regiment,1776/1777) noted of the march to reinforce Washington’s forces in
December 1776,
Our condition … was bad enough. Our day's ration which we drew in the morning, was a pint of flour per
man. Some of us had canteens with only one head. This was fortunate for the possessor, as he could receive
his flour in it, and with water mix it into dough to be baked on the embers. Some received their flour on a
flat stone, if they could find one …26

Fife-Major John Greenwood, 15th Continental Regiment, wrote of the retreat from Canada in
1776,
Our general having now procured a number of open boats, we all embarked for Ticonderoga. Being short of
provisions, and without camp kettles or other cooking utensils, it may be supposed that our situation was
far from being agreeable. Our daily rations consisted of only a pint of flour and a quarter of a pound of
pork, for each man, and every day, at noon, we used to land for the purpose of cooking our food. For want
of vessels in which to mix our flour, we made and baked our cakes on thick pieces of the bark of the trees,
but such cooking was any thing but tempting, especially to the sick, who fared no better than the rest.27

Pennsylvania Brig. Gen. William Irvine told in a letter from “Camp Short Hills, (New Jersey,)
June 14th, 1780,” during a short-term Crown forces incursion, “We have been eight days without
Baggage or Tents and cut a most curious figure. I have been so extravagant in furniture, as never
to eat twice off the same dish or plate. The bark of a friendly Oak not only supplies us with our
kitchen furniture, but we make Tents to sleep in of it ...”28
 Thomas Tallow (or Tulloh), Hanover County, Virginia, in old age recalled his 1781 field
service with the Virginia militia,
we … pursued the British by day and by night down James River, I recollect at old James Town General
Wayne got near enough to fire on the rear of the British Army before they could crossed the River, my
impression was that General Lafayette was the commander in chief I frequently saw him during this term of
service .. it would be perfectly unnecessary to attempt a description of the suffering of the Soldiers about
this term of my Service, I have marched all night frequently having nothing to eat, waded creeks & have
frequently seen the Soldiers get up water in their hats and drank as they marched, our provision was of the
most inferior kind & scarcely enough to sustain life (I have frequently seen Poplar bark used for a soldier's
tray) … 29

Park Holland, a lieutenant in the 5th Massachusetts Regiment, in his memoirs noted of a post-
war visit with his former colonel, Rufus Putnam, “We had eaten in the army for months together,
from a clean chip, with a knife and fork among half a dozen of us, and our soup with a clam shell
for a spoon thrust into a split stick for a handle, and got along very well ...”30 Holland also
described preparations at Newburgh in 1782 for a celebration of the birth of the French Dauphin,
successor to Louis the XVI.
The bower built for a hall, neatly turfed and covered with evergreens, was about twenty feet wide and a
quarter of a mile long ... To show the lack of the common necessaries of life, I mention the fact, that, on
this occasion, orders came with the invitations, for each one bidden to [dine] bring his plate, knife and fork;
all of which articles were very scarce. I have known our foreign friends, who were accustomed to dine off
silver, for months together to eat from a clean chip [of wood] instead of a plate. Colonel [and deputy
quartermaster general, Henry Emanuel] Lutterlow, a German, I think, by birth, an officer of distinction in
his own country, put up with our fare with the utmost cheerfulness.31

Henry Fanning Watson, writing in the nineteenth century, told of

A gentleman, (C. M.,) who was an officer at the camp, has told me of some of their hardships there. Fresh
beef they could scarcely get; of vegetables they had none, save sometimes some potatoes. Their table was
loose planks, rough, as split from the tree. One dish, of wood, or of pewter, sufficed for a mess. A horn
spoon and tumbler of horn was lent round. Their knife was carried in the pocket. 32

Another method of supplying plates was mentioned by Maj. Gen. Alexander McDougall in a letter to
Samuel Adams: “West Point, Dec. 10th, 1781 Maj. [Caleb] Gibbs of your line is the bearer of
this, by whom I have sent you a plate, a specimen of the material which covers my board. It is
made, as the set is, of old unserviceable camp-kettles.”33
While not a cooking receptacle, the following reference does note an item repurposed to carry
beverages. In September 1777 Maryland Congressman Charles Carroll informed the
commander-in-chief,
I have had conversation with Mr. Peters, secretary to our board, who informs me that in the month of June
last 1000 tin cartridge boxes were sent to the Army and delivered to a Captain French. Mr. Peters moreover
informs me that to his certain knowledge several of these cartridge boxes were converted by the soldiers
into cantines, and by some officers into shaving boxes. 34
 Tin cartridge canisters were used by some soldiers to carry water.
(Illustration by Ross Hamel)

Officers formed messes, for camaraderie as well as for sharing food expenses. The appended
list for a seven man mess in Stevens’ Artillery Battalion shows the variety of outlays such groups
made.35
(Seven person mess group)
Col. Ebenezer Stevens, Stevens’ Artillery Battalion, annexed to 3d Continental Artillery, autumn 1778.
Adjutant Hezekiah Whetmore, Stevens’ Artillery Battalion
Dr. William Wheeler, surgeon, Stevens’ Artillery Battalion
Capt-Lt. John Lillie, 3d Continental Artillery
2d Lt. George Ingersol, Stevens’ Artillery Battalion
Samuel Hodgdon, Deputy Commissary General of Military Stores
J. Boyer [not identified]

E. Stevens [Col. Ebenezer Stevens]

Recd. Fort Arnold June 7th. 1778
56 pounds Sugar £ 9
12 pounds Coffee 9s 5 – 8
12 pounds Chocolate 9s 5 – 8
1 pound Pepper
5 Gallons Spirits 60s 15 –
5 Gallons Wine 60s 15
1 Gallon Vinegar
12 pounds Butter 3s 1 - 16
1 pound Mustard
2 pounds Hair Powder 6s - 12
3 Quarts of Rum 3s 9
2 Gallons of Rum 16s 1 – 12
9 Dollars for Lamb, Pease &c 2 – 14
10 Gallons Rum of the Com[missar]y. 0 - 0
4 ½ Galls. Rum 72s 14 -17
71 – 16
Twenty Shillngs for Oysters 1
72 - 16

Saml. Hodgdon [Deputy Commissary General of Military Stores]

Recd. Fort Arnold June 7th. 1778
12 Pounds Cheese 1s £ 0 - 12
6 pounds Sugar 1s6 9
4 pounds Soap 1s 4
1 Roll Black Ball 6
13 Quarts of Cider 9d 10
1 Bread Basket 3
6 Dollars to the Boys 1 - 16
2 Gallons ¾ Rum 16s 2 - 4
2 pounds of Tea 60s 6
7 Dollars for Sheep 2 – 2
7 Dollars to Steward 2 – 2
16 - 6
To Ballance paid 8 – 11 – 9
Settled Augt. 10th. 1778 24 – 17 - 9
To 8 Dollars for Lamb &c 2 – 8
To Cash paid Major Smith
For wine and stores 8 – 0 - 6

H Wetmore [Adjutant Hezekiah Whetmore]

White Plains July 5th. 1778
1 Lamb 5 Dollars £ 1-10
5 Dollars to Steward 1-10
for small occasions
2 Dollars for Milk 12
4 Dollars to Steward 1-4
4 Dollars to Staward 1-4
2 Dollars for Veal 12
3 Dollars to Donnell for Veal 18
8 Dollars for Lamb, butter &c 2-8

J. Boyer [not identified]

8 Dollars to Bill to buy butter &c 7-16
5 dollar for Cheese

Doctor Wheeler [William Wheeler]

Milk half a Dollar £ 3
2 Gallons of Rum 16s 1-12
Half a pound of Tea 1-16
3 pounds Sugar 4s6 13-6
8 & 2/3 dollars for Wine 2-12
2 Dollars to Steward 12

Saml Hodgdon Paid

To Cash paid Good for milk 0-4-0
Do do for sundrys 1-4-0
To Cash paid for Milk 0-6-0
Doctor Wheeler paid
Cash for Chocolate

Capt Lillie paid [Capt-Lt. John Lillie]

Two quarts rum
Three quarts wine @ 32s 1-4-0
Five pints Rum @ 16s - 0-10-0
Three pounds Coffee 3s- 0-9-0

“Memorandum of Utensils
1 Delph Bowl
3 Stone Saucers
1 Stone Cup
1 Tea Pot (earthen)
1 Tin Tea Pot
4 tin Wine Cups
4 tin Plates
10 tin Cups (Coffee)
9 Earthen Plates
1 large pewter Bason
6 pewter Spoons
1 tin Coffee Canister
1 earthen Butter Cup
6 Knives & Forks
1 tin Candlestick
1 earthen Pepper Box
1 tin Quart Pot
1 earthen Quart Pot
1 large tin Lanthorn
1 tin Sugar Box
5 Kegs”

After the British surrender at Yorktown, and just prior to their march to South Carolina, the
Pennsylvania regiments were encamped outside Yorktown, Virginia. Lt. William Feltman took
advantage of the respite and made several purchases for himself and his fellow officers: 1 November
1781, "... This evening bought half-a-dozen China cups and saucers, and one cream-pot, and one
pound of excellent Green Tea, for which articles I paid four milled dollars, for the use of our mess.";
3 November, "This morning Lieut. Collier and self went to town and brought the following articles
for the use of our Mess," including "3 lb. Bohea Tea, at 12s[hillings] per lb.," "58 lb. Sugar [and] 22
lb. Coffee, at 1s 6d per lb.," and "2 bottles Mustard."36
On campaign cups, saucers, and cream-pots were usually nowhere to be found. Lt. William
Hale, 4th Regiment Grenadier Company, noted on 30 August 1777 after landing at Head of Elk, "
We passed three most uncomfortable nights in Wigwams, drenched to the skin by those torrents of rain
common in this Southern climate ... we are now encamped, or more properly speaking enwigwamed, on the
other side of the Town, though our tents are now come up which is all we are allowed to carry. By good
fortune my canteen was brought this morning, for this week past we have lived like beasts, no plates, no
dishes, no tableclothes, biscuits supply the place of the first but for the others no substitute can be found;
my clothes have not been off since we landed, and as the Valice is left behind have no other prospect for
sometime, however, clean straw is as good a bed as I desire, and if it does not rain am happy. A small
quantity of Port was brought on shore from some of the ships and sold before I knew it at three guineas a
dozen. I have had only two fresh meals since quitting the ship, but the Pork is so good as well for breakfast
as dinner, that I feel no want of beef or mutton and was never in better health and spirits in my life. So
much for household affairs, in which by the way I am a most capital manager. ... I write this under a tree,
while my black is making a fire to boil my pork, and my white servant is pitching my tent.37
For more on officers’ food see, "’A better repast’: Continental Army Field and Company Officers’
Fare” (Food History News, vol. XX, no. 4 (2010), 2-3.
(Soon to be expanded and revised.)
___________________________

"The officers must be satisfied walking …”

Allotment of Horses

For an army on the move, the first consideration concerning baggage was available
transportation. And, given the focus of this monograph, just how did officers move themselves
and their belongings? For baggage, wagons were the primary means of transport through much
of the war, but pack or bat horses were common in the British army. Continental forces
eventually adopted pack horses for baggage, and used them increasingly as one means of
reducing the number of wheeled vehicles needed on campaign. General officers and their staffs
performed their daily and battlefield duties on horseback, and relied on horses for travel when
the army moved. Throughout the war only Continental Army field (colonels, majors) and staff
officers were afforded horses while company officers marched in the ranks with their men.
Crown forces followed the same practice, at least early in the war, as emphasized by German
Lieutenant Christian von Molitor who noted while campaigning under Maj. Gen. Sir William
Howe’s in June 1777, "The officers must be satisfied walking, regardless of how long the march
might be. And anyone who does not wish to die of thirst, must carry his own canteen."38 As the
war progressed, and the campaigns moved south, British commanders tolerated larger numbers
of locally procured horses. Many were used for carrying baggage, but officers not formerly
allotted a riding horse inevitably took advantage of circumstances. General orders of 21 May
1781 at Petersburg, Virginia, related “Lord Cornwalisses regulation Respecting the N[umbe]r of
Negroes and horses”:

Field Officer of Infantry 5 horses and 2 Negroes.

Captains 3 Horses and 1 negro
Subalterns and Staff 2 Horses and 1 negro
Q[uarte]r M[aste]r Serjn [surgeon] and Serjt Major 1 Horse and 1 Negro each
The number or names of Corps to be marked in a Conspicious manner on the Jacket
of each negro.
No woman or Negro to possess a Horse, nor any Negro to be Suffered to ride on a March except such
as belong to publick departments.39

The search for regulations concerning American regimental officers’ horses reveals several
allotments during the War for Independence. The first is dated 14 January 1777, and authorizes
forage for four Saddle Horses to a Regiment, arranged as follows: Colonel, one; Major, one; Quarter
Master and Adjutant, one to both; Surgeon, one. The Commanders of Brigades and Regiments are to take
care that no persons, in their respective Corps, except such as are above-mentioned, presume to keep
Horses at the public expence.40

At Wilmington, Delaware, in late August, General Washington reemphasized the allotment of

horses:
August 27, 1777 … The number of horses, which are now so injuriously introduced, (contrary to all former
practice) is also expressly forbid; as they have become a real nuisance in the army. It is expected therefore,
that no officer, except those who are allowed forage, will henceforth keep a horse, but (as his baggage is
 carried for him) march on foot with his men: This, at the same time that it testifies a real regard to the
service, will be setting a good and commendable example to the men; which in every instance ought, and it
is hoped will be, the first object of a good and valuable officer. 41

In October a Council of War both confirmed and amended the previous directive, deciding,
among other things, “that no captain or subaltern was entitled to a horse, excepting captains of
artillery in command of two field pieces, and captains in command of regiments which have no
field officers.” In June 1780 this order was further altered: “The Captains of Artillery hitherto
allowed Horses … are immediately to give up all such as are in their Possession to the Quarter
master General: The Exigency of the Service requires it.” By 1779, regardless of other
allotments, when in line of battle only the major and adjutant were mounted, as evidenced in
Major General Friedrich Wilhelm de Steuben’s illustration of the “Formation of a Regiment.” 42
These orders set the standard for much of the war and were an attempt to alleviate supply
problems by feeding only essential horses. This was emphasized in the 23 September 1778
stipulation,
That all officers of the army not authorized by the resolutions of Congress, or by the special permission of
the Commander in Chief, to keep horses, be prohibited, though at their own expence from keeping any
horse or horses within forty miles of the main body of the army, and that General Washington be desired to
appoint proper officers to see this order carried into strict execution, and to bring to trial all offenders
against it. The Commander in Chief expects the most pointed Compliance with this resolve, the propriety
and even Necessity of which are striking. He will in an especial manner look to the Officers commanding
Brigades to see it punctually executed and to suffer no deviation on any Pretence whatever. A week from
this date is allowed to send away the supernumerary horses after which the Commissary of Forage is
enjoined to report to Head Quarters every horse that falls within his notice that may be retained contrary to
the Intention of this Prohibition.43

Winter was an especially crucial time for economy of resources. In December 1778
Washington noted,
In consideration of the exhausted State of the Country on this communication with respect to Forage, the
necessary supplies of which will be with the greatest difficulty procured … The Commander in Chief has
directed the Quarter Master General to send away from camp all the public horses that in his opinion can
possibly be spared from the ordinary service of the Army. In addition to this precaution as in a stationary
Camp much fewer horses will be wanted by the officers of the line in execution of the duties of their
respective stations than at other times, the General particularly requests, that the General Officers will
retain no more horses in camp for the use of themselves and their suites than are absolutely necessary, and
that the Field Officers do endeavour to make one horse a piece suffice; The other regimental officers who
are entitled to keep horses will be able to dispense with them during the Winter.
The same recommendation extends to all the staff officers entitled to keep horses, to which the General
requests the attention of the heads of the several departments. The Commissary of Forage will receive the
supernumerary horses and have them well provided for at a convenient place at some distance from
Camp.44

In spring 1779 the issue of excess horses was revisited and as was superfluous baggage, and
the means by which officers carried their necessaries:
Head Quarters, Middle Brook, Saturday, April 17, 1779 … The officers are requested to lose no time in
preparing for the field, that they may be ready to leave their present quarters at the shortest notice. The
Quarter Master General as far as it is in his Power will supply those with Portmanteaus who have not been
furnished heretofore; and those who are or shall be provided are on no account to carry chests or boxes into
the field. The Portmanteaus are given by the public to supersede the use of such cumbersome articles, in
order to contract the baggage of the Army and lessen the number of Waggons which, besides the saving of
expence, is attended with many obvious and most important military advantages.
 The General also thinks it necessary to give explicit notice in time, that with a view to having the Army
as little incumbered as possible in all its movements, and to prevent burthening the public and the farmer
more than cannot be avoided on the score of forage, No officers whose duty does not really require them to
be on horseback will be permitted to keep horses with the Army. Sensible of the force of good examples on
the minds of the soldiery, it ought to be the pride of an officer to share the fatigue as well as danger to
which his men are exposed. On foot marching by their sides, by sharing he will lessen every inconvenience
and excite in them a spirit of patience and perseverence. Inability alone can justify a deviation from this
necessary practice.
The General strongly recommends it to the officers to divest themselves as much as possible of every
thing superfluous, taking to the field only what is essential for decency and comfort. Such as have not
particular friends within reach, to whose care they would choose to confide their spare baggage will apply
to the Quarter Master General who will appoint a place for its reception, and furnish the means of
transportation. The commanding officers of divisions, brigades, and regiments will pay particular attention
to the strict observance of these orders.45

Thus, unless they were assigned a regimental staff position or were ill enough to ride in a
wagon, American company officers remained pedestrians. That being said, and taking into
consideration orders against officers keeping private horses in service, it seems likely the
strictures were bucked whenever possible. And, of course, officers allotted horses sometimes
found themselves having to do without. Colonel Loammi Baldwin, 25th Continental Regiment,
wrote his wife on 26 November 1776, “Recd orders in the morning to strike our tents & march
… to North Castle Church [New York] … The day proceeded very rainy & was very bad
marching. I was on foot without any great coat [&] I was sufficiently soaked.” (In addition to the
hard march, Colonel Baldwin sacrificed his own comfort for his men’s welfare: “Arrived at the
Church above 7 o'clock in the evening. After getting my men under cover, which was very
difficult, there being but very few houses or barns, and them to share among 5 regiments. I got
into Quarters myself about 10 o'clock wet and cold.”) It is not known if the colonel was able to
procure a horse for the ensuing march from North Castle to Bucks County, Pennsylvania.46

Copy of portmanteau in the collections of Fort Ticonderoga Museum.

Reproduction made by Brendan Menz.
 Pack horse image, likely Prussian (undated, circa mid-eighteenth century). Plates
(unbound) from the Society of the Cincinnati collections (courtesy of Marko Zlatich). The
Society of the Cincinnati, 2118 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008.

Pack or bat (French for packsaddle) horses were sometimes assigned officers. An early
mention occurred in the 24 October 1777 army orders: “The Brigade Quarter Masters are to
make returns, to morrow afternoon, at five o'clock, of all the riding and bat-horses used in their
respective brigades, and the persons and their ranks, and in whose service they are used.” In
January 1778 Brigadier General Jedediah Huntingdon suggested, "The fewer the Waggons to the
Army, the better, as the March of Troops is always greatly impeded, and Enterprizes often
frustrated by their Delays — if Batt Horses could be substituted, they would be preferable …"
And along the same line, "A Change or two of Linnen, a little Provision and some Convenience
for carrying necessary Papers, should comprise all the Baggage of an Officer when he takes the
Field - some Boxes in Fashion of Horse Canteens might be contrived for them."47 Washington’s
27 March 1778 orders expanded Huntingdon’s remarks:
The numerous Inconveniences of a large train of baggage must be apparent to every officer of the least
observation; an Army by means of it is rendered unwieldy and incapable of acting with that ease and
Celerity which are essential either to it's own Security and defence or to Vigor and Enterprize in its
offensive Operations; The sollicitude which those who have a large quantity at stake will feel for its safety
even in the most critical Circumstances is sometimes attended with very alarming Consequences and
Individuals frequently and unavoidably sustain no inconsiderable losses from the Imprudence of
incumbering themselves with superfluous baggage; the Public is burdened with a fruitless Expence, in an
additional number of Horses and Waggons and the strength of the Army is diminished by the extraordinary
number of Guards required for their protection; These disadvantages and many more that will suggest
themselves on reflection notwithstanding the Pains taken to remedy them have been heretofore severely felt
by this Army; many instances will be recollected in the course of last Campaign, and among others the
great loss which attended the sending the superfluous baggage, during the more active part of it, to a
 distance from the Army. The Commander in Chief hopes these considerations will influence officers in the
ensuing Campaign to provide themselves with those necessaries only which cannot be dispensed with, and
with the means of carrying them in the most easy and convenient manner; In order to which he strongly
recommends the dis-use of Chests and Boxes and that Portmanteaus or Valises made of Duck may be
substituted instead of them, this will be the more requisite as it is in Contemplation to employ as few
Waggons as possible and to make use of Pack-Horses as far as may be practicable: It is expected the
General and Field Officers will set the Example and see that it is strictly followed by all those under their
respective Commands.48

The first large-scale use of packhorses by Continental forces was in 1779 when Maj. Gen.
John Sullivan's army campaigned in northern Pennsylvania and New York. Due to the rough
country his troops had to traverse, that mode of carriage was used from the first, and Sullivan
mentioned the horses in several directives. Wyoming, Pennsylvania, 15 July 1779, "As waggons
will not be wanted in this army, the Commander in chief directs that those which properly belong
to the army be sent to the fort at Wyoming ... The horses now annexed to those waggons will be
used either as riding or pack horses & the enlisted waggoners employed as pack horsemen."
Wyoming, 27 July 1779, "Every article in every department that can possibly be loaded on Pack
horses is to be fixed for that purpose and carried in that manner." "Hd.Qrs. Quilutimak 2d
August" 1779 (en route to Tioga, near the New York border), "The baggage to be loaded on
horseback to be fitted this evening in the best manner for loading. All the articles of baggage on
board the boats which can be conveniently be carried on horseback will be taken out this day &
fixed for that purpose."49
By 1781, with wagons still the mainstay for transportation, packhorse continued in use,
General Washington informing Quartermaster General Timothy Pickering that June,

One of my own Horses which I sent from Camp to be Wintered, together with the Horses which usually
carried my Canteens and Portmanteaus, I am informed, are dead. These losses will occasion a call upon you
for four, wch. I should be glad to receive as soon as convenient. If there is a number to choose out of, two
may be natural pacers (Horses or Mares) the Canteens going easier on them. 50

During the reorganization of Armand's Legion in February 1782, the unit's commander,
Colonel Armand (formally known as Charles Armand-Tuffin, Marquis de La Rouerie) enumerated
camp equipment and transport needed for thirty-three commissioned and staff officers, and 362
noncommissioned officers and privates. One marquee, ten horseman's tents, thirty common tents,
eight bat horses, and three four-horse wagons were included. The Colonel noted, "The 30
common tents will be insufficient unless they are made very large.... Their weight, of
consequence, will be less, [and] require, in the whole, fewer waggons, or bat-horses. Two thirds
of the tent poles will also be sufficient. The bat-horses are destined for the carriage of the tents.
For this purpose eight pack saddles will be requisite. There should also be eight oil cloths to
cover the tents, to preserve them from rain, which, as they may be kept packed up for two or
three days together in warm weather, would soon rot them, — and to prevent an increase in
weight, which in long rains would be very injurious to the horses: for a tent thoroughly wet
weighs just double as much as when dry." It is likely officers’ also obtained similar waterproof
covers for their packhorse loads.51
 Acknowledgements

A short list of people who contributed to this work: Linnea Bass, Steven Baule, Joseph Lee Boyle,
Jay Callaham, Alexander John Good, Don Hagist, Jim Kochan, Patrick O’Kelley, Steve Rayner,
Eric Schnitzer, Garry Stone.

Other Resources (Online Articles)

"’The load a soldier generally carries during a campaign …”’: The British Soldier's Burden in the
American War for Independence”
Contents
1. Overview
2. “Complement of necessaries, etc., for the soldier.”: Personal Equipage as Stipulated in Military Treatises
3. "An enormous bulk, weighing about sixty pounds": British Troops’ Necessaries in Garrison and on Campaign
a. 1762, British Grenadiers
b. 1771, 7th Regiment
c. Undated, Brigade of Guards
d. August 1776, Gen. Sir William Howe’s troops
e. 1776, Brigade of Guards
f. 1777, 40th Regiment, Personal Effects and Blanket Slings
g. 1777, 49th Regiment, Personal Effects and Blanket Slings
h. 1778, Guards Battalion
i. 1779, 17th Regiment
j. 1780-1781, Cornwallis’s Army
4. British Camp Kettles, 1776-1781
5. “A habersack for Each Soldier": Ways and Means of Carrying Food, and the Burden of Rations
6 "Four Days' flour to be Issued to the Troops": The Burden of Rations, 1762-1783
7. "The men having no other way ...": Shortages of Equipment for Food Carriage and Cooking
8. "Very Dirty and muddy.": Carrying Beverages and Difficulties in Finding Drinkable Water
9. Other Resources (Online Articles)
https://www.scribd.com/document/335479170/The-load-a-soldier-generally-carries-during-a-
campaign-The-British-Soldier-s-Burden-in-the-American-War-for-Independence
“An Account of some things I carried … in my Pack.”: The Continental Soldier's Burden
in the American War for Independence
Contents
1. Overview: “Our almost incessant marching – marching almost day & night.”
2. “Complement of necessaries, etc., for the soldier.”
Personal Equipage as Stipulated in British Treatises
3. “The load a soldier generally carries during a campaign …”
What British Troops Actually Carried, 1755-1783
4. “Only such articles as are necessary and useful …”: Lightening the Soldiers’ Load
5. “Spare cloathing and necessaries ..."
Personal and Other Items Carried by Continental and Militia Soldiers
a. Ezra Tilden, 1775 to 1779
b. Equipment Lost on 17 June 1775 in Col. James Reid’s New Hampshire Regiment
(including discussion of “snapsack[s]”)
c. An "Estimate of the Expences of raising a foot soldier … 1776, in Colo. Smallwood's
battalion & ye 7 independent Companies …”
d. An inventory of the possessions of the late Samuel Lamson of Colonel Fisher
Gay's Connecticut Regiment, 1776.
e. Sergeant Major John Hawkins, 2 nd Canadian Regiment, September 1777
f. Inventory of a Deceased Rhode Island Soldier’s Belongings, October 1777
g. References to Soldiers’ Belongings and Knapsacks in Regulations for the Order and
Discipline of the Troops of the United States. 1779
 h. "Plan for the Cloathing of the [light] Infantry,"circa 1779
i. Massachusetts Soldier: Sgt. Andrew Kettell’s Journal, May 1780-March 1781
j. Soldier-Tailor: “Inventory of the Effects of Frederick Oblieskie,” West Point,
September 1780
6. "All the tin Camp-kettles they can procure ...": Cooking Gear and other
Food-Related Items
a. Light-Weight Military Kettles, and Cast-Iron Cooking Gear, 1775-1782.
b. Continental Army and States' Militia, 1775-1780.
c. American Sheet-Iron Kettles, 1781-1782.
d. Iron Pots and Pans.
e. Makeshift Cookware.
d. Eating Utensils.
7. The Ways Soldiers Carried Food.
8. The Burden of Rations, 1762-1783.
9. Carrying Drink and Procuring Water.
10. Equipment Shortages
Appendix A.
“I hired some of my pack carried about a dozen miles …”: Excerpts from Ezra Tilden’s
diary, 1776-1777
Appendix B.
Soldiers had what and how many?
List of Related Articles
https://www.scribd.com/document/340889214/An-Account-of-some-things-I-carried-in-my-
Pack-The-Continental-Soldier-s-Burden-in-the-American-War-for-Independence
“’Was not in the battles ... being a Waiter.’ Enlisted Men and Civilians as Officers’ Servants during the
War for American Independence”
Part 1. “Our boys bring down something to eat ...”: Overview: Field and Company Officers’ Servants
https://www.scribd.com/doc/260955648/Was-not-in-the-battles-being-a-Waiter-Enlisted-Men-and-
Civilians-as-Officers-Servants-during-the-War-for-American-
Independence?secret_password=OJ0XV4DLMfjssaEcdU34
see also http://allthingsliberty.com/2015/04/war-as-a-waiter-soldier-servants/

“’Make use of Pack-Horses as far as may be practicable ...’: Baggage Carried on Horseback during the
American War, 1776 to 1781”
Contents
American Campaigns, 1755-1764.
The British Army in 1776.
The 1777 Campaign.
Marching Through New Jersey, 1778.
Going Against the Iroquois, 1779.
Continental Army, 1780-1782.
Cornwallis’s Campaigns, 1781.
Addenda: Miscellaneous Pack Saddle Images and Narratives
http://www.scribd.com/doc/132177295/%E2%80%9C-Make-use-of-Pack-Horses-as-far-as-may-be-
practicable-Baggage-Carried-on-Horseback-during-the-American-War-1776-to-1781

Resource File: Examples of Continental Army Camp Equipage and Vehicle Returns, 1775-1781
(John U. Rees) http://www.scribd.com/doc/223095304/Resource-File-Examples-of-
Continental-Army-Camp-Equipage-and-Vehicle-Returns-1776-1781-John-U-Rees
Contents
1. Clothing and Equipment Lost at Bunker Hill, 17 June 1775 (including a discussion of “snapsacks”)
2. Cooking and Other Equipment in Brig. Gen. John Sullivan’s Brigade, 24 March 1776
3. Main Army: Return of Arms and Accoutrements issued from 1 April to 1 August 1777
4. Return of Camp Equipage Delivered to the Army during the 1777 Campaign
5. Partial List of Stores Captured on the British Ship Symmetry, Wilmington, Delaware, January 1778
6. Camp Equipage in the 1st Pennsylvania Brigade, Valley Forge, 3 June 1778
7. "A Return of Quarter-Master-General's Stores in The Brigades at West Point & Constitution Island," 1 August
1779: North Carolina, 4th Massachusetts, and Paterson’s (Massachusetts) Brigades
8. "A Return of Quarter-Master-General's Stores in the Second Pennsylvania Brigade ... at Camp West Point," 4
August 1779
9. Return of Quartermaster’s Stores for Maj. Gen. John Sullivan’s Army, Tioga, 21 August 1779.
10. Return of Clothing and Camp Equipment in Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair’s Pennsylvania Division in the Hudson
Highlands, 1 October 1779.
11. Return of Quartermaster’s Stores in the 1st Connecticut Brigade (Including Brigadier General and Staff),
Hudson Highlands, 25 May 1781
12. "Return of Waggons, Horses … &c the property of the United States Army – Camp Tappan – 27th September
1780"
13. "Return of all Public Property in the Quarter Masters Department with the Southern Army"
14. Two Returns of Horse and Wagons with the Pennsylvania Line in Virginia, 12 June and 27 November 1781
Appendices:
1. Overview of Wheeled Transportation.
2. Material Culture Articles Related to Items on the Equipment Returns

“’Cost of a Knapsack complete …’: Notes on Continental Army Packs and the Soldiers’ Burden”
Part 1. “This Napsack I carryd through the war of the Revolution”
Knapsacks Used by the Soldiers during the War for American Independence
a. Overview
b. Knapsacks and Tumplines, Massachusetts, 1775
c. The Uhl Knapsack
d. Leather and Hair Packs, and Ezra Tilden’s Narrative
e. The Rufus Lincoln and Elisha Gross Hair Knapsacks
f. The “new Invented Napsack and haversack,” 1776
g. The Benjamin Warner Linen Pack
h. British Linen Knapsacks
Appendices
a. Carrying Blankets in or on Knapsacks.
b. “Like a Pedlar's Pack.”: Blanket Rolls and Slings
c. More Extant Artifacts with Revolutionary War Provenance or with a Design Similar to Knapsacks
Used During the War
d. Extant Knapsacks Discounted as having Revolutionary War Provenance
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210794759/%E2%80%9C-This-Napsack-I-carryd-through-the-
war-of-the-Revolution-Knapsacks-Used-by-the-Soldiers-during-the-War-for-American-
Independence-Part-1-of-%E2%80%9C-Cos

"`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 Light-
Weight 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”
“Iron Pots, Pans, and Makeshift Cookware”
“Eating Utensils”
“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-Cooking-Equipment-
Provisions-and-Food-Preparation-During-the-American-War-for-Independence

"`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 author’s 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-Soldiers-
Food-and-Cooking-in-the-War-for-Independence
Two Soldiers (1772), by Charles Forrest (Irish, fl. 1765-1787), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
 Appendix A.
Officers and Knapsacks: A Compendium of Accounts and Images

Knapsack: Rufus Lincoln, Massachusetts militia and 14th Massachusetts

Elk skin knapsack purportedly owned by Rufus Lincoln: corporal, Lexington Alarm, April
1775; 2d lieutenant, Marshall’s Regiment, 1776; 1st lieutenant, 14th Massachusetts, as of 1
January 1777; captain-lieutenant, October 1779; captain, April 1780. If it indeed was owned
by Lincoln, it may have dated from his militia service.
From the Estate of Tom Wnuck of Rochester, New York, sold by Cottone Auctions,
Geneseo, New York; Lot 157, 23 November 2002. Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of
Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution – April 1775 to December
1783 (Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Publishing Shop, Inc., 1914), 351.
__________________________
1775, British, 43d Regiment, officer’s knapsack
Capt. John Weir, 43d Regiment, at Bunker Hill.
(The following was likely written by Richard St. George Mansergh St. George, light infantry
company, 52d Regiment. St. George and John Weir were in the 2d Light Infantry Battalion in 1777,
for which see below.)
“Melantus [or Melantius]* read this History of your Guest But not to Him – his wife is lately dead –
Captain Weir dines with you to day – He is ambitious of your Converse. Talk to Him of the Drama.
Genl. Burgoyne humbugg’d Him about his Play, which he tells with Fun. Weirs History is briefly thus
- a Soph[omore] at Dublin College, Quoth He I’ll be a Soldier – a Parson quoth His Friends – (Under
Favour) a Soldier, quoth He – Bedamn’d! Get out! Quoth his Friends – Weir, with twenty pounds (&
some raps) in his Pouch, Virgil, Cesar a Case of Pistols & Copies of Verses of his own Composing,
Proceeds to London – Presents Himself (without Letters) at the War Office – Begins a splendid
Oration to the first Clerk, who leaves Him at the second Line of the of the Exordium – Introduces
Himself to Lord Barrington, while the Door Keeper was writing his name in the Roll of Audience, who
taking to Him gives Him an Ensigncy. The same Day having purchased a small Sword, a long Gun &
seen the Lions in his way, having provided himself with some literature at a stall & other Provision for
the Voyage, He sails for Boston and arrives a moment before the affair of Bunkers Hill. With His
Knapsack on His back, a new silver lace’d Hat on his head, which he took out of the aforesaid
Knapsack (carefully wrapt up in brown Paper) for the Battle. His small Sword on His thigh, his
Feather Spring Pistols in his belt, His long Gun on his shoulder, the halberd of a Sergeant just Killed in
his left hand, (quoting Passages from Homer & Virgils Battles,) like an unknown Knight He performed
Prodigies of Valour. He obtains, by Merit a Lieutenancy – Fond of the Pen, He sends to his Friends by
Every Ship, Brilliant & voluminous descriptions of the Battles, Seiges, Fortunes He had pass’d – No
answer. No remittance. He writes on, delighted with his Periods, his Metaphors, his Quotations.
Commences a Journal, from which he means to Present to the World a History of the War, at German
Town loses His leg, and his Journal – Borne on the back of a Soldier, amid the Thunder of Artillery,
the Clash of Arms, the Lightning of Battle, the Shrieks of Death and the Cry of Victory, He enquires
for His Journal, and finding it Lost, Threatens the Soldier , wounded also, with Military Vengeance –
made Prisoner, a rebel General commiserates the Loss of his Leg, Quoth Weir True, General! Tis lst –
but I have lost my Journal too! – Pray you let it be searched for among the Trophies on the Field! I
hope quoth the General (being on Horseback and sufficiently Instructed in the Art) I hope tho your
Leg is broken, it is not absolutely Lost! Perhaps, quoth Weir, tho My Journal is missing it may yet be
found. Please you, General, let the Field be searched – as soon as it Won, quoth He - Brave Captain I
commend you to our surgeons .. Charge on the Flanks, Bold Jersey Blues! – The Battle rages anew.
The Rebels retreat. Weir left on the Field – conveyed to Philadelphia. His Leg cut off – His Journal
lost. He writes to his Friends a still more splendid and more voluminous an account of that brilliant but
fruitless Campaign – In the Postscript he coldly says in a Nota Bene . In this action I lost My Leg –
Being at Bath a Captain of Invalids, he Married a Fair Widow with Lands & beeves. Writes to His
Friends The Progress of Love as splendid & voluminous as before of his course in War – Invites them
in a Lyric ode, to his Pleasant and Fruitful Villa – They send an answer by the return of Port. Sailing
in the next ship, arrive at the fair & Hospitable mansion of Love and Friendship – Weir, having no
recollection of the Past opens wide his gates – receives them in his arms - & kills for them the fatted
Calf – They weep over his Lost Leg – He sighs at the remembrance of His lost Journal with which Like
Sinbad He would otherwise have entertained them after the Feast with Tales of Dangers past.
[indecipherable; Latin phrase?] quoth Weir. Let us not think of Past Evils – of America or My Journal
lost – Carpe Deem. Let Love Frendship & Mirth Crown the bowl. Peace to the Manes of our Friends
who fell in War & health to those who live – Drop the curtain.”
Note on obverse page – “A Sketch
of Nature
a True Tale”
Harlan Crow Library, Dallas, Texas (purchased from the estate of Arthur E. Bye, Bucks County,
Pennsylvania)
(* Note: Melantius, “A brave, honest soldier, who believes everyone to be true and honest till
convicted of crime, and then is he a relentless punisher.” (Beaumont and Fletcher The Maid's
Tragedy.)
(Read more: Melantius | Infoplease.com
http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/brewers/melantius.html#ixzz2wLdDxXIs )
__________________________

1776, 17th Regiment, Officer’s Rolled Blanket (“Pedlar's Pack “) and Personal Belongings
Captain the Honourable William Leslie, 17th Regiment of Foot, to his parents:
"Bedford Long Island Sept. 2nd 1776… The Day after their Retreat we had orders to march to the ground
we are now encamped upon, near the Village of Bedford: It is now a fortnight we have lain upon the
ground wrapt in our Blankets, and thank God who supports us when we stand most in need, I have never
enjoyed better health in my Life. My whole stock consists of two shirts 2 pr of shoes, 2 Handkerchiefs
half of which I use, the other half I carry in my Blanket, like a Pedlar's Pack."
Sheldon S. Cohen, "Captain William Leslie's 'Paths of Glory,'" New Jersey History, 108 (1990), 63.
__________________________

1776, Continental, 22d Continental Regiment, knapsack and belongings

Lt. Roger Hooker, Col. Samuel Wyllys’ 22d Continental Regiment.
“”Camp Att N York May 13th 1776 An Inventory of what I now stand posset of
Viz
1 Chest 2 Beaver hats 1 trm’d with gold
1 Box 4 White shirts
1 Scarlet Coat faced with buff 4 Check’d shirts
with a gold Appolet 4 neck stocks
1 Blue Coat faced with Red 3 silk handkerchiefs
1 Lambskin Coat 1 Linnen handkerchief
1 Camblet Huzzar Cloak 1 Haversack white goatskin
1 Red Duffel Watchcoat 1 bedrack
1 Red Baize Gown 1 Pillow & Pillowcase
1 White Broadcloth Vest 1 knapsack
1 White Coarse Vest 1 Napkin
1 Blue Coarse Vest 1 Bible
1 Red Baize Vest 1 Leather Pocket Book
1 Lambskin Vest 2 Orderly Books
Marko Zlatich, New England Soldiers of the American Revolution (Santa Barbara, Ca.: Bellerophon
Books, 1993), 12.
__________________________
1777, Massachusetts militia officer carrying a knapsack
Col. Timothy Pickering took part in a January 1777 militia expedition against Fort Independence, located
just outside British-controlled Manhattan between the Post Roads to Boston and Albany. The overall
enterprise was commanded by Maj. Gen. William Heath, and Pickering recorded his experiences in a
diary kept at the time. Having been forced to turn back by a severe storm, he noted, “on the march, about
half-way between our late camp and Tarry town, the Brigade-Major, Burnham, brought me General
Heath’s positive orders to march to Mile Square. But it was absolutely impracticable to execute them. A
large proportion of the men had by this time arrived at their quarters, and full three fourths of my
regiment were ahead of me, and I on foot, with my pack and large blanket at my back (which I chose to
carry, that I might know what soldiers endured, and to make them more easy, seeing I endured the same
fatigues).”
The Life of Timothy Pickering By His Son, Octavius Pickering, vol. I (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company ,
1867), 100-103.
Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris, The Spirit of 'Seventy–Six (New York, Evanston, San
Francisco, and London, 1975), 530-531.
__________________________

1777, British, 42d Regiment, portmanteau, no knapsack

42d Regiment, “Wednesday 12th. Febry. [1777, New York.] fine clear weather & frosty, went aboard and
got our heavy baggage ashore & lodged in the store, & meant to have got our cloathing aboard but Mr.
Serjt. Stewart gets drunk & neglects his business. Bot a Portmanteau & a pair of boots £ 7. filled my
portmanteau with Campaign articles & left all the rest of my baggage (except the Canteen Box & my
Bedding) vizt. 2 Trunks, box with Bedsted, little case, & tent &ca. in the Regtal. Store ...”
Ira Gruber, ed., John Peebles’ American War, 1776-1782 (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1998),
89.
__________________________

1777, British 49th Regiment, officers’ blanket slings

(Courtesy of Don N. Hagist)
Extracts from regimental orders on board ship prior to the Philadelphia campaign:
“Regimental Order on Board the Rochford 21 August [really July] 1777
When the Regt. Lands Every Non Commissd Officer and soldier of the Regiment is to have with him 2
very good Shirts, Stokings, 2 pair Shoes, their Linin drawers, Linnin Leggins, half Gaiters and their
Blankets very well Rold. Every thing to be perfectly Clean. Officers Commanding Companies will be
answerable to the Commanding Officer that these orders are Strictly Complyed with -
N.B if the Men land in half Gaiters, the officers are to land in them, if in leggings the officers also in
Leggins”

“23d Augt. 1777

R: O When the Regt lands, the Officers and Men are to have on whole linnin leggings and their
Blankets properly Rolled and the Necessaries in them as before ordered –“
“Captured British Orderly Book,” 25 June 1777 to 10 September 1777, George Washington
Papers, series 6, Military Papers. 1755-1798 (Library of Congress)
__________________________
1777, Continental Officers’ Knapsack Contents Described by a German Officer
Hessian Jaeger Capt. Johann Ewald was impressed by the military works found in American officers’
captured knapsacks, writing in December 1777,
“During these two years [1776 and 1777] the Americans have trained a great many excellent officers
who very often shame and excell our experienced officers who consider it sinful to read a book or to
think of learning anything during the war … I must admit that when we examined the haversack of
the enemy, which contained only two shirts, we also found the most excellent military books
translated into their language. For example, Turpin, Jenny, Grandmaison, La Croix, Tielke’s Field
Engineer, and the Instructions of the great Frederick to his generals I have found more than one
hundred times. Moreover, several of their officers had designed excellent small handbooks and
distributed them in the army. Upon finding these books, I have exhorted our gentlemen many times
to read and emulate these people, who only two years before were hunters, lawyers, physicians,
clergymen, tradesmen, innkeepers, shoemakers, and tailors. [Ewald also wrote, “the Continental
officer scorns his former calling completely, putting it aside to devote himself to the soldier’s
profession by reading military books (from which he can learn but little) and proudly wears his
uniform …”]”
Johann Ewald (captain), Diary of the American War: A Hessian Journal, Joseph P. Tustin, ed. and trans.
(New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1979), 108, 341. For a slightly different translation, see
Edward J. Lovell, The Hessians and the Other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolutionary
War (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1884), 226-227.
See also: “`Knowledge necessary to a soldier …’: The Continental Officer’s Military Reading List,
1775-1778,” Military Collector & Historian, vol. 59, no. 1 (Spring 2007), 65-71.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/124458058/YZ-List-Military-Manuals-Plus-Cavalry-New
__________________________

1777, British Officers, Saratoga Campaign, Knapsacks and Packhorses

General orders, “Camp at Skeinesborough House,” 12 July 1777
“It is observed that the injunctions given before the Army took the Field relative to the Baggage of
Officers have not been complied with, and that the Regiments in General are encumbered with much
more Baggage than they can possibly be supplied with means of conveying when they quit the Lakes and
Rivers. Warning is therefore again given to the Officers to convey by the Batteaux which will soon return
to Ticonderoga, the Baggage that us not indispensably necessary to them, or, upon the first sudden
movement, it must inevitably be left upon the ground. Such gentlemen as served in America the last
War may remember that the Officers took up with Soldiers’ Tents, and often confined their
Baggage to a Knapsack for months together. When opportunity shall offer to carry forward the
Baggage that shall be lodged at Ticonderoga, so as not to interfere with the transport of Magazines, the
Lieut. General will be happy to contribute to the convenience and comfort of the Officers.”
Orderly Book, Burgoyne’s Campaign of 1777, Ticonderoga to Saratoga, 47th Regiment of British Foot
(transcribed Saco, Me., 1932), copied from the original transcript in the Hill Collection (#287), Adirondack
Community College, Queensburg, N.Y. Original manuscript in the collections of the Fort Ticonderoga
Museum, M-2168, 37-38..

Ensign Thomas Anburey, 24th Regiment

Camp at Skenesborough, New York, 14 July 1777,
“’General Burgoyne foreseeing the great difficulties of conveying even provisions, setting apart the
baggage, has issued out the following orders: ‘It is observed, that the injunction given before the army
took the field, relative to the baggage of officers, has not been complied with, and that the regiments in
general are incumbered with much more baggage than they can possibly be supplied with means of
conveying, when they quit the lake and rivers: warning is therefore given again to the officer, to convey
by the bateaux which will soon return to Ticonderoga, the baggage that is not indispensably necessary to
them, or upon the first sudden movement, it must inevitably be left on the ground. Such gentlemen as
served in America last war may remember, that the officers took up with soldiers tents, and often
confined their baggage to a knapsack, for months together.’
Fortunately for me, my [pack or bat] horse has come safe round the lakes, which will enable me
to keep the little baggage I brought with me.”
Thomas Anburey, Travels Through the Interior Parts of America in a Series of Letters by an
Officer, vol. I (New York: The New York Times & Arno Press, 1969), letter XXXIII, 8 August
1777, 353-354.
__________________________

1779, British, 43d Regiment, officer’s marquee and possibly officer’s knapsack
(Courtesy of Andrew Watson Kirk.)
The Royal Gazette (New York, 15 December 1779.
“Found at Brooklyn, and now in the possession of Mr. John Hill, Inspector, the following articles, viz. a
Vellice with a Marque, marked Capt. Knight 43d Regiment, with some small articles.
A Soldier’s Knapsack containing some stockings and books, the above things supposed to belong to an
Officer.”
__________________________
1781, British, Cornwallis’s Southern Army, officers and knapsacks
(Courtesy of Alexander John Good)
The Edinburgh Advertiser, July 31, 1781
"Lord Cornwallis (says a letter by last packet) submits to all the fatigue of a prvate soldier--
Not an officer in his army is allowed to ride, though he has a great number of horses; but they
are all led by a great number of negroes and followers of the army, and kept fresh to be mounted
at a proper time.-- He Eats his dinner off a biscuit, and drinks of the brook in the way.
He has but one horse, or two men occasionally, which contain his papers, and is called his
Secretary's office. The officers carry their own baggage. consisting just of a change of linnen
in a knapsack."
__________________________

1782, Continental, 2d Maryland Regiment, lieutenant colonel wearing a knapsack.

On his way to South Carolina with the Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne’s Pennsylvania Battalions, following
the Yorktown Siege, Lt. Enos Reeves met “Lt. Col. Jack Stewart, of the Maryland Line.” John Stewart was
a captain, then major in the 2nd Maryland Regiment, was taken prisoner at Staten Island, 22 August 1777,
and cited for bravery at Stony Point. Lieutenant Reeves described Stewart and related several anecdotes
about him in a letter dated “Williamsborough N.C. Feb. 18th 1782”:
“Lt Col Stewart is one of the greatest oddities in Nature, he is six foot high, well made, and a fine
presence for an Officer. It would be endless to recount the many extraordinary stories that are told of him.
I’ll just mention one or two in order to give you an idea of his Character.
At the taking of Stony Point he commanded one of the advance Guards; in crossing the Marsh his boot
was filled with mud and water, he kicked it off and marched on with only one on. When he got in to the
works he came to some pieces of Artillery and ask’d who commanded this artillery, ‘I do,’ said a British
officer. ‘No by G-d, I do,’ says he, and stab’d him on the spot.
At a time when he was challenged to fight a Duel and of course might chuse his own weapons, he
enter’d the appointed field, with his knapsack on his back, with three days provisions, a Musquet and
Bayonet, with 60 rounds of ammunition, and as soon as he came within sight of his antagonist, he began
to fire and advance, and so continued, and his opponent was obliged to leave him the field.”
Enos Reeves, “Extracts from the Letter-Books of Lieutenant Enos Reeves, of the Pennsylvania
Line,” John B. Reeves, ed., Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 21 (1897),
383-385.
 __________________________

1782, Continental Army, New Jersey Regiments, officers issued canteens but not knapsacks
New Jersey Brigade: 882 officers, N.C.O.'s, rank and file.
828 N.C.O.'s, rank and file, only.
38 sick present
23 sick absent
1 confined
766 N.C.O.'s, rank and file,
present fit for duty

63 common tents (6 men per tent)

50 French tents (8 men per tent)
778 men N.C.O.'s, rank and file covered
776 knapsacks
804 canteens

Camp kettles: field officers, 3

staff officers, 2
company officers, 2
staff N.C.O.'s, 2
six privates, 1
1 canteen for each officer
(Officers were not issued knapsacks)
(Allowance of 1 axe per company)
"A full supply of Knapsacks & Canteens are in Store for the Army."
"Return of Camp Equipage in Possession of the following Corps, their Allowance, &c," 12 August 1782
(includes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Massachusetts Brigades; 1st and 2nd Connecticut Brigades; 10th Massachusetts
Regiment; Crane's Artillery Regiment; New York Brigade; New Jersey Brigade; Captain Moodie's Artillery
Company; and Corps of Sappers and Miners, Miscellaneous Numbered Records, reel 94, no. 27352.
August 1782 army return, Charles H. Lesser, Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Reports of the
Continental Army (Chicago, Il. and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1976), 232.
__________________________
 Appendix B.
Miscellaneous Narratives on Officers’ Belongings and Campaign Living

1776, British, Suggested Officers’ Campaign Equipage

(Courtesy of William P. Tatum III)
Capt. Frederick George Mulcaster’s (60th Regiment, Royal American) proposal for an
expedition to the backcountry of South Carolina and GeorgiaA to Clinton.
"Five Hundred Men may certainly penetrate into the back country of So. Carolina & Georgia, from
Pensacola by the way of the Alibama River, as far as the waters of that River will allow, & from Hence
thro' the woods, to any place agreed upon, & to arrive at a fix'd day____
To prevent the ill consequence of disappointment, The Person who commands the Party, must have
been some time in this Country,
accustomed to the Woods, inured to fatigue, disinterested in regard to himself, & bear difficulties with
patience, perseverance, & resolution.___
The Baggage of his officers must be proportioned to the example he setts vizt. a Blankett & Bear Skin, a
small Portmanteu, to contain a Short Coat, a waistcott, & pr. of Breeches, four shirts, four pr. of stockings
2 pr. of Trowsers a pr. of Shoes & a pr. of worsted Boots. his dish must be the Kettle the meat is cooked
in, & his Plate the Biscuit he eats with it as he must constantly carry his own Arms Ammunition, &
Canteen of water, & Horses to be made no other use than to carry, the Provns. Arms & Ammunition &c,
the former for the use of the Party, the latter for the friends of Govt. in the back Country___
The detachment may march Ten miles a day, with case allowing for the delay of passing Rivers, &
rough ground."
Frederick George Mulcaster to Henry Clinton, 1776, plan of a secret expedition into the backcountry of
South Carolina, Sir Henry Clinton Papers, vol. 19:45, Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor.
__________________________

1776, British, 5th Regiment, campaign camp and food

(Courtesy of Steve Rayner)
Capt. George Harris, 5th Regiment, wrote this undated letter, probably in early autumn 1776:
“After landing on York Island, we drove the Americans into their works beyond the eighth mile-stone
from New York, and thus got possession of the best half of the island. We took post opposite to them,
placed our picquets, borrowed a sheep, ate some of it, and then went to sleep on a gate, which we took the
liberty of throwing off its hinges, covering our feet with an American tent, for which we should have cut
poles and pitched, had it not been so dark. Give me such living as we enjoy at present, such a hut and
such company, and I would not care three farthings if we stayed all the winter, for though the mornings
and evenings are cold, yet the sun is so hot as to oblige me to put up a blanket as a screen.”

Captain Harris also noted camp life the day of the battle of Harlem Heights, 16 September 1776:
“Before we started in the morning, our dinner, consisting of a goose and piece of mutton, had been put on
the fire. The moment we marched, our domestic deposited the above-named delicacies on a chaise and
followed us with it to our ground. When the fight was over, he again hung the goose to the fire, but the
poor bird had been scarcely half done, when we were ordered to return to our station. There we again
commenced cooking, and, though without dish, plate, or knife, did ample justice to our fare, which we
washed down with bad rum and water, and then composed ourselves to rest on our friendly gate. Our
baggage joined us next day.”
W.H. Wilkin, ed., Some British Soldiers in America (London, 1914), 185-186, 187..
__________________________
1776, Continental, 3d Virginia officer’s chest
(Courtesy of Andrew Watson Kirk)
Pennsylvania Evening Post, published as The Pennsylvania Evening Post (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 1
August 1776.

__________________________
(Previous page and following pages) Chest purportedly belonging to Surgeon’s Mate Caleb Austin
2d Continental Artillery Regiment. Austin joined that unit in January 1777 and resigned in
November 1778. The ownership attribution is possible, but problematic. The engraved brass
plaque attached to the chest front is inscribed "C Austin: Capt. Armour, 1777." There is
only one C. Austin listed in Francis B. Heitman’s Historical Register of Officers of the Continental
Army During the War of the Revolution – April 1775 to December 1783 (Washington, D.C.: The Rare
Book Publishing Shop, Inc., 1914), The only officers with the surname Armor never attained rank
above lieutenant. The chest is described as “Blue painted pine with iron band supports and
strap hinges and drop bail handles. Interior is painted red. 14"h. x 32-3/4"w. x 15"d.
Condition: Good with wear and losses. Interior dividers are missing.” Lot 0656 in Antique
and Americana Auction byConestoga Auction Company Division of Hess Auction Group,
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/58650261_revolutionary-war-chest-of-captain-c-austin-1777
 Chest purportedly belonging to Surgeon’s Mate Caleb Austin 2d Continental Artillery Regiment.

1776, Continental, Gen. Thomas Mifflin’s blanket coat and Colonel Lippitt’s andirons
A Revolutionary relic of interest is a pair of Andirons, presented to our Cabinet by Mrs. Caleb Congdon,
of Cranston. These were originally the property of Colonel Christopher Lippitt and were used by him as a
part of his Camp equipage, while in command of a Rhode Island regiment, from 1775 to 1778. Colonel
Lippitt was a brave and energetic officer, and with his regiment served under Washington in the
memorable campaign In New Jersey. Of this regiment, the late venerable John Howland, the second
President of our Society, and a private in Captain David Dexter^s company, under Colonel Lippitt, relates
the following incident, of which lie was an eye witness:
"On the 31st day of December, 1776, the day on which the term of enlistment of the Continental troops
expired, the remnant of all the divisions, brigades 'or regiments, which had composed the army at the
opening of the campaign, together with a company of volunteers from Philadelphia, were paraded. The
brigade to which we were attached was composed of live regiments, three of which, (Varnum's,
Hitchcock's and Lippitfs.) were from Rhode Island; and the other two, (Nixon's and Little's.) were from
Massachusetts. Colonel Daniel Hitchcock, the oldest Colonel present, commanded this Brigade. Of the
number of men, Lippitt's counted more than one third. This was the time that tried both soul and body.
We were standing on frozen ground, covered with snow. The hope of the Commander-in-chief was
sustained by these half frozen, half starved men, that he could persuade them to volunteer for another
month. He made the attempt, and succeeded. He directed General Mifflin to address our brigade.
Seated on a noble looking horse, and himself clothed in an overcoat made up of a large rose-
blanket, and a large fur cap on his head, the General made a powerful harrangue, persuading us to
remain a month or six weeks longer in service. It was expected that in that time the Slates would send
on reinforcements to take our places, and he did not doubt before that time we should be able to expel the
enemy from New Jersey. He made some promises, perhaps without the advice of General Washington,
which were never fulfilled He said every thing taken from the enemy during the month should be the
property of the men, and the value of it divided among them. These promises, although they had no
weight or effect in inducing the men to engage, ought to have been fulfilled, though at the time they were
made no one could suppose it probable we should take stores or baggage from the enemy, who had six
men to our one then in Jersey.
"At the close of his speech the General required all who agreed to remain to poise their fire-locks. The
poising commenced by some of each platoon, and was followed by the whole line. Our regiment
(Lippitt's) having been at first a State, and not what was called a Continental, was enlisted for a year from
the 18th of January. Of course, we had legally to serve eighteen days longer. But this was not known to
the other troops, and probably not to General Mifflin himself. But it made no difference, we all poised
with the rest.
"Through this day, (December 31st,) the weather was mild, and it began to thaw. In the evening we were
paraded and ordered to march. None of us knew where we were bound. We only perceived we were going
westward, and at daylight in the morning we found ourselves at Trenton, which we had left two days
before. From the badness of the road, the darkness of the night, and accidents to the artillery carriages, or
the falling of a horse, &c, we thus consumed the whole night in the march. We quartered in the houses
occupied by the Hessians the week before. We had kindled our fires, and got on our kettles, and were
collecting from our knapsacks or pockets, a stray remnant of bread or tainted pork, when the drums beat
to arms. Hungry, tired, and sleepy, we swallowed our half-cooked food, placed the camp kettles in the
wagons, and leaving the comfort of houses we had not lately enjoyed, formed the line for marching."*
After leaving the army, in which he had served with honorable repute, Colonel Lippitt was appointed by
the General Assembly Brigadier-general of militia, and commanded a brigade on Rhode Island while the
French troops under Rochambeau occupied Newport, in 1780.
https://books.google.com/books?pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=%22rose+blanket+and+a+large+fur+ca
p+on+his+head%22&sig=NRassYGhWvkfNEJED3lT327Lzn8&id=YZNIAAAAYAAJ&ots=rQ30
QzUusk&output=text
__________________________

1776/1777, Militia, 1st Battalion Philadelphia Associators, Deceased Officer’s Belongings

Ensign Anthony Morris, First Battalion, Philadelphia Associators, was killed at the Battle of Princeton, 3
January 1777.
“Ensign Anthony Morris, Jr., was an officer of the First battalion Philadelphia Associators. He was born
August 8. 1738, and was by trade a brewer. His great-grandfather of the same name was mayor of
Philadelphia in 1704. Ensign Morris received three wounds, "one on the chin, one on the knee and the
third and fatal one on the right temple by a grape shot." He died in about three hours after he was
wounded, and was first buried in the Friends' burial-ground at Stony Brook, as we find by an entry of
January 14, 1777, in the diary of Margaret Morris of Burlington. The diary of Christopher Marshall of
Philadelphia states, under date of January 24, 1777 : "Last evening came from the camp the light infantry
of the First Battalion of City Militia: Also were brought the remains of Ensign Anthony Morris, Jr. who
was killed at Princeton bravely supporting the Cause of Liberty and Freedom : buried this afternoon in
Friends burial ground in a very heavy shower of rain and without military honours it being the request of
his relations to the General that he should be so interred." William S. Stryker, The Battles of Trenton and
Princeton, 456. “Friends’ burying-ground, Fourth and Arch Streets.” J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson
Westcott, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, three volumes (vol 1, 1884), 337.
“A List of Goods belonging to Anthony Morris Dec’d.
One Regimental Coat
a Blanket surtout
One Waiscoat
a Pair of Leather Britches
One Pair of Shoes
a Wig[?] ---- Catoridge Box
a Bayonet Belt & [gun?] Case
2 silk HandkeChiefs – a fur Cap & pair of Mittens
a Black Stock a Tobacco Box 2 Knives & Forks
a pair of Knee & Shoe Buckles & Stock D[itt]o & [illegible]
Gold sleeve Buttons [illegible] to Doct. Edwards
a silver Watch Do Do
77 Dollars & 2/3 & 1/7 3 Flints [illegible words]
Recd of Thos: Clark the Above Articles belonging to Anthony Morris – to be deliver’d to his Friends at Philada
– Jany – 11 – 1777 Eno Edwards”
Society of the Cincinnati Library, Anderson House, Washington, D.C.
__________________________

1776/1777, British, 33d Regiment, Officer’s Necessaries

Captain William Dansey, Light Infantry Company, 33rd. Regiment, 1st Battalion of Light Infantry:
"Chambre," Amboy, February 17, 1777.
You know I was determined when I left home to want for Nothing, and I have many very good things by
me; but I can make no use of for here. Two Shirts and other Necessaries just as a Soldier are enough for
any Officer under the rank of General."
"The 'Dansey' Letters" (Part IV), The Iron Duke: The Regimental Magazine of the Duke of Wellington's
Regiment, no. 84 (January 1952), 106.
__________________________

1777, British, 40th Regiment, Reduction of Officers’ Baggage

40th Regiment Order Book
“Head Qrs Nw: York 23d: May 1777 … The Commander in Chief Expects that in the several movements of
the Campaign the Offrs: will carry no Baggage with them but what is Absolutely Necessary –
And that Commanding Offrs: of Corps will Atend to Astrict Attendance to this Order And not suffr: the
Waggons to be Overloaded as they Frequently were in the course of the last Campaign …”

“A:R:O [13 June 1777] 6 in the Evening

A Store being Provided in Brownswick for the Regt: the Lt: Conll: Desires what Ever Baggage the Offrs: may
have that Can be Dispensd: with should be Lodged there, and it is the Commandr: in Cheif[s] Intention that
nothing should be Carried but what is Absolutely Necessarey for An Active Campaign “
British Orderly Book [40th Regiment of Foot] April 20, 1777 to August 28, 1777, George Washington Papers,
series 6B, vol. 1, reel 117.
__________________________
1777, British, 24th Regiment and 53d Regiment, Saratoga Campaign
Lt. William Digby—53d Regiment of Foot
17 July 1777, “We were obliged to remain a long time at Skeensborough on account of getting horses and
wagons from Canada; the Contractor of which, must have realized a great sum, each horse standing
Government in about £15 if lost or killed in the service, exclusive of paying the driver, &c. &c., and the
King’s horses, (so called) from our great park of Artillery (for this part of the service was particularly
attended to and the Brass train that was sent out on this expedition was perhaps the finest and probably
the most excellently supplied as to officers and men that had ever been allotted to second the operations
of an army which did not far exceed the second in number) amounted to a considerable number, indeed
the expenses of Government weer uncommonly great, as I have heard it computed that every man in our
service through the whole of America, including loyalists, women and every other hanger on to the
camps, &c, allowing for transports, service and a thousand other etceteras, stood government no less than
five shillings a day for each person … Our heavy baggage &c was mostly then sent to stores appointed at
Ticonderoga, as there was no longer any water carriage. The mare I had made prize of was full able to
carry as much baggage as I required, and saved me the expense of purchasing one for that purpose; and I
suppose at our next moving we had almost as many horses as men, many officers having 3 or 4, tho it was
strongly recommended by the general to take as little baggage as possible, which advice I followed,
leaving my bedding behind and making use of a Buffalo skin, with my cloak to cover me at nights.”
James Phinney Baxter, ed., The British Invasion from the North: Digby’s Journal of the Campaigns of
Generals Carleton and Burgoyne from Canada, 1776-1777 (1887; reprint edition New York: DaCapo
Press, 1970), 226-227
See also: PDF: The British Invasion from the North. The Campaigns of Generals Carleton and
Burgoyne from Canada, 1776-1777, with the Journal of Lieut. William Digby of the 53d, or Shropshire
Regiment of Foot. Illustrated with Historical Notes by James Phinney Baxter. Munsell's Historical
Series No. 16 (Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, NY: 1887).

Ensign Thomas Anburey, 24th Regiment

Letter XXXII, Camp at Skenesborough, New York, 14 July 1777,
Following the Battle of Hubbardton Ensign Thomas Anburey noted, “I readily own to you, that the exertions
of the day had so far wearied me, that drinking heartily of rum and water, I laid down in my bear-skin and
blanket, and did not awake till twelve the next day.”
Letter XXXIII, Camp at Skenesborough, New York, 14 July 1777,
“’General Burgoyne foreseeing the great difficulties of conveying even provisions, setting apart the baggage,
has issued out the following orders: ‘It is observed, that the injunction given before the army took the field,
relative to the baggage of officers, has not been complied with, and that the regiments in general are
incumbered with much more baggage than they can possibly be supplied with means of conveying, when
they quit the lake and rivers: warning is therefore given again to the officer, to convey by the bateaux which
will soon return to Ticonderoga, the baggage that is not indispensably necessary to them, or upon the first
sudden movement, it must inevitably be left on the ground. Such gentlemen as served in America last war
may remember, that the officers took up with soldiers tents, and often confined their baggage to a knapsack,
for months together.’
Fortunately for me, my horse has come safe round the lakes, which will enable me to keep the little
baggage I brought with me.”
Thomas Anburey, Travels Through the Interior Parts of America in a Series of Letters by an
Officer, vol. I (New York: The New York Times & Arno Press, 1969), letter XXXIII, 8 August
1777, 343-344, 353-354.
__________________________
1777, British, 46th Regiment, Officer’s Field Equipage
Lieutenant Loftus Cliffe, 46th Regiment of Foot.
Head of Elk, Maryland, August 1777 :
"Our field equipage... was reduced to two shirts & a blanket & a canteen for each Officer..."
Loftus Cliffe to Jack, 24 October 1777, Loftus Cliffe Papers, William L. Clements Library, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor.
__________________________

1777, Continental, 7th Pennsylvania Regiment, Officer’s Belongings

“Memorandum of Cloathing Lost at Brandywine By Capt. Wm. Alexander of the 7th. Pennsylvania Regt.
Commanded by Col. Wm. Irvin
1 Uniform Coat blue & Red 1 Pair superfine black broadcloth Breeches
1 thick flannel Coat 1 Pair Coarderoy Ditto
1 Coarderoy Vest 1 Pair fine Drilling Do.
1 Nankeen Ditto 4 Pair Cotton Stockings
1 thick flannel Ditt 3 Pair thread Ditto
1 fine Swanskin 3 Pair Worsted Ditto
1 Pair Silk Ditto
6 Ruffld. Shirts
1 bed Sheet 2 Plain Ditto
1 Table Cloath 4 White [neck] Stocks
2 Pair Shoes 2 Black Ditto
1 Case of Razors & box ¾ yd. Cambrick
1 Pair Silver knee buckles 5 Pocket Handkerchiefs
1 Black Barselona Silk Handkerchief
1 Beaver hatt Laced and Gold braid
I do Certify Upon Honour that I Lost the Above mentioned Articles with some Others I Cannot Recollect at
Present William Alexander”
The Peter Force Collection, series 9, conts. 21-24, Mss 17, 137 reel 104, page 1724, Library of Congress.
Cited in Thomas J. McGuire, Battle of Paoli (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2000), 49.
__________________________
1777-1778, Continental, Rev. Enos Hitchcock’s personal belongings

William Weeden, ed., Diary Of Enos Hitchcock, D.D., A Chaplain In The Revolutionary Army With a
Memoir by Enos Hitchcock (Providence: Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 1899), 92.
__________________________
1777 and 1782, British and Continental, a bed made of chairs or stools (In honor of Joshua Mason)
(Courtesy of Steve Rayner)
Lt. William Hale, 4th Regiment Grenadier Company:
“Brunswick, New Jersey, Dec. 19th, 1776...
General Grant, who at present commands in the Jerseys, will not permit any of us to go to York, in
consequence of which I have neither bed nor baggage; my clothes are all on my back and I am obliged to
wrap my cloak and blanket around me while I get my rags mended; we have no butter, wine or
vegetables, though a Market is promised. A room is allotted me in this Town, with only three doors in
it, papered and well furnished, eight Mahogany chairs, the bottoms compose my bed, a book case
and tables are the principal ornaments ...”
W.H. Wilkin, ed., Some British Soldiers in America (London, 1914), 219.

(Courtesy of Eric Schnitzer)

Dr. John Cochran to Timothy Pickering, West Point, 15 October 1782, "I am obliged to lie very
uncomfortable on three very small stools and in consequence of catching a cold have gotten a return of
fever."
Morris H. Saffron, Surgeon to Washington: Dr. John Cochran, 1730-1807 (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1977).

(On the right) Original camp chair belonging to Gen. George Washington. From the collections of
Tudor Place, Georgetown, Maryland.
__________________________
1778, Continental Officers and Horse Canteens
Brig. Gen. Jedediah Huntington to George Washington, 1 January 1778.
Observations on the army.
"A Change or two of Linnen, a little Provision and some Convenience for carrying necessary Papers, should
comprise all the Baggage of an Officer when he takes the Field - some Boxes in Fashion of Horse Canteens
might be contrived for them -"
George Washington Papers, Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington: Library of Congress, 1961), series
4, reel 46.
__________________________

1778, British, 42d Regiment, campaign living

(Courtesy of Alexander John Good)
Chaplain James McLagan, British 42d Regiment:

"My Dear Sir Camp on Long Island Augt 20th 1778

Your letter of 20th Febry came to hand sometime ago & would have been answered sometime ago too,
had I enjoyed my wonted conveniencies, but that is far from me. Sometimes in deed I live in a house, viz
in winter commonly; Sometimes I live in a crowd aboard a ship, sometimes I march & sometimes I live in
a tent with a few cloths & linnens, a half dozen books, 2 or 3 blankets, some straw or branches, a bottle &
a mug. Having been a few weeks in this camp, I have fixed 4 stakes in the ground on which I have fixed
a bit of deal [a fir or pine board] with nails, & on it I now write..."
__________________________
1780, German, Jaeger Camp Description
Jaeger Capt. Johann Ewald describing his troops’ encampment at the John Gibes plantation, near
Charleston, South Carolina, 31 March 1780:
"To my pleasure, daylight dispelled the dark night and I discovered with delight that I had spent the night
in a very lovely and well laid out pleasure garden. I sent a Jaeger into the very beautifully built dwelling
to see if a chair was still to be found in the house, he reported that the entire house was still furnished.
Then I inspected my post and found I could relieve all the sentries except one, since an impenetrable
swamp and the creek protected me up to the post of the light infantry. On my return I found a few
beautiful tables of Mahogany and several dozen chairs, on which my Jaegers rested their weary bones.
One of them had even hung up a large mirror on a tree, a novelty which amused everyone so much that all
hardship was forgotten."
Johann Ewald (captain), Diary of the American War: A Hessian Journal, Joseph P. Tustin, ed. and trans.
(New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1979), 220.
__________________________

1781, Continental Maryland Regiments, Officers’ Portmanteaus

"Estimate of Quarter Masters Stores to be supplyed from the State of Maryland for the Southern Army the
ensuing Campaign formed in due proportion to her Quoto of Troops. January 21st 1781
Knapsacks, 3500; Marques, 8; Horsemans Tents, 60; Commen ditto, 600; Camp Kettles, 600; Camp Kettles
with covers for officers, 150; Axes, 600; Leather Portmanteaus for officers, 150; Camp Stools, 150; Linen
bags to be filled with straw for officers and sick, 250; Linen bags with slings for Camp Kettles, 600; Canteens
with slings, 3500 ...
Ed. Carrington
D.Q.M.S.A.
The Deputy Quarter Master for the State of Maryland"
Donald Yeates to the Governor and Council, 15 February 1781, J. Hall Pleasants, ed., "Journal and
Correspondence of the State Council of Maryland ... 1781," Archives of Maryland, vol. XLVII (Baltimore,
Md., 1930), 72.
 __________________________

1781, French Officer’s Remarks on Continental Officers’ Life Style

(Courtesy of Steve Rayner)
Continental Army encampment on the Hudson River opposite New York.
"Camp at Philipsburg, August 4, 1781...
The American military habit, altho' easy to be soiled, is nevertheless very decent and neat; this
neatness is particularly observable among the officers; to see them, you would suppose they were
equipped with every necessary in the completest manner, and yet upon entering their tents, where
perhaps three or four reside together, I have often been astonished to find, that their whole
travelling equipage and furniture would not weigh forty pounds; few or none have matrasses; a
single rug or blanket, stretched out upon the rough bark of a tree, serves them for a bed; the
soldiers take the same precaution never to sleep on the ground, whilst ours prefer it to any other
way.
Their manner of living is very simple, and gives them but little trouble; they content themselves
with broiling their meat, and parching their corn, or baking unnleavened dough, made of Indian
meal, upon the hot embers."
Claude C. Robin, [? Abbé Robin], New Travels through North-America: In a Series of letters ...
(Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1783), 36.
__________________________

1781, Continental, 3d Maryland Regiment, Officer’s Greatcoat and wearing red coats
(Courtesy of Gregory J.W. Urwin)
Advertisement
“Lost on the 18th of Octobr. in the communication between this & 2 parallels, a Light Colored American
Manufactured great Coat with a Brown Velvet Cape and Buttons of the same Colour, any Person having
found the same deliver'g it to Ensign H. Becker of the 3 Mayd. Reg.' will be Liberally Rewarded for his
trouble."
Anthony Wayne, "Orderly Book of Anthony Wayne, 1781, Sept. 28-Nov. 2, Yorktown, Va.," 31 October
1781, Orderly Books of the American Revolution, Manuscripts Department, Huntington Library, Art
Collections, and Botanical Gardens.

An order issued at the start of the Siege of Yorktown:

"All Officers and others are strictly forbid for obvious Reasons to wear Red Coats."
Anthony Wayne, "Orderly Book of Anthony Wayne, 1781, Sept. 28-Nov. 2, Yorktown, Va.," 30
September 1781, Orderly Books of the American Revolution, Manuscripts Department, Huntington
Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
__________________________
 Appendix C.
Continental Army Officers and “superfluous baggage”

When it came to excess baggage, Continental officers were taken to task throughout the war by
the army’s high command. Below is a series of army orders and miscellaneous documents from
1777 to 1781 referring to the problem and related issues.
1777
Gen. George Washington’s army, general orders, 10 June 1777: "It has been so often, and so
pressingly recommended to officers to have no unnecessary baggage with them, that it is
hoped the army is entirely unencumbered with it; but if the case should be otherwise, the
General desires the Brigadiers will have it immediately removed ... After this notice, officers
are not to be surprised, if heavy boxes, great bedsteads &c. are left in the field."
John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript
Sources 1745-1799, vol. 8 (Washington, D.C., 1933), 211-212. 233-234.
Washington’s army, orders, 4 July 1777, "As no opportunity can be more favorable than the
present, to get rid of all heavy baggage; the General once more strongly urges the officers to
store what they can possibly spare, at Morristown. If after this second notice they continue
to fill and 'cumber waggons with old tables, chests, chairs &c: they are not to be surprised if
they are left in the field: This must be the inevitable consequence of a scarcity or failure of
teams."
Fitzpatrick, WoGW, vol. 8 (1933), 344-345.
Washington’s army, orders, 6 August 1777, "Whenever the army moves, it will probably be
necessary, that it march with the utmost celerity - the tents therefore ... are to be loaded in
waggons by themselves, and in such manner, that they may, without difficulty, keep up with the
troops; For the same reason, the officers will take with them, only a few articles of cloathing,
such as shall be indispensably necessary, leaving the bulk of their baggage to be brought on
after them …”
Fitzpatrick, WoGW, vol. 9 (1933), 28.

1778
Brig. Gen. Jedediah Huntington to George Washington, Observations on the army, 1 January
1778: “A Change or two of Linnen, a little Provision and some Convenience for carrying
necessary Papers, should comprise all the Baggage of an Officer when he takes the
Field - some Boxes in Fashion of Horse Canteens might be contrived for them -"
Jedediah Huntington to George Washington, 1 January 1778, George Washington Papers,
Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington, D.C., 1961), series 4, reel 46.
Washington’s army, orders, 27 March 1778, "The numerous Inconveniences of a large train of
baggage must be apparent to every officer ... an Army by means of it is rendered unweildy and
incapable of acting with that ease and Celerity which are essential either to it's own Security and
defence or to Vigor and Enterprize in its offensive Operations ... The Public is burdened with a
Fruitless Expence, in an additional number of Horses and Waggons and the strength of the Army
is diminished by the extraordinary number of Guards required for their protection; These
disadvantages and many more ... have been heretofore severely felt by this Army; many instances
will be recollected in the course of last Campaign, and among others the great loss which
attended the sending the superfluous baggage, during the more active part of it, to a distance from
the Army. The Commander in Chief hopes these considerations will influence officers in the
ensuing Campaign to provide themselves with those necessaries only which cannot be
dispensed with, and with the means of carrying them in the most easy and convenient
manner; In order to which he strongly recommends the dis-use of Chests and Boxes and
that Portmanteaus or Valises made of Duck may be substituted instead of them, this will be
the more requisite as it is in Contemplation to employ as few Waggons as possible and to
make use of Pack-Horses as far as may be practicable ..."
Fitzpatrick, WoGW, vol. 11 (1934), 161-162.

1779
Washington’s army, orders, 17 April 1779, "The officers are requested to lose no time in
preparing for the field, that they may be ready to leave their present quarters at the shortest notice.
The Quarter Master General as far as it is in his Power will supply those with
Portmanteaus who have not been furnished heretofore; and those who are or shall be
provided are on no account to carry chests or boxes into the field. The Portmanteaus are
given by the public to supersede the use of such cumbersome articles, in order to contract
the baggage of the Army and lessen the number of Waggons which, besides the saving of
expence, is attended with many obvious and most important military advantages ... The
General strongly recommends it to the officers to divest themselves as much as possible of
every thing superfluous, taking to the field only what is essential for decency and comfort.
Such as have not particular friends within reach, to whose care they would choose to
confide their spare baggage will apply to the Quarter Master General who will appoint a
place for its reception, and furnish a means for its transportation."
Fitzpatrick, WoGW, vol. 14 (1936), 399-401.

General Washington to Maj. Gen Nathanael Greene, Middlebrook, New Jersey, 6 May 1779:
"The first Jersey Regt. is under marching orders, and it is probable will move on this route the
day after tomorrow. General Maxwell writes me 'We have not got our portmanteaus, nor
waggons, our tents are not taken out of the store at Morristown for want of Waggons.' This
respects the Whole."
Fitzpatrick, WoGW, vol. 15 (1936), 2.

Maj. Gen. John Sullivan's Army, campaigning against the Iroquois in 1779
Present Minus
Fit for Duty Officers and Staff
Maxwell's Brigade 1225 1142 (N.C.O.'s and privates)
Poor's Brigade 1049 964 "
Hand's Brigade 800 754 "
Procter's Artillery 147 131 "
(4th Battalion, Continental Artillery)
(July 1779 strength return, Lesser, 124-125.
Procter's Artillery Battalion, October 1779 return, page 138.)
Leather
Knapsacks Haversacks Portmanteaus
Maxwell's Brigade 1044 765 85
Poor's Brigade 851 535 80
Hand's Brigade 625 526 41
Proctor's Artillery 100 22
Thomas Armstrong to Nathanael Greene, 21 August 1779, "A General Return of Stores in The
Quarter Master General's Department with the Army under the Command of ... Major
General John Sullivan on the Western Expedition Fort Sullivan, Tioga," Miscellaneous
Numbered Records (The Manuscript File) in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary
War Records 1775-1790's, National Archives Microfilm Publication M859, Record Group 93
(Washington, D.C., 1971), reel 94, no. 27523.

1781

Quartermaster General Timothy Pickering wrote George Washington on 14 January 1781,

"I made the estimate of regimental waggons on supposition that the states would compleat their
quotas of troops to the new establishment. Were this done, and the number of carriages allowed
by the plan of ye Q.Masters department to be furnished, each regt. would have 12 four horse
waggons. In my estimate they are reduced to 10 and two tumbrils. In a more accurate calculation
I find that four common baggage carts or waggons will carry the tents of the non commissioned
officers and privates, to which one may be added for the sick. Two tumbrils (instead of a waggon
& tumbril) may suffice for the field officers. They will carry more than the one waggon at present
allowed, & be more convenient. If a Colonel has been detached he has (I am told) usually taken
his waggon with him, & left his Lt.Colo. & Major destitute. With two tumbrils this inconvenience
will be remedied - If there be an order to send off the heavy baggage, one of the tumbrils may be
loaded & sent away. The same may be done in the case of captains & subalterns, for whom
on the new establishment one waggon cannot possibly answer ... Great advantages will
result from an intire separation of the officers baggage from the tents of the men. The
Waggons appropriated to the latter may be kept disencumbered with chests, benches,
tables, &c &c and the baggage of the former will be secured from plunder.”
Timothy Pickering to Washington (with memorandum), 14 January 1781, GW Papers, series
4, reel 74.

Washington’s army, 19 June 1781, "General orders, New Windsor, New York, The Army will
march for its encampment in the Vicinity of Peekskill ... The difficulty of transportation must be
too obvious to the army to need exposition, but were the Case otherwise the operations of the
Campaign will more than probably, be of such a nature as to render it not only advisable
but indispensably necessary to encumber the field as little as possible with Baggage. The
Commander in Chief does therefore in most pointed terms recommend to officers of every
rank commanding Corps to divest themselves of every species of Baggage that they can
possibly do without, and will see that all others under their respective orders do the like ...
No Women will be suffered to ride in waggons or walk in the ranks this Campaign unless there
are very particular reasons for it, of which the General Officer or officer commanding the
Division or brigade to which they belong is to be the judge; a written permission only will
prevail; without this the officers of the day or police are not only authorized to turn them out, but
requested to inflict instant punishment upon those who shall be found transgressors of this order.
Every Mess must carry its own Camp Kettle unless otherwise directed in General Orders ..."
Fitzpatrick, WoGW, vol. 22 (1937), 233-234.

Washington’s army, orders, 22 August 1781, "... 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...
As great inconveniences have arisen in the transportation of Baggage from officers
commanding regiments procuring a greater number of waggons than is their proportion
 and from not having the Tents and Baggage of the officers conveyed in different Waggons
from those that carry the Soldiers tents, to prevent such irregularities in future the
Commander in Chief directs the following allowance of Waggons vizt.
To a Field Officer of a regiment, one covered waggon
To the regimental Staff Captains and Subs: two covred and one open waggons
To every hundred men one open Waggon.
And particularly enjoins it on the commanding officers of regiments and corps to see that
the tents and Baggage of the officers are convey'd in their proper Waggons and the Waggon
Master General is directed to throw away any officers baggage that he finds loaded in those
Waggons that are appropriated for the Soldiers Tents."
Fitzpatrick, WoGW, vol. 23 (1937), 37-38.
____________________

Addenda

Light infantry officer leading a column at the Battle of Germantown, 4 October 1777.
Detail from “Battle of Germantown” by Xavier della Gatta (1782)

(Courtesy of Paul Pace)

List of Articles Lost by Lt. Colin Campbell, 71st Regt. When HMS Lord North Packet Ship was
Captured by French Privateer, Sailing from Charleston, South Carolina, Oct. 23, 1781 Copy A List
of Articles &c lost by Lieut : Campbell 71st Regiment on his Passage from South Carolina.
Fuzee £ 3.3.
~ A Hair Matrass £ 2.14.
~ Sword 2.7.6 2 P r Sheets 1.10.
~ Sash 3.6.
~ 2 P r Pillow Cases ~5.
~ 2 Plaids 3.12.
~ A Bed Cover 1.5.
~ 2 Regimental Coats 18. ~.
~ A P r Blankets 1.10.
~ 2 Vests & 2 Breeches 5.
 ~. ~ 4 Table Cloths 2.
~ . ~ 14 Shirts 14. 14.
~ 6 Hand Towels ~ . 12.
~ 3 Stocks ~ .18.
~ 12 Pocket Handkerchiefs 1.10.
~ A Pr Rel buckles 1.10.
~ A gamblet Cloak 2.17.
~ 2 P r Shoes ~. 18.
~ A Small Shaving } Case with Combs R} 1.13.6
~ 6 P r Hose ~. 15.
~ 9 P r Thread do 2.5.
~ 3 P r Silk do 1. 16.
~ 6 Silver Table Spoons 5.8.
~ 10 Tea do 2. ~.
~ A P r Leather Canteens 8.8.
~ 2 small do Cups 1.8.
~ A Hat ~. 18.
~ 2 Trunks 1.16.
~ A Watch R 8.3.
~ A small Mahogany [trunk] } 1.1.
~ A red Morocco Letter Case 2.15.
~ Box for Books /Papers } £ 78.12.6 Cash 13.13.
~ Proportion of Sea Stores 22. ~.
~ £ 63.2.6 78.12.6 £ 141.15. ~
Source: TNA, Treasury: Treasury Board Papers and In-letters at T 1/622, ff. 44-45. Transcribed by
Paul Pace
______________________
(Courtesy of Don Hagist)

Lost trunk belonging to Ens. George Vaughn Hart, 46th Regiment:

“Camp, near Bedford, September 20, 1778.

A Large black leather Portmantua Trunk, was stolen out of an Officer’s
tent, of the 46th regiment, yesterday evening, containing shirts, stockings,
handkerchiefs, summer waistcoats and breeches, &c. &c. two regimental
coats of the 46th regiment, one had large silver buttons, the other small
plated ditto; two cases of mathematical instruments, a mahogany box with
colours in ivory shells, two pocket compasses, a spy glass, marked Nairne, a
few maps, sketches, &c. &c. and some papers, useful only to the owner. The
shirts and handkerchiefs were marked G. V. H. the stockings G. H. It is
requested that if any of the above things are offered for sale, a proper
enquiry may be made, and the thief, if possible, secured: The discoverer
shall be entitled to a reward of Ten Guineas, by applying to the Adjutant of
the 46th regiment, and if the Trunk, &c. can be saved, the reward shall be
Twenty Guineas.
A silver-mounted regimental Sword, of the 46th regiment, with the motto
Pro Gloria et Patria, on the sanguined part of the blade, was lost three weeks
ago at Brooklyn Ferry. Whoever will bring it to the regiment, shall have
Two Guineas reward, and no questions asked.”
Royal Gazette (New York), 7 October 1778.
 Endnotes

1. Richard K. MacMaster, ed., “News of the Yorktown Campaign: The Journal of Dr. Robert
Honeyman, April 17-November 25, 1781,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,
vol. 79, no. 2 (October 1971), 401-402.
2. Dennis P. Ryan, ed., A Salute to Courage: The American Revolution as Seen Through the Wartime
Writings of Officers of the Continental Army and Navy (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1979),
276-277.
3. Simeon Ecuyer, inventory of belongings, 1760 (still seeking original source)
4. Douglas Southall Freeman, Washington (Richard Harwell’s single volume abridgement of the
original seven volumes; New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1968), 119-136. Christopher
Hardwick to George Washington, 12 December 1758, Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, ed. Letters to
Washington and Accompanying Papers, 5 vols. (Boston: Colonial Dames of America; New
York: Houghton Mifflin and Company; Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1898-1902).
The appended material courtesy of R. Scott Stephenson, taken from the Papers of James Grant of
Ballindalloch, mostly relating to preparations for campaigning in America in 1757 with the First
Highland Battalion. Since Mr. Stephenson viewed these materials the collection was made
available on microfilm. (Note: possibly in the Library of Congress or the David Library of the
American Revolution.)
______________
Bill from Edward Smith, Coffer and Plate–Case Maker to His Majesty at Charing Cross who
makes......portmanteaus
Jan 20 1757 One leather Portmanteau, One Oyl Cloth cover, 2 pr of straps, 1 pr. of canteens with 8 bottles and
padlocks, 4 tin plates...paid 5/6/
______________
Purchased of J. Higginbotham May 26 1757: a yard of superfine cloth for furniture, lineing and making said
furniture.
______________
28 May 1757: to a Hogskin saddle with silvered nails and sursingle; to a steel snassle, bridle and saddlecloth; to a
hunters saddle and sursingle; to a saddle cloth; to a pair of pistols; to a pair of holsters and straps; to 2 pr holster
straps; to stuffing a demi–peak and lining; pair stirrups; to a Sanguin head stall and reins, breastplate and crupper; to
a pistol bit; to a bill bridle for your servant; to 6 collars; to a [guardiebine] bottle; to alterring the canteens with
loops; baize land lining; to pr luggage straps and etc.; to 2 pair port straps; to 2 sets sun[ks] and [tabs] sursingles;
wantons, breastplates and cruppers; to 2 sets [junks] and [sods] sursingles, watons, breatplates and cruppers; to a
jockey belt; to 5 tin canisters; to a brodoun; to a male pillion; to a box and cord
______________
James Masperton Cash paid your Tailor per discharge to
Upolsterers, Shoe makkers; for stockings, for portmanteau, spoon, knife and etc.; 6 tin plates in the canteens; books
______________
Inventory of things Belonging to Major Grant (c.1757-58 or 1760-61?)
58 shirts, 35 stocks, 5 neck clothes, 22 pr. silk stockings, 13 pair thread stockings, 12 pr. woolling stockings, 2 pr.
hose, 18 night caps, 4 surtouts, 10 pr. linen drawers, 7 pr. linen do diminty, 4 pr. of do flannels, 32 table napkins, 43
hand towels, 14 rubbers, 49 pocket hankerchiefs– one lost going to York, 14 table clothes, 3 pr. gloves, 5 pr.
breeches, one pr. do made at York, 5 waistcoats, 2 flannel coats, 2 flannel waistcoats, 1 nankeen coat, 1 full
regimental coat, 3 frocks, 2 pieces of nankeen, 1 piece of red camlet, 7 sheets, 5 pillow cases, 1 pillow, 3 matresses,
2 sets of bed curtains, 2 bed bedstands, 2 bolsters, 4 blankets, 2 quilts, 5 pair of spatterdashes, a set of fine stone
buckles, 1 pr. of regimental buckles, 1 pr. leggons, 1 [jusk], 2 pr.garters, 2 sword knots, 16 pr. of shoes, 1 pr. do
given to Ensign [Dunnet], 3 pr. of boots, 2 black silk bags, 1 small globe, 1 Highland purse, 3 wigs, a wig box, 1 tin
kettle, 1 tea pot, 1 milk pot, 1 case containing a knife fork and spoon, one snuff box, one snuff horn, 1 pen knife, 3
bundles of quills, 1 saddle, 3 [sets] of furniture, 3 girths, 1 small case containing bottles, 1 regimental plaid, 1 case
holsters, 1 small sword belt, three swords, 1 shoulder belt, 1 cartouch box and bayonet, one case razors, 1 small hat,
1 [flesh] brush, 5 pair lace ruffles, 15 pr. [jowed] ruffles, 3 pr. of weipers, 3 beaver blankets, 3 toothbrushes, 1
Buffalo skin, 1 greatcoat, 6 teaspoons, 6 knives, [ ] forks, 4 brass candlesticks, 12 stone plates, 4 wineglasses, 1
watch coat and hood.
5. Thomas Simes, The Military Guide for Young Officers, 3rd edition (London, 1781), 312-313.
The list of officers’ necessaries may also be found in Hew Strachan, Briitsh Military Uniforms,
1768-96: The Dress of the British Army from Official Sources (Arms and Armour Press, 1975),
188, citing Simes, Military Guide for Young Officers, 1772 edition. See also Simes, The Military
Medley: Containing the most necessary Rules and Directions for attaining a Competent Knowledge
of the Art: To which is added an Explanation of Military Terms, Alphabetically Digested (London,
1768), 195-196. Oxford English Dictionary, Compact Edition, two vols. (Glasgow, New York,
and Toronto, 1971), II, 2054.
6. Simes, Military Guide for Young Officers, 312-313.
7. John U. Rees, "'We ... got ourselves cleverly settled for the night': Soldiers' Shelter on
Campaign During the War for Independence," part IV, "`We are now ... properly ...
enwigwamed.': British Soldiers and Brush Huts, 1776-1781," Military Collector & Historian,
vol. 55, no. 2 (Summer 2003), 89-96.
(World Wide Web), http://revwar75.com/library/rees/shelter4.htm
8. R.A. Innes, “Jeremy Lister, 10th Regiment, 1770-1783,” Journal of the Society for Army
Historical Research, vol. 41 (1963), 32-34. Jeremy Lister received an ensign’s commission in the
10th Regiment in late 1770, and left to join his regiment at Quebec in mid April of the following
year. In a letter to his father headed, “Queen’s Square, Westminster,” 6 April 1771, Lister noted “as
to my clothing I have got a good stock, but not without Colonel Fawcett’s and the Captain of the
ship’s advice, as everything of that kind will be very dear in America … I had in my pocket when I
got to Town, four guineas, received of my Agent the 26th of February £10, and the £30 you sent me,
in all £44 4s. I have now about three guineas and a half.” He then listed his purchases and expenses:

£ s. d.
Stockings, 30 pairs silk thread worsted 9 8 9
Washing 15 2 ½
Gloves
2 Hats, one Regimental 3 14 6
Ink stand, Sealing Wax, papers 4 6
Black Neck Cloth 2 8
Hair Cutting 2 6
Cane 1 4 0
Pair of Buttons and Stock Buckle 2 6
6 Pairs of shoes and 1 pair of Boots 3 19 6
Learning my Exercise 2 2 0
£ s. d.
Shaving utensils 2 2 0
Ribbon 1 3
Watch and seal 6 6 0
Pocket glass and scissors 13 6
List of the Army 2 6
Curling irons 2 6
Puff, Powder Bag and Powder 4 6
A sash 16 0
Breeches mending 1 0
Breast Buckle 7 6
6 Cotton Night Caps 10 0
A piece of wove silk for a waistcoat 1 1 0
Spurs 11 0
Stockings marking 5 9
£36 6 7 ½

(The “Exercise” mentioned in this inventory was referred to in a 9 February letter: “I have got a
sergeant in the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards to teach me my exercises, who gives me a lesson every
day at 2 o’clock.”) Lister wrote to his father, 13 April 1771. “As my intended journey is postponed
till next Wednesday, therefore take this opportunity of acquainting you that the linen which I have
got comes to near £30. The bed and inveliece to put it in comes to about £17. Hats £2.16.6d. Washing,
brushes, soap, boxes and little odd things which I mentioned in my particulars of in my last, £2.11.0. What
the trunks and hat boxes will be I cannot tell.”
9. Innes, “Jeremy Lister, 10th Regiment, 1770-1783,” JSAHR, 41 (1963), 32-34.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. John B. Linn and William H. Egle, eds., Pennsylvania. Archives, 2nd Series, vol. I
(Harrisburg: Lane S. Hart, State Printer, 1879), 439-440. Below are belongings of other officers
taken aboard the Hope:
“James Morrison [unknown], 42d Regiment:
One Box, containing a fragment of old Linen, 3 Shirts, 2 pr. of old Cassimer Breeches, 1 pair old woolen
Breeches, 2 pr. thread & 1 pr. woolen Stockings, 1 old blue Coat, 1 old regimental Hat, 3 pr. black
Stocks, 1 pair Linen save-alls. One small box within the above, containing 1 old silver stock buckle, 1 pr.
silver paste knee Buckles, about 1 ¼ yards narrow Silver lace, and sundry accounts and loose papers …
Capt. [William] Moore or Lieut. [Captain Edward] Hubbard, 45th Regiment:
One box, containing 1 bundle, cont’g 6 pr. women’s worsted shoes, directed for Capt. [William] Graham,
45th Regiment; 1 light colour’d Claret Woman’s Gown & petticoat; 1 Hat Box directed to Capt. Hussard
[unknown], 44th Regiment, containing 1 silver laced Hat & 2 plain, do., 3 silver Epolets & 1 buff sword
belt; 1 Bundle, directed to Captain Moore, containing 2 yards superfine scarlet cloth, 1 yd. and 1/8 of
white cassimere, 4 ½ yds. white Rattinet, 4 yds. of white linen for lining, a small remnant of green cloth,
1 yd. of white linsey, 14 white Blankets, 4 doz. white Regimental Coat Buttons, 2 waste whited thread,
silk & Mohair, and one pr. silk knee Garters; 1 bundle, directed for Lieut. [Captain Edward] Hubbard, 45th
Regiment, containing 2 yds. superfine cloth, 1 Remnant of Green Cloth, 2 ¾ yds. white cloth, 7 yds.
white Rattinet, 4 yards white drillen; 1 bundle, directed to Surgeon Gillespie [possibly surgeon’s mate,
45th Regiment, first name unknown], containing 13/4 yds. superfine scarlet cloth, 1 yd. white cloth, 2 3/8
yds. superfine brown cloth, 4 yards Brown Rattinet, 5 yds. white, do., 4 yards white Linen, 4 doz.
Regimental Coat Buttons; 1 bundle, directed to Ensign [William] Hassard, 44th Regiment, containing 1 ¾
yds. superfine scarlet cloth, 3 ½ yards, ditto, 1 yd. white, do., 5/8 yd. of yellow cloth, 4 ½ yds. white
Rattinet, 9 yards, do., 11 doz. Regimental Coat Buttons, 3 doz. white, do., 27 ½ yds. white Linen.
Ensign Piercy, 45th Regiment.
One box, containing 1 piece Linen, 22 ½ yards, 6 shirts and a fragment of Linen; 1 box, containing 14
yds. narrow Green Camblet, directed to Mr. Morlan, 1 piece superfinewhite Jean, containing 5 ¾ yards, 1
piece, ditto, containing 7 yards, 1 piece coarse yard wide Linen, containing 6 ½ yards, 1 piece coarse
Green Baize, containing 6 yards.
[Ensign] George Cleghorn, 22d Regiment.
One trunk, containing 1 case Instruments, part of a sword belt, old black Cravat, 1 small box with powder
& puff, 1 shoe horn, 1 cork screw, tweezers, 1 black lead pencil, 1 penknife, 1 brass lock for saddle bags,
Silver Hat loop, Buff ball & Chalk, 1 old Ruffle, 1 Book, Tea chest with a pair of old Gloves, a bundle of
old Rags, 8 Shirts, 8 pr. thread & three pr. worsted stockings, 1 pr. yarn, do., 6 Towels, 6 pillow cases, 1
piece yd. wide Irish Linen, 1 piece Irish Linen, directed to Mr. [George] Cunningham, [ensign] 22d
Regiment, 1 pair sheets, 1 old ragged shirt, 1 pr. casimer Breeches, 1 casimer Wastecoat, 1 superfine
scarlet Cloth Coat, 1 ¾ yds. superfine scarlet Cloth, 1 ½ yards, superfine Broadcloth, 5 ¾ yards buff
Rattinet, 4 yards white Linen, 1 breast belt and 2 cuffs, 1 pr. sheets, 23 bound Books and a number
worthless pamphlets … Philadelphia, 23d November, 1775.”
Oxford English Dictionary, Compact Edition, I, 401.
13. Benjamin F. Stevens, ed, General Sir William Howe’s Orderly Book - at Charlestown,
Boston and Halifax, June 17, 1775 to 1776 26 May (Port Washington, N.Y. and London:
Kennikat Press, 1970), 87-88. Steven M. Baule and Stephen Gilbert, British Army Officers Who
Served in the American Revolution, 1775-1783 (Westminster, Md.: Heritage Books, 2004)
14. "[ ] (illegible) Mr. Trotter," (verso) no date, Earl of Loudoun Papers, Additional Manuscripts,
no. 44084, f. 236, The British Library, London. Trotter was an Agent to the Guards at the time
when they were forming the detachment for American service in 1776. Written on the front of
this note is the following:
"22 Bell Tents with _____________ [illegible] 50/"
12 Camp Colours 7/"
20 Drum Cases 9/"
224 Tin Kettles & Canvas bags 2/2 bags 80 [sic]
1062 Tin Canteens 10d
1062 Haversacks 17d
10 powderbags 10/"
32 Sunks & Sods L1.16___
32 Waterdecks 10/10
40 Forage Cords @ 3/6 pr sett 4 to a Sett
30 Scyths with Sheeth & Whetstons 5/6
The above is already ordered to be provided by Mr. Trotter
Watchcoats of Kersey L1 pr pc"
Oxford English Dictionary, Compact Edition, II, 3231.
15. 17 September 1776 memorandum; Notebook 2 (Peebles Diary, GD 21/492, 2, Scottish
Records Office); Captain Thomas Dowdeswell, 1776-1777, by Joseph Blackburn (Guards
Museum, London.), included in the online article, William W. Burke and Linnea M. Bass,
“Preparing a British Unit for Service in America: The Brigade of Foot Guards, 1776,” Military
Collector & Historian, vol. 47, no. 1 (Spring 1995), 2- 11.
(World Wide Web) http://military-historians.org/company/journal/guards/guards.htm
Early in the war British officers seem to have had to provide their own tents, as per the following
order for the Guards prior to their American service:
Brigade Order, London 26 February 1776
"In consequence of His Majestys Commands for the Detachment of Foot Guards destined to serve in North America to be in
readiness to March from London to the place of embarkation by the 13th of March The Earl of Loudoun orders the Commanding
Offrs. of Regimts. to give out in orders the names of the Offrs. for that Service following the order of the Thirteenth Instant.
Those Offrs. are to Provide themselves immediately with Tents & Camp Equipage and to Apply to Messrs Meyricks in
Parliament Street for Bat, Baggage and Forage Money."
"The Quarter Master appointed to the Detachment is to Apply immediately for the Soldiers Tents, Blankets and Watch Coats.”
(London Orderly Books of all 3 regiments of Guards)
Once they were overseas, and the war continued on, tents were provided officers by the army:
Jenkinson to Trotter 9 October 1780
Among the things ordered for the Forces on Foreign Service were
12 Field Officers Tents
40 Captains Tents
50 Subalterns Tents
4752 Water Flasks with Slings
4752 Haversacks
(War Office 4/111)
(Information courtesy of Linnea Bass)
16. Ens. Daniel Gwynne inventories, 1777, 1778, Pembrokeshire Record Office, D / CT / 271.
Courtesy of Eric Schnitzer.
17. Ibid.
18. Eric. H. Schnitzer, “From Parade Ground to Campaign: the Inventories of Ensign William
Johnson, 29th Regiment of Foot, 1776 and 1777,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXXIV, no. 4
(Winter 2004), 2-5.
19. Benjamin Turner, 6 September 1776, “An Inventory of all the Effects to be found in Camp or
quarters belonging to Lieutnt Benaiah Turner of Captn [Roger] Mores Company of the 4th Regiment
of North Carolina Continentals Commanded by Collnl Polk who Died in Wilmington fryday ye 7th
Septr 1776,” (Still seeking primary source: North Carolina State Archives??)
(World Wide Web) http://www.2nc.org/invent1.htm (Courtesy of Patrick O’Kelley.)
George C. Neumann, History of Weapons of the American Revolution (New York, Evanston, and
London: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1967), 207-208, items P.56 and P.57; George C. Neumann,
Swords & Blades of the American Revolution (Texarkana, Tx.: Rebel Publishing Co., Inc., 1991),
54.
20. Ira D. Gruber, ed., John Peebles' American War: The Diary of a Scottish Grenadier, 1776-1782
(Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pa., 1998), 89.
21. Timothy Pickering to Benjamin Walker, 22 March 1783, George Washington Papers,
Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington: Library of Congress, 1961), series 4, reel 91. For a
detailed study of cooking gear, see John U. Rees, "'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 Light-Weight Military
Kettles, 1759-1782”) Military Collector & Historian, vol. 53, no. 1 (Spring 2001), 7-23.
22. Samuel Adams (surgeon, Crane’s Artillery Regiment) to Sally Adams, 9 December 1779, The
Sol Feinstone Collection of the American Revolution, item 39, David Library of the American
Revolution, on deposit at the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA.
23. M.M. Quaife, ed., "Documents - A Boy Soldier Under Washington: The Memoir of Daniel
Granger", Mississippi Valley Historical Review, XVI, 4 (March 1930), 546. Force, American
Archives, series 5, vol. III (1853), 453. 31 December 1778, James Abeel Receipt Book 1778-1779,
Morristown NHP Collection, reel 1, entry 656. 6 September, 5 October, 2 November 1779, Returns
for Captain Maxwell's Company commanded by Col. John Bailey (2nd Mass. Regt.) 1775-1780,
Folder 8E-10, WARS 8 VI, The Revolution, Box 5, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association,
Historic Deerfield Massachusetts. Timothy Pickering to Washington (with enclosed memorandum),
14 January 1781, Washington Papers, series 4, reel 74. Pickering to Peter Anspach, 26 June 1782,
Misc. Nod. Records, Natl. Archives, reel 87, no. 25345.
24. Blank regimental ledger, 1 September 1779, Josiah Harmar Papers (microfilm edition, reel
10), William L. Clements Library, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "Plan for the Cloathing of the
Infantry," 1779, GW Papers, series 4, reel 63. “Estimate of Articles to be imported in the
Department of the Board of War & Defence,” June 1779, The Papers of the Continental
Congress 1774-1789, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247 reel 158); Record Group
(RG) 360, National Archives (NA), Washington, DC, 1958: vol. 3, 424, 434-435). See also,
Timothy Pickering, Board of War, to Congress, 11 June 1779, ibid. (p. 435), “Pursuant to the
order of Congress for this purpose the Board have made the foregoing estimate of articles falling
with[in] their department which they beg leave to lay before Congress. The estimate is large, but
we have calculated on those [items?] & quantities indispensably necessary, on supposition that a
large proportion might miscarry by means of ye enemy & dangers of ye seas, & that if more
should arrive than shall be immediately wanted they would go towards the supplies of a
subsequent year.” "Estimate of Necessaries Requisite for an Army of 40,000 Men," [1781?], and
"Estimate of Stores &ca. for an Army of Twenty five thousand Men so far as concerns the
Quarter Master Generals Department," [1781?], Numbered Record Books Concerning Military
Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement of Accounts, and Supplies in the War Department
Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93, National Archives Microfilm
Publications M853 (Washington, DC, 1973: vol. 103, reel 29, targets 2 and 4).
25. 10 June 1779, James Abeel Receipt Book 1778–1779, Lloyd W. Smith Collection, 69 reels,
Morristown National Historic Park, reel 1, entry 656; 6 September, 5 October, 2 November 1779,
Returns for Captain Maxwell's Company commanded by Col. John Bailey (2d Mass. Regt.) 1775–
1780, Folder 8E–10, WARS 8 VI, The Revolution, Box 5, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial
Association, Historic Deerfield Massachusetts; "A Return of Quarter–Master–General's Stores in
The Brigades at West Point & Constitution Island," 1 August 1779, and "A Return of Quarter–
Master–General's Stores in the Second Pennsylvania Brigade... at Camp West Point," 4 August
1779, Papers of the Continental Congress (NA Microfilm Publication M247, vol. 3, reel 192, 3, 145,
153).
26. Edwin M. Stone, The Life and Recollections of John Howland, late President of the Rhode
Island Historical Society (Providence: George H. Whitney, 1857), 66 (World Wide Web),
http://tiny.cc/7THqK .
27. John Greenwood, "Memoirs of the Life of the late Mr. John Greenwood, Mechanical and
Surgeon Dentist, of New-York City: Compiled by E. Bryan," The American Journal of Dental
Science, devoted to Original Articles, reviews of Dental Publications; the latest Improvements in
Surgical and Mechanical Dentistry, and Biographical Sketches of distinguished Dentists (Kelley
and Fraetas, Printers, New York, 1839), 103 (Google Books). The unit he belonged to is
identified on page 99; major of his regiment was Henry Sherburne, his captain was Thomas
Theodore Bliss, 15th Continental Regiment.
28. “Letters of General William Irvine to his Family ... Mrs. Ann Irvine, Carlisle, Penn,” The
Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries, vol. VII (New York: Trubner and Co., 1863), 81-
82 (Google Books).
29. Thomas Tallow (Tulloh), pension application (W6334), transcribed by Will Graves.
http://revwarapps.org/w6334.pdf, Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Pension Statements
& Rosters, (World Wide Web) http://www.southerncampaign.org/pen/
30. Park Holland, “A Visit to Judge Stephen Jones, at Machias, 1784,” The Bangor Historical
Magazine, vol. IV (July, 1888-June, 1889), Joseph W. Porter, editor and publisher (Bangor, Me.:
Benjamin A. Burr, 1888-1889), 104 (Google Books).
31. Jeffrey H. Fiske and Sally Ostergard Fiske, eds., Journal of Park Holland: Soldier of the
Revolution and Shays’ Rebellion, Maine Surveyor, and Early Penobscot Settler (New Braintree,
Ma.: Towtaid, 2000), 16, 17. Examples of available dishes, bowls, and plates of the Revolutionary
era are pictured in George C. Neumann and Frank J. Kravic, Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia
of the American Revolution (Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1975), 110–114.
32. Henry Fanning Watson, Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the Olden Time ..., two
Volumes, vol. II (Philadelphia: Baird and King, Printers, 1850), 321.
33. James K. Hosmer, Samuel Adams (Boston and New York: The University Press Cambridge,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913), 386. Adams responded to McDougall’s gift on 13 May
1782, “The present you sent me by Maj. Gibbs gratified me exceedingly. I intend to transmit it to
my posterity as a specimen of Spartan frugality in an American general officer. The citizen and
the soldier are called to the exercise of self-denial and patience, and to make the utmost exertions
in support of the great cause we are engaged in.”
34. Kate Mason Rowland, The Life of Charles Carroll of Carrolton 1737 - 1832 with his
Correspondence and Public Papers, vol. I (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1898),
217-218. .
35. “Mess Book Artillery 1778,” Fort Arnold, West Point, and White Plains, New York, June to
October 1778, Miscellaneous Numbered Records (The Manuscript File) in the War Department
Collection of Revolutionary War Records 1775-1790's, no. 28634, 30 pages (National Archives
Microfilm Publication M859, reel 98) U.S. War Department Collection of Revolutionary War
Records, Record Group 93, Washington.
36. "Diary of the Pennsylvania Line. May 26, 1781 - April 25, 1782", John Blair Linn and William
H. Egle, Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution, Battalions and Line 1775-1783, vol. II
(Harrisburg, Pa., 1880), 702. The foregoing "Diary" includes the journals of both Captain Joseph
McClellan and Lieutenant William Feltman.
37. Walter Harold Wilkin, Some British Soldiers in America (London, Hugh Rees, Ltd., 1914), 227-
229.
38. Bruce E. Burgoyne, Enemy Views: The American Revolutionary War as Recorded by the Hessian
Participants (Bowie, Md., 1996), 160-162.
39. British Orderly Book, H.B.M. 43rd Regiment of Foot, 23 May to 25 August 1781, British
Museum, London, MSS 42,449.
40 General orders, 14 January 1777, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George
Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, 7 (Washington, DC,:
Government Printing Office, 1932), 9.
41.General orders, 27 August 1777, ibid., vol. 9 (1933),
42. George Washington to Continental Army General Officers (Council of War), 26 October
1777, ibid., 9 (1933), 441-442. General orders, 18 June 1780, ibid., 19 (1937), 22. Friedrich
Wilhelm de Steuben, Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States
Part I. (Philadelphia, Pa., 1779), plate I.
43. General orders, 23 September 1778, Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, vol. 12
(1934), 483-484.
44. General orders, 22 December 1778, ibid., 13 (1936), 451. Conservation of wintertime forage
was cited again in November 1782, “The Quarter Master general having represented his inability
to procure forage during the Winter for the whole number of horses allowed to the General and
other officers of the Line and Staff who remain with the troops in the New Windsor
Cantonments, has proposed to supply in the following proportion, which has been approved by
the Commander in Chief: To a Major Genl. Rations for three horses; each of his Aides, 1. Brigr.
and Adjutant Genl., 3. Brigr. General, 2, His aid, I. Inspector of the Northern army and Assistant
Inspector, each 2. As they will have to visit and Muster Detachts. Each field officer, 1. Captain
of Engineers, 1. Brigade Major, 1. Brigade Qr. Master, 1. Regimental Pay Master, 1. Assistant of
Adjt. General etc, 1. Geographer and Assistt. together, 1. Judge Advocate, 1. Director of
Hospitals, 2; each hospital Physician, 1. Apothecary, I. Purveyor or Steward, 1. Chaplain, 1.
Commissary of Prisoners, 2. His business often requiring his absence. Quarter Master Genl., 2.
Each of his Assistants, 1. Commissary of forage, 2; each of his Assistants who are employed
riding in the country, 1. Waggon Master Genl., 2; Each of his assistance employed on duty of
riding, 1.
It will be optional in those who are entitled to keep a greater number of horses than are
allowed in the foregoing, to deliver up the surplus to the Quarter Master General who will send
them to some distance from Camp and keep them at public expence, or they may keep them at
their own charge and he will pay them the amount of the rations which such horses would have
drawn had they remained with the army.” General orders, 8 November 1782, ibid., 25 (1938),
324-325.
45. General orders, 17 April 1779, ibid., vol. 14 (1936),
46. Loammi Baldwin to Mary Baldwin, 21 December 1776, Collections of Houghton Library,
Harvard University.
47. General orders, 24 October 1777, Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, vol. 9
(1933), 420-421. Observations on the Army, Jedediah Huntingdon to George Washington, 1
January 1778, George Washington Papers, Presidential Papers Microfilm (Library of Congress:
Washington, D.C., 1961), series 4, reel 46. For further information on Continental Army pack
horses and wagons see,
"'We ... got ourselves cleverly settled for the night': Soldiers' Shelter on Campaign During the War for
Independence," part II, MC&H, vol. 49, no. 4 (Winter 1997), 156-168.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/301615108/We-got-ourselves-cleverly-settled-for-the-night-Soldiers-
Shelter-on-Campaign-During-the-War-for-Independence-Part-2-The-great-wastage-l
“’Make use of Pack-Horses as far as may be practicable ...’: Baggage Carried on Horseback during the
American War, 1776 to 1781”
Contents
American Campaigns, 1755-1764.
The British Army in 1776.
The 1777 Campaign.
Marching Through New Jersey, 1778.
Going Against the Iroquois, 1779.
Continental Army, 1780-1782.
Cornwallis’s Campaigns, 1781.
Addenda: Miscellaneous Pack Saddle Images and Narratives
http://www.scribd.com/doc/132177295/%E2%80%9C-Make-use-of-Pack-Horses-as-far-as-may-be-
practicable-Baggage-Carried-on-Horseback-during-the-American-War-1776-to-1781
Resource File: Examples of Continental Army Camp Equipage and Vehicle Returns, 1775-1781 (John
U. Rees) http://www.scribd.com/doc/223095304/Resource-File-Examples-of-Continental-Army-
Camp-Equipage-and-Vehicle-Returns-1776-1781-John-U-Rees
Contents
1. Clothing and Equipment Lost at Bunker Hill, 17 June 1775 (including a discussion of “snapsacks”)
2. Cooking and Other Equipment in Brig. Gen. John Sullivan’s Brigade, 24 March 1776
3. Main Army: Return of Arms and Accoutrements issued from 1 April to 1 August 1777
4. Return of Camp Equipage Delivered to the Army during the 1777 Campaign
5. Partial List of Stores Captured on the British Ship Symmetry, Wilmington, Delaware, January 1778
6. Camp Equipage in the 1st Pennsylvania Brigade, Valley Forge, 3 June 1778
7. "A Return of Quarter-Master-General's Stores in The Brigades at West Point & Constitution Island," 1
August 1779: North Carolina, 4th Massachusetts, and Paterson’s (Massachusetts) Brigades
8. "A Return of Quarter-Master-General's Stores in the Second Pennsylvania Brigade ... at Camp West
Point," 4 August 1779
9. Return of Quartermaster’s Stores for Maj. Gen. John Sullivan’s Army, Tioga, 21 August 1779.
10. Return of Clothing and Camp Equipment in Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair’s Pennsylvania Division in the
Hudson Highlands, 1 October 1779.
11. Return of Quartermaster’s Stores in the 1st Connecticut Brigade (Including Brigadier General and
Staff), Hudson Highlands, 25 May 1781
12. "Return of Waggons, Horses … &c the property of the United States Army – Camp Tappan – 27th
September 1780"
13. "Return of all Public Property in the Quarter Masters Department with the Southern Army"
14. Two Returns of Horse and Wagons with the Pennsylvania Line in Virginia, 12 June and 27 November
1781
Appendices:
1. Overview of Wheeled Transportation.
2. Material Culture Articles Related to Items on the Equipment Returns
48. Washington to Timothy Pickering, 27 March 1778, Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George
Washington, vol. 11 (1934),
49. Order Book of Lt. Col. Francis Barber, 26 May 1779 to 6 September 1779, Louise Welles
Murray, ed., Notes from Craft Collection in Tioga Point Museum on the Sullivan Expedition of
1779, (Athens, Pa., 1929), 16-17, 34-35, 41, 45, 47, 56-57, 58.
50. Washington to Timothy Pickering, 25 June 1781, Fitzpatrick, Writings of George
Washington, vol. 22 (1937), 266-267.
51. "Establishment of the legion commanded by Coll. Armand Marquis de la Rouerie," 13
February 1782, Numbered Record Books, National Archives, reel 29, 35-37.