1st New York McCracken's Co. 1777

Women on the Ration Page
It's not all about the soldiers

 

Some good reading on the subject can be found:

"Belonging To The Army"  by Holly Ann Mayer - 1996

 To comprehend the Continental army in more holistic terms, Holly A. Mayer would have us envision a functioning community consisting not only of rank-and-file soldiers and line officers but a whole variety of noncombatants as well. These "camp followers" were not just female prostitutes, as popular myth and some historians have so narrowly portrayed them. Among those followers belonging to the army" were wives and children of enlistees, sutlers, servants, slaves, volunteers, and employees and managers of various staff departments, representing at any given time up to 50 percent of the army's numerical strength. Many were retainers who as "attendants" performed support functions ranging from cooking and scavenging to waiting upon officers as personal servants. Some were "adherents," such as volunteers who served without pay while seeking to prove their worth and obtain officers' commissions. Regardless of specific attributes and motivations, these camp followers, male and female alike, regularly interacted with rank-and-file combatants in forming a heterogeneous national community with a common mission, the winning of American independence. Their reward for so much useful service, however, has been

Mayer's purpose is to reconstruct the identity of these historically neglected persons. She does so with chapters on sutlers and other contractors, wives and children of combatants (the conjugal family), servants, slaves, and volunteers (the extended family), and civilian and military personnel who performed staff functions ranging from the supply of food, clothing, and transportation to the provision of medical and hospital care. Mayer launches her investigation with a chapter on the Continental army as a functioning - but not always functional - community and offers a later chapter on the nature and application of rules of military order and discipline with particular reference to camp followers.

The author's approach is primarily anecdotal. For example, she states that "a few female followers ... may have turned to prostitution when desperate" (p. 112) but offers no firm evidence to prove this assertion. Dealing with prostitution was an ongoing problem for the army, and Mayer does present a smattering of reports regarding the incidence of venereal disease among male soldiers, a serious matter for a military force too often far below quota in numbers of fighting troops. She also states that "commanders tried to prevent the spread of social diseases and ... social and military disorder by banning prostitutes from their camps." (p. 111) No doubt those women who sought "follower" status in the army avoided acts of prostitution to preserve their place in the Continental community, since they full well knew they would be drummed out of the service if caught.

    This book is thus more descriptive and assertive in content than fully analytical. Still, the author has brought to life a broadened base of persons who were a part of the Continental army community, and, despite fuzzy definitions, has shown the absurdity of the camp follower-prostitute stereotype. Scholars interested in the subject of military institutions in relation to the societies of which they were a part will find much useful information in this volume. From that perspective, Mayer should be commended for her efforts.

Whatever Shall I Wear?
A Guide to Assembling a Woman's Basic 18th C. Wardrobe: Mara Riley

"Women's Dress During the American Revolution: An Interpretive Guide", 
available from the BAR

"Tidings from the 18th Century" - by Beth Gilgun 1993

You can also find excellent instructions for making shifts, stays, petticoats, and many other items in Tidings from the 18th Century by Beth Gilgun, a book I'd recommend to any beginning reenactor.

 

A Place for the Women Of The Regiment

     In the Continental Army women could be "On The Ration", meaning that they could receive a quarter to 1/2 pay and rations for camp-follower duties. These duties included but were not limited to, Wash, Sewing, Cooking, Gardening, Attendees and Animal Care.

Normally the women involved in the Camp-followers role, were married to a soldier or Non Commission Officer, as the more wealthy men of New York were pulled into the officers ranks it wasn't often that you would see a woman of station as part of the army camp setting.

    This page will be dedicated to the Ladies. It will house patterns,

       material resources, and helpful hints on 21st century camp life.

Content copyright . 1st New York Regt. All rights reserved.
Web Hosting Companies