The Women of the British Army in America:
Part 4 - Miscellaneous Notes

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: A General Overview
Part 4 - Miscellaneous Notes

In the previous three installments of this series, we have examined the numbers of soldier's wives that were included in British marching regiments, presented some of the typical professions of these women, and given an overview of some of the living conditions that they experienced. While all of this information begins to bring together a picture of the people and their lives, it makes it very clear that there are no stereotypes. Every woman in the army had her own situation, which could be drastically different from, or starkly similar to, that of other women in the same corps. The numbers, the occupations, and the living conditions all varied with the time and place, governed in different degrees by the activities of the army, by necessity, and by opportunity.

In this final installment, we present some miscellaneous notes which provide additional insight into the lives of army women, as well as some information about the children of the army.

Hazards

We have seen that women who accompanied the army into the field could be exposed to the dangers of battle. Life with the army had other hazards as well. A soldier of the 33rd Regiment of Foot recounts an interesting event, and shows that women might accompany a regiment even on a short expedition:

In this excursion, among other plunder, we took a store of molasses, the hogsheads being rolled out and their heads knocked in, a soldier's wife went to dip her camp-kettle in a hogshead of molasses and while she was stooping in order to fill her kettle, a soldier slipped behind her and threw her into the hogshead: when she was hauled out, a bystander threw a parcel of feathers on her, which adhering to the molasses, made her appear frightful enough. - This little circumstance afforded us a good deal of amusement.(1)

This incident is indeed amusing, but other dangers were greater. In the garrison at Charleston, South Carolina,

At midday a fire broke out in an English soldiers' barracks, which burned down. A woman in childbed died in the blaze.(2)

Following the army could be hazardous on board ship as well:

A very remarkable event happened that Night, which was:
A Woman's shift being burnt upon her body, lying in a Birth on board a Transport, and she a Sleep, by a Flash of Lightning, with out the least damage to her skin or Flesh. Also a Man's Coat and Shirt was burnt likewise on his Back, without his knowing of it till next morning: And the Arms of three Companies of men were japanned on Board the same ship by the same Flash.(3)

Of course, an additional hazard faced by any soldier's wife was the possibility of dismissal from the regiment. Orders like this one were given occasionally throughout the American Revolution:

Any Soldiers Wife who is a disgrace to the Regiment she belongs to, for bad behaviour, and having incurred the displeasure of the Commanding Officer of the Regiment; her name to be given in that she may be sent to England in the Fleet.(4)

Notice that even disgraced women were usually not abandoned, but rather sent home. There were occasions when measures were more drastic. Preparations for the evacuation of Boston presented unusual opportunities for plunder, and prompted the following unusual measure:

Any Woman belonging to ye Army, that may be found in Town after one o'Clock will be imediately taken up & sent to ye Provost & will be left there.(5)

Domestic Distress

With the exception of being send back to England, the types of hazards described above were typical of common life, and not particular to the army. The same is true of the domestic strife that some women encountered. Some of the social problems with which we are familiar today, were yesterday's problems as well (although we cannot say whether they were as frequent). An advertisement in a New York newspaper in 1774 read

Hugh McCullum, soldier in His Majesty's Royal Regiment of Welsh Fusileers, will not pay debts contracted in the future by his wife Ann.(6)

We know nothing of the circumstances behind this incident, but it is clear enough that things were not well between this soldier and his wife.

We have seen, in a previous installment of this article, a case where a soldier murdered his wife after she distanced herself from him ("Lessons from the Courts: Requiem for a Nurse," Brigade Dispatch, Vol. XXIV No. 4). Two additional tragic incidents are recorded in the journals of British officers:

Carrigan of Ct Duffs compy [of the 40th Regiment of Foot] was stabb'd by Northington- being got upon his Wife - died in 1/2 hour NB Northington after stabbing Carrigan stabb'd his wife & then stabb'd himself & attempted to throw himself again on his bayonet. (he wounded himself & his wife slightly).(7)

A Soldier of the 43rd Regt shot himself last night in the rear of the Camp. The discovery of a Connection he had with a married woman of the same Regiment, appears to have been the cause of this rash action.(8)

We cannot say incidents such as these were common. But the society that was the army experienced the problems that society as a whole faced, and which continue today.

Notes on Clothing and Behavior

Reenactors, of course, are concerned with how people looked and how they acted. While it is often straightforward to portray the looks and actions of a soldier by donning a uniform and learning an exercise, there are no such guidelines to follow in portraying the wife of a soldier. We were able to find only a few passages which give some insight on how women of the army dressed, and how they behaved.

There were cases when army women were able to possess soldiers' clothing. In particular, a widow (who, as we have seen, was offered passage to England) might be allowed to have her deceased husband's regimental clothing:

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.(9)

Of course, this does not mean that a woman would wear such clothing. Even a widow who had experienced the rigors of army life would be likely to have some sense of fashion, and not wish to wear men's clothing - especially garments which could be sold. On the other hand, a contemporary analogy gives an interesting suggestion that at least some women did indeed make use of military clothing:

It looks like one of those drunken red-faced old women, who follow a camp, and half of whose clothes are scoured regimentals.(10)

During the Summer of 1776, some women and children in the British army received stockings and shoes, but details are not clear. General orders read:

Quarter Masters... to apply... for the Women and Children's Shoes and Stockings appropriated for those Regiments.(11)

An officer recorded in his diary that

the Women who lost their Husbands, or were otherwise objects of Charity, rec'd for themselves & Children each a pair of shoes & stockings a Charity Rais'd by the English as some recompense for their sufferings.(12)

While widows and orphans received these articles, it is not clear if other army women did. Since these articles (or the cost of them) were donated by citizens in England, we do not know if the shoes and stockings were the same as those used by soldiers.

Two American diary accounts give us a glimpse of some British Army women, but these should not be taken as generally descriptive. While colorful, the women that these diarists encountered might not have been representative of the "sober, industrious women" that were considered ideal spouses for soldiers.

The first diarist, Peter Edes, was imprisoned in Boston on July 2, 1775. He describes the people who populated the provost:

From this day to the 17th, a complicated scene of oaths, curses, debauchery, and the most horrid blasphemy, were committed by the provost martial, his deputy and soldiers who were our guard, soldier prisoners, and sundry soldier women confined for theft, &c. We had some of the vilest women for our neighbors ever known, some placed over our heads, and some in rooms each side of us. They acted such scenes as was shocking to nature, and they used language horrible to hear, as if it came from the very suburbs of hell.(13)

It is important to note that the women Edes was describing were, in fact, in prison; they were not necessarily typical.

Alexander Graydon was a Pennsylvania officer and among the American soldiers captured when Fort Washington capitulated in late 1776. He and other prisoners were marched to New York City; he writes:

On the road as we approached the city, we were beset by a parcel of soldiers trulls and others, who came out to meet us. It was obvious, that in the calculation of this assemblage of female loyalty, the war was at an end; and that the whole of the rebel army, Washington and all, were safe in durance. Which is Washington? Which is Washington? proceeded from half a dozen mouths at once; and the guard was obliged to exert itself to keep them off. Some of them assailed us with vollies of Billingsgate; and colonel Maxwell [of the 27th Regiment of Foot], who rode along side of us... had enough to do to silence one of them, calling out repeatedly: "Away with that woman! Take her away! Knock her down, the bitch! Knock her down!"(14)

A military text tells us another activity which might sometimes be performed by wives, and illustrates that it was typical for wives to be with their regiments:

When Soldiers are on Guard, their attendance must never be dispensed with, even for the smallest time, except on some very extraordinary occasion, as they are always to be in readiness to turn out with alertness on the shortest warning; the Rolls should therefore be frequently called, to ensure this point; and that they may never have the least pretence for straggling from their Guards, the dinners of the batchelors should be carried to them by their comrades, and that of the married men, by their wives.(15)

We also find that company officers were, at least in some cases, as familiar with the women of their companies as with the men. Ann Harris of the 22nd Regiment testified on behalf of an officer of her regiment, Lieutenant Charles Dalrymple, who was accused of stealing liquor from the owner of the house in which he lodged; Mrs. Harris went so far as to advise Darymple's accuser against bringing the matter to a court martial, since it would "hereby much hurt Mr. Dalrymple."(16) Lieutenant Loftus Cliffe of the 46th Regiment wrote that

if it were not for a woman of my company a Corporals Wife who has supplied me with money between 30 and 40 Guineas I should have been badly off.(17)

Far from being considered excess baggage, these army wives were a part of the society of their regiments.

Notes on Children

Marriages in the army brought children to the army. At the beginning of this series, we saw that the number of children on the strength of a regiment was usually at least equal to the number of women. We know far less about the children, but their presence was clearly an accepted part of military life, since some of the military writers of the day devoted text to them. Thomas Simes notes,

No soldiers must carry coals, or any other thing, on their heads, when they have their regimental cloths or hat on; nor must they carry any children about the barrack-yard or street.(18)

Army children were exposed to the same hazards as the women when in encampments, garrisons, and on board ship. Some were exposed to domestic distress as well.(19) On the other hand, in many ways they lived like children. Excavations of British hut sites in the New York City area uncovered a number of playthings - buzzers made from flat, round pieces of lead with serrated edges and holes for string through them; miniature pewter plates, cups, and platters; a doll; a tiny thimble; and a little pewter broom.(20) And the army made an effort to educate the children:

A Serjeant, or Corporal, whose sobriety, honesty, and good conduct, can be depended upon, and who is capable to teach writing, reading, and arithmetic, should be employed to act in the capacity of school-master, by whom soldiers and their children may be carefully instructed: a room or tent should be appointed for that use; and it would be highly commendable if the Chaplain, or his deputy, would pay some attention to the conduct of the school.(21)

We cannot say whether schools were maintained consistently during the war in America. An account kept by Rhode Island schoolmaster Joseph Rhodes includes an entry for "Schooling Soldiers Children" in 1777, during the British occupation.(22) This bit of information shows us not only that army children were sent to school, but also that the schools were not always maintained by the army itself.

Conclusions

This article is intended to be an overview, and to stimulate further research into the lives of the wives of the common British soldiers who served in America. This article is in no way comprehensive. It represents the assimilation of disparate notes accumulated during research on other aspects of the British Army. Every topic covered in this article invites further, dedicated research; we hope that some of this research will be undertaken, and that some of the results will appear in future issues of this publication.

Women were not considered a burden; instead they were an integral part of the workings of a regiment. Although some commanders-in-chief complained about the numbers of women with the army, women were always allowed to accompany it.

Although general orders usually specified that three to six women per company were allowed to accompany a regiment, victualling returns show that higher numbers were common. Eight women per company of fifty men was typical but numbers varied widely; in addition, a similar number of children were usually victualled.

Widows were not abandoned or forced to remarry; instead, they were provided with some financial or material compensation, and given passage home.

Many, if not most, women were gainfully employed. In fact, employment was necessary for subsistence, and often was a condition of being allowed to accompany the army.

Army wives sometimes had their own lodgings when regiments remained in one location for long periods; some remained in garrison towns when their regiments went on campaign. Those who did follow the army on campaign were faced with the similar dangers and hardships to the soldiers.

Acknowledgements

This article is not the product of research dedicated to the subject, but rather an assimilation of miscellaneous notes gathered while researching other aspects of the British Army in America. Most of the sources used came to me through the generosity of others; below I thank a few of the major contributors, with apologies to the many others who have helped but whom I've failed to acknowledge:

Linnea Bass, Brigade of Guards, for most of the material related to the Brigade of Foot Guards.

Todd Braisted, New Jersey Volunteers, for countless troop returns upon which the first part of this article was based.

Steven R. Gilbert, 3rd New York Regiment, for many of the period diaries and journals cited throughout the article.

David Gray, 23rd Regiment of Foot, for some of the material from British courts martial used in part 2 of this article.

John Rees, 2nd New Jersey Regiment, for writing the article, "...the multitude of women..." (Brigade Dispatch Vol. 23 No. 4, and Vol. 24 No. 1 & 2) which provided the incentive for this article.

Gilbert Riddle, 2nd New Jersey Regiment, for many of the orderly books cited throughout this article.

Kim Stacy, 84th Regiment of Foot, for orderly book information from the 84th Regiment of Foot.

Notes

1. Shaw, John Robert. A Narrative of the Life & Travels of John Robert Shaw, written by himself, Lexington, TN, 1807; reprinted Louisville, KY, 1930. Shaw says that this incident occurred in 1779, when the regiment was on an expedition "up the East river... some distance above New Bedford..." From other evidence in the text it does not appear to be the raid on New Bedford, MA, in September of 1778.
   
   
2. "Valentin Asteroth's Diary of the American War of Independence, 1776" Bruce E. Burgoyne, trans. Diary of A Hessian Chaplain and The Chaplain's Assistant, The Johannes Schwalm Historical Association, 1990. Entry for August 22, 1781, Charleston, SC.
   
   
3. Journal of Thomas Sullivan, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 973.3.SW5. This incident occurred on a transport when the army was bound for Head of Elk, August 17th, 1777.
   
   
4. General Orders, Rhode Island, W.O. 36/2, PRO., entry for December 7, 1777.
   
   
5. "Lieut. and Adjt. Wallers Orderly Book". Connecticut Historical Society, entry for March 11, 1776.
   
   
6. "Rivington's New York Newspaper: Excerpts from a Loyalist Press, 1773 - 1783." New York Historical Society Collections, Vol. 84, New York, 1973.
   
   
7. Bamford, William. "Bamford's Diary: The Revolutionary Diary of a British Officer." Maryland Historical Magazine, V. 27, December, 1932. Entry for July 15, 1776, Staten Island.
   
   
8. MacKenzie, Frederick. Diary of Frederick MacKenzie. Cambridge, MA, 1930. Entry for July 6, 1777, Rhode Island.
   
   
9. Simes, Thomas. The Military Guide for Young Officers, London, 1776, p.201.
   
   
10. Lewis, W. S., ed. Horace Walpole's Correspondence, v. 35, Yale Univ. Press, 1973. Describing a portrait of Philippe, Chevalier de Vend^me (1655-1727), in a letter to the Earl Harcourt, May 18, 1781.
    
    
11. "General Sir William Howe's Orders, 1776." Collections of the New York Historical Society, 1883. Orders given on June 6, 1776.
    
    
12. Bamford, op. cit., entry for May 25, 1776.
    
    
13. Edes, Peter. Diary of Peter Edes, Bangor, 1901.
    
    
14. Graydon, Alexander. Memoirs of a Life, Chiefly passed in Pennsylvania, within the last sixty years; with occasional Remarks upon the general occurrences, character and spirit of that eventful period, Harrisburg, 1811.
    
    
15. Cuthbertson, Bennett. A System for the Compleat Interior Management and Èconomy of a Battalion of Infantry. Dublin, 1768, p. 180 (section titled, "Of Regulations for doing Duty, Direction for Guards and Centinels with some general Rules to be observed in a Regiment").
    
    
16. Judge Advocate Papers, W. O. 71/87, PRO, p. 209 - 250.
    
    
17. Cliffe letters, op. cit. Letter dated Philadelphia, November 12, 1777.
    
    
18. Simes, op. cit., p. 204. An almost identical entry is in Thomas Simes, The Regulator, or Instructions to Form the Officer and Complete the Soldier, London, 1780, p. 12 (section titled "Of the Soldier, and his Duties").
    
    
19. See sidebar, "Lessons from the Courts: A Case of Mistaken Identity, and a Woman Child of Nine Years of Age." Private William Sanders of the First Regiment of Foot Guards was tried for molesting a four-year-old girl. W. O. 71/90, PRO, p. 82-102.
    
    
20. Calver, William P. and Bolton, Reginald P. History Written with a Pick and Shovel, New York, 1950, p. 236-239.
    
    
21. Simes, Military Guide, op. cit, p. 164; Simes, Regulator, op. cit., p. 2.
    
    
22. Document entitled, "School with Joseph Rhodes Eq.", Item 999, George Chalmers collection, Peter Force manuscripts, Library of Congress.

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