The Women of the British Army in America:
Part 1 - Who & How Many
The following article by Don N. Hagist, 22nd Regiment of Foot, appeared originally in the Brigade Dispatch (XXIV, No. 3, Summer 1993), a publication of the Brigade of the American Revolution and is reprinted here with his permission.
The Women of the British Army in America
Part 1 - Who & How ManyMarried to a Soldier
We have referred to regimental women strictly as wives of soldiers. This is because there is no reason to believe that the women of a regiment were anything but wives of soldiers in that regiment. Unfortunately, it is as difficult to prove that all of these women were married as it would be to prove that a significant number were not. There is, however, considerable evidence to support the view that any woman who was considered a part of a regiment was in fact married to a man in that regiment.
Records of General Courts Martial conducted by the British Army in America contain many testimonies of women, as well as cases where women were put on trial, and numerous other references to women who were involved with the army in one way or another.(20) Among these women are many who belonged to regiments. In all of those cases examined so far, women who belonged to a regiment are clearly stated as being wives of soldiers of the regiment. More extensive research into this collection of court records may reveal otherwise, but so far all of the evidence supports the conclusion that regimental women were army wives.
No official returns are known to exist which list the women of a regiment by name, but there is some material which provides information on this level of detail.(21) Returns of members of the 26th Regiment of Foot captured in 1775 at various locations along the Canadian border include women of the regiment. The 247 men are listed by company (although each company is erroneously called a regiment in the returns); 66 women are listed together at the end of the returns. Although the women are not correlated with their husbands, all but three of the womens' surnames match surnames of soldiers on the returns. This is not perfect evidence by any means, since this correlation of surnames does not mean that a given soldier and woman were married; nor do we know whether the returns represent all of the men or women of the regiment. The material is interesting nonetheless, because it is the most complete list of regimental women known at this time.
This return of women prisoners of the 26th regiment list the number of children belonging to each of the women, information which is also rare and enlightening. Of the 66 women in the return, 15 had no children, 12 had one child, 19 had two, 12 had three, 3 had four, and 5 had five children, for a total of 123 children. It is interesting to compare these numbers with those presented in Figure 1; perhpas the 26th Regiment had such a large proportion of women and children because it had been on service in America since before the war began.
In the same collection of documents are returns of prisoners of a single company, the Colonel's Company of the 7th Regiment of Foot, captured at various places in Canada.(22) The prisoners include 5 non-commissioned officers, 23 private men, 10 women and 18 children. Again, it is not clear whether this represents a complete company which was under strength, or just a part of the company. All of the women are referred to as "Mrs.", and all can be correlated to men of the company. Two of the women had four children each, two had three, one had two, and two had one child; the remaining three women were childless. It is very interesting to note that three of the women - the ones with no children - are described as having married after their husbands were captured. The circumstances of these marriages are not known. It is possible that these women were Americans who met the captured soldiers, that they were followers of the army who married in order to remain with the army, even as prisoners, or that they had already intended to marry their soldiers before their capture, and did not let the exigencies of war change their plans.
Widows and Orphans
A woman's connection to a regiment was through marriage. When a married soldier died, his Widow and their children, as well as orphans, were provided with passage back to England, as indicated by the following passage:
His Majesty is also pleased to direct that the expence of the passage and victualling the widows and orphans of NCO and private men to Great Britain or Ireland will be defrayed by the paymaster of the corps to which the deceased did belong, which expence will be allowed in the next contingent bill of the regt.(23)
A return drawn up in August of 1775 shows that 54 women and children of various regiments were sent home from Boston at that time.(24) Most of them belonged to regiments which suffered heavy casualties at the battle of Bunker Hill, which persuades us that they were widows and their children.
It is also clear that, until they were able to make their way home, women who lost their husbands were taken care of. Thomas Simes, one of the popular military writers of the period, had this to say:
When any casualties happen in a company, the Paymaster-serjeant must take care to preserve the regimentals, that the succeeding recruit may be clothed in like manner with his brother soldier, provided the soldier had not worn them 1 year; if he had, his wife or child should have them."(25)
That this kind of consideration was given is illustrated by a general order given on June 5, 1776, which ordered regimental quarter masters to draw shoes and stockings from army stores for widowed women and their children.(26) In some cases, widows fared better than the basic provision of subsistence and passage home. Regimental commanders could provide additional accommodation if they wished, as did the Colonel of the 5th Regiment of Foot:
After the fatal attack on Bunker's Hill in America, Earl Percy gave to the widow of every soldier in his regiment who fell in the battle, an immediate benefaction of seven dollars; he paid their passage home, and ordered five guineas to be given to each of them on their landing in Britain.(27)
Other efforts were made to provide for those who had lost their husbands and fathers. Captain John Peebles of the 42nd Regiment of Foot describes a playhouse which was opened in Philadelphia during the time the British Army was in that city. One or two performances were given each week, for the benefit of widows and orphans of soldiers. "The Performers are Gentlm of the Army & Navy & some kept Mistresses. - the Gentllem do their parts pretty well, but the Ladies are rather defficient."(28)
We also find evidence of the continued attachment of soldiers' widows to the army in an advertisement in the New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury of July 11, 1781. Margaret Balandine, "a native of Edinbugh, North Britain, and a widow of the 76th Regt.," had "run away from the service," and so became the subject of the same kind of advertising typically devoted to deserting soldiers.
Notes
20. Judge Advocate Papers, W. O. 71/80 - 97, PRO.
21. John B. Linn and William H. Egle, ed. Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol. 1, p. 411 - 419.
22. Ibid., p. 419 - 420.
23. Orderly Book of General Allan MacLean, 1776-1784. Burton Historical Library, Detroit. Entry for May 9, 1777. The entry for this date also shows that widows and orphans of officers received additional allowances:
"When any officer shall be killed in action, his widow and orphan children (if he have any) shall be allowed as follows.
"To the widow a full years pay, according to her husbands regimental commission.
"To each child under age and unmarried one third of what is allowed the widow, posthumous children to be included.
"All persons dying of their wounds within six months after battle, shall be deemed slain in action.
"The C. O. of the corps in which the slain officer served, shall on demand, give a certificate of his being killed in action, to his surviving widow, and orphan respectively, specifying the time when, and the place where the said accident happened; a duplicate of which certificate shall likewise be transmitted with the next monthly return."24. "Passes Granted to Women and Children, sent on Board the ship Charming Nancy, Boston, 19th August 1775." Thomas Gage Mss., Vol. 134 (Reel 65), William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, MI.
25. Simes, Thomas. A Military Guide for Young Officers, London, 1781, p. 201.19.
26. Orderly book, Marine garrison at Halifax, June - August, 1776. New York Public Library mss.
27. The Percy Anecdotes, Vol. 2. New York, 1832, p. 53. It bears noting that 13 women and children of the 5th Foot were listed on the document cited in Note 22, more than any other single regiment.
28. Journal of Captain John Peebles, 42d Foot, undated entry made in January 1778. Cunningham of Thortoun Papers, Scottish Record Office, Edinburgh.
Document ID: lybrwmn2
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