Female Followers of the Armies of the American Revolution: A Reading List

John U. Rees
This is not a comprehensive list, nor is it intended to be. The appended books and articles are
considered to be authoritative and compelling, or merely just interesting, useful to historians
and reenactors alike. The list will be expanded as new works come to light.

Following the Army, by Don Troiani

Contents
General Studies
Seven Years War in America (French and Indian War)
War of 1812
War for American Independence, 1775-1783
A. Continental Army Followers
B. Apparel and Goods Worn or Issued to Female Followers of American Troops
C. British Female Followers
D. German Female Followers
E. French Troops and Female Followers
F. Refugees and Women following Loyalist Regiments

1
 General Studies

Walter Hart Blumenthal, Women Camp Followers of the American Revolution (New York, 1974),
"British Camp Women on the Ration": numbers of women with the army, 15-21, 24-26, 28-29, 33-
34, 38-39; numbers of women with individual regiments, 16, 19, 32; “Irregular Women" and
allotted women, 23, 37-38, 40-41, (French & Indian War) 46-47, 49-50; description of women with
Burgoyne's army, 27-28; clothing allotment for women and children, 38; rations, 41, (French &
Indian War) 51; duties, 40, 45-46. "American Camp Women Under Washington": duties, 41,
(French & Indian War) 46-47, 49-50; description of women with Burgoyne's army, 27-28; clothing
allotment for women and children, 38; rations, 41, (French & Indian War)51; duties,40,45-46.
"American Camp Women Under Washington": duties, 61-62; description, 65-66; women with the
Pennsylvania Line in the winter of 1781, 75-76.

Barton C. Hacker, “Women and Military Institutions in Early Modern Europe: A

Reconnaissance,” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 6, no. 4 (Summer 1981), 643-
671.

Paul E. Kopperman, "The British High Command and Soldiers' Wives In America, 1755-1783,"
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, no. 60 (1982), 14-34. Married women, 14;
women's duties, 15-16, 21; number of women in the Continental Army, 16; the thoughts of the high
command concerning women, 16; the number of women in the army and individual regiments, 19-
20, 26-28; women's rations, 22-23; women as patients in hospital, 31, 33.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214779011/Paul-E-Kopperman-The-British-High-Command-and-
Soldiers-Wives-In-America-1755-1783-Journal-of-the-Society-for-Army-Historical-Research-no-60

Paul E. Kopperman, “Medical Services in the British Army, 1742-1783,” Journal of the History of
Medicine (October 1979), 428-455.

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-
1812 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990)

2
 “A Soldier’s Wife Begging” (1764), by Daniel Chodowiecki
“As the great Danzig-born artist Daniel Chodowiecki (1726-1801) shows in this etching, the casualties of the long
mid-century European wars extended beyond the fighting troops, whose rank-and-file were recruited or hired
from the lower strata of society. Even if they avoided wounds or death in battle, their wives and children
frequently suffered economic deprivation in their absence. Here, a soldier’s wife dressed in her fallen husband’s
uniform jacket and hat, begs for alms while holding her newborn. Etching by Daniel Chodowiecki (1726-1801),
1764.” German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-
dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=2687

3
 Seven Years War in America (French and Indian War)

Celena M.Meloche (2014) "British Army Women in the Seven Years' War," The Great Lakes
Journal of Undergraduate History:, vol. 2, no. 1 (2014)
Available at: http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/gljuh/vol2/iss1/1
http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=gljuh

Charlotte Brown, “The Journal of Charlotte Brown, Matron of the General Hospital, with the
English Forces in America, 1754-1756,” in Isabel M. Calder, Colonial Captivities, Marches and
Journeys (Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, Inc., 1935; reprinted 1967), 169-198.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/274738578/Charlotte-Brown-The-Journal-of-Charlotte-Brown-
Matron-of-the-General-Hospital-with-the-English-Forces-in-America-1754-1756
Holly Mayer, “From Forts to Families: Following the Army into Western Pennsylvania, 1758-
1766.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History andBiography 130 (January 2006): 5-43.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/273462949/Holly-Mayer-From-Forts-to-Families-Following-the-Army-
into-Western-Pennsylvania-1758-1766
Letter of Martha May, an Army wife, to Col Henry Bouquet, 4 June 1758, Two Hundred Years in
Cumberland County (Carlisle, PA: Hamilton Library, 1951), 25.

Sarah Fatherly, “Tending the Army: Women and the British General Hospital in North America,
1754-1763.” Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 10 (Fall 2012), 566-599.

War of 1812

Mary M. Crawford, ed., “Mrs. Lydia B. Bacon’s Journal, 1811-1812,” Indiana Magazine of History,
vol. 40 (Dec. 1944), 367-386; vol. 41 (March 1945), 59-79. Lydia Bacon, officer’s wife, 4th United
States Regiment, War of 1812.

4
 Emma Cross and Jenny Lynn as followers of the Delaware Regiment, 1781. Cowpens Battlefield,
January 2018.

War for American Independence, 1775-1783

A. Continental Army Followers

(Anna Maria Lane), Sandra Gioia Treadway, “Anna Maria Lane: An Uncommon Soldier of the
American Revolution,” Virginia Cavalcade, vol. 37, no. 3 (Winter 1988), 134-143.

(Sarah Osborn), Richard O. Eldred, “The Heroine of Yorktown,” Daughters of the American
Revolution (November 1984), 634-636, 698.

(Sarah Osborn’s pension narrative), John C. Dann, The Revolution Remembered - Eyewitness
Accounts of the War for Independence (Chicago, Il., 1980), 243-246.

5
Linda Grant De Pauw, "Women in Combat - The Revolutionary War Experience," Armed Forces
and Society, vol. 7, no. 2. Winter 1981, 209-226. An interesting though flawed article that contends,
without sufficient evidence, that "tens of thousands of women were involved in active combat." For
a rebuttal see McKenney's "Comment" (below).

Janice E. McKenney, "'Women in Combat': Comment,” Armed Forces in Society, vol. 8, no. 4,
Summer 1982, 686-692. A well-reasoned rebuttal to De Pauw's article refuting most of the claims
that author made concerning women in combat.

Holly A. Mayer, Belonging to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American
Revolution (Columbia, S.C., 1996) Published version of H.A. Mayer, Belonging to the Army: Camp
followers and the Military Community during the American Revolution, Ph.D. dissertation (College of
William and Mary, 1990.) An excellent work which covers both male and female camp followers
serving in many capacities: 39-40, female nurses, washerwomen and prices charged for laundering;
41-48, women on campaign and disregard of orders - on Quebec expedition 1775, at Ticonderoga
1776, during Philadelphia campaign, with Anthony Wayne's Pennsylvania troops 1781, with
Washington's army on the march to Yorktown 1781; 52, horses belonging to women; 57-58, women
passing through the lines of the army; 62, dispute between female follower and sergeant; 77, women
as cooks; 80, smallpox inoculation for women and children; 82-83, huts for women in winter; 85,
rations for women; 136-137, orders against soldier's wives selling alcohol and difficulty of
enforcement; 137-139, lewd women and prostitutes; 161-162, camp women as housekeepers for
officers; 169-208, soldier's families, officer's wives and class status, numbers of women in the
Continental and British armies, the treatment of women and children in hospitals, women and
military law, with the baggage on campaign, service as nurses and washerwomen, women in
combat; 272-277, matrons and nurses in hospitals, women's rations; 294-301 and 314, women and
the military legal system; 339-340, overview of females with the army during and after the war.

Elizabeth Cometti, “Women in the American Revolution,” The New England Quarterly, vol. XX, no.
3 (September 1947), 335-337.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/213814242/Elizabeth-Cometti-%E2%80%9CWomen-in-the-American-
Revolution-%E2%80%9D-The-New-England-Quarterly-vol-XX-no-3-September-1947-335-337

American Revolution Army Women Names Project

John U. Rees, “Spent the winter at Jockey Hollow, and … washed together while there …”:
American Revolution Army Women Names Project - Continental Army
https://www.scribd.com/document/322026319/American-Revolution-Army-Women-Names-Project-
Continental

The aim of this project is to compile names and biographies of women attached to the military
forces of the War for American Independence, 1775 to 1783; Whig (Continental), French, Spanish,
British, German, and Loyalists. This includes females (and their offspring) who followed the troops
on campaign, or served in a camp, garrison, or other settled military post (including artificers and
other military support groups). Spouses and retainers of both enlisted men and officers are eligible.
The project will begin with Continental army and Whig militia female followers. Eventually, we
hope to convince people with special knowledge of the other nations’ armies involved to
participate.

6
 Material may be sent to the editor at ju_rees@msn.com or via Facebook messaging (John U. Rees).
Names must be accompanied by supporting source material and a transcription of the same. Please
include available pension narratives and as much detail from other sources as is available.
Contributors will be listed with their submissions. Appended is the recommended structure for
entries (courtesy of Eliza West, revised by John Rees):

BASIC FACTS
Date of birth/age at time of first service with the army:
Date of death:
Names of spouse(s) and date of marriage(s):
Names and birthdates of children:

MILITARY FACTS
Unit (army, regiment, company, etc.):
Campaigns:
Garrison locations:
Battles participated in/observed:
Active dates, during which she was part of the military establishment:

DOCUMENTATION
(Personal account, pension record, company or other returns, etc.)

NARRATIVE(S) and/or WEBLINK(S)

________________

7
(Above) Woman holding a camp kettle while two soldiers with spoons eat from it, east side of the
Hudson River, directly across from West Point. (Painted in August 1782.) Detail from Pierre Charles
L'Enfant’s painting of West Point and dependencies. Penciled on back, "Encampment of the
Revolutionary Army on the Hudson River" (Library of Congress description, “Panoramic view of
West Point, New York showing American encampments on the Hudson River”), watercolor, 142.7 x
27.7 cm (sheet), Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.
(Below) Soldier group, detail from the same L’Enfant painting.

8
Rees, "`The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of Female Followers
with the Continental Army":
Contents
1777 and 1780: A Common Thread?
1776 to 1782: “Necessary to keep the Soldier's clean"
1781: "Their Wives all of whom ... Remained": Women on Campaign With the Army
1781: "The women with the army who draw provisions"
1782: "Rations ... Without Whiskey": Col. Henry Jackson's Regimental Provision Returns
1783: "The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed ..."
Appendices
A. Images, Articles and Additional Information Related to Sullivan’s 1779 Campaign
and Fort Sullivan, Tioga.
B. Articles Providing Contextual Information on the 1781 Virginia Campaign
C. Miscellaneous References to Army Women
1. 1775, 1776, and 1781: “Fire Ships,” “Veneral Disorder,” and Women in Hospital
2. A Woman with the Continental Army, 1777-1783
3. Hospitals, Nurses and a Female Spy, 1776 and 1777
4. Orders Concerning Female Followers, Maj. Gen. John Sullivan’s Division, 1777
5. Horses Belonging to Camp Followers
6. Women Riding Pack Horses on Maj. Gen. John Sullivan's 1779 Expedition
7. Women, 1778-1782: On the March, Doing Laundry, Selling Military Goods, and Sergeant's
Responsibility For Followers
8. Army Orders and George Washington Correspondence Concerning Female Followers
9. Link to Second Study Examining Numbers of Continental Army Female Followers
D. Additional Articles on Continental Army Female Followers by the Author
The Brigade Dispatch (Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution)
Three parts: vol. XXIII, no. 4 (Autumn 1992), 5-17; vol. XXIV, no. 1 (Winter 1993),
6-16; vol. XXIV, no. 2 (Spring 1993), 2-6 (Reprinted in Minerva: Quarterly Report
on Women and the Military, vol. XIV, no. 2 (Summer 1996)).
https://www.academia.edu/36174985/_The_multitude_of_women_An_Examination_of_the_Numbe
rs_of_Female_Followers_With_the_Continental_Army

Rees, "`The number of rations issued to the women in camp.': New Material Concerning
Female Followers with Continental Regiments":
Female Followers with the Troops at Wyoming: Prelude to Sullivan's Campaign, 1779
"Provisions and Stores Issued to the Grand Army": Female Followers at
Middlebrook, 1779
“The women belonging to their respective corps": Further Analysis and Comparison of the
Returns of Women
The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVIII, no. 1 (Spring 1998), 2-10; vol. XXVIII, no. 2
(Summer 1998), 2-12, 13.
https://www.academia.edu/36212357/_The_number_of_rations_issued_to_the_women_in_camp._N
ew_Material_Concerning_Female_Followers_With_Continental_Regiments or
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/wnumb2.htm

9
Rees, "'`Some in rags and some in jags,’ but none ‘in velvet gowns.’ Insights on Clothing
Worn by Female Followers of the Armies During the American War for
Independence," ALHFAM Bulletin (Association of Living History, Farm and
Agricultural Museums), vol. XXVIII, no. 4 (Winter 1999), 18-21.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/122521121/Some-in-rags-and-some-in-jags-%E2%80%99-
but-none-%E2%80%98in-velvet-gowns-%E2%80%99-Insights-on-Clothing-Worn-by-
Female-Followers-of-the-Armies-During-the-American-War-for

Rees, "’The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed...’: An Overview of

Continental Army Female Followers”
1. “A clog upon every movement. “: Numbers
2. "Rations... Without Whiskey": Women’s Food Allowance
3. "Some men washed their own clothing.": Women's Duties and Shelter
4. Orders Concerning Women in the Summer of 1777 (Delaware Regiment of Maj. Gen.
John Sullivan’s Division
5. "Coming into the line of fire.": Women on the March or on Campaign
Appendices
A. An Estimate of Females with Continental Army Units
on the March to Yorktown, 1781
B. Mess Roll of Capt. John Ross’s Company, 3d New Jersey Regiment
C. Tent Assignments in Lt. Col. John Wrottesley’s (3d) Company, 1st Battalion,
Brigade of (British) Guards (Including “British Army orders regarding female
followers, summer 1777”)
D. Period Images of Army Followers or Poor to Middling Female Civilians
E. Photographs of Army Women at Living History Events
F. Online Articles Pertaining to Female Camp Followers and Related Subjects
During the War for American Independence
G. Other Authors’ Monographs (Women Following the Army)
The Continental Soldier, vol. VIII, no. 3 (Spring 1995), 51-58. ALHFAM Bulletin
(Association of Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums), vol. XXVIII, no. 4
(Winter 1999), 18-21.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/255868431/The-proportion-of-Women-which-ought-to-be-
allowed-An-Overview-of-Continental-Army-Female-Camp-Followers

Rees, “’Remember[ing] the Ladies’: Margaret Johnson and Elizabeth Evans, Women of the
New Jersey Brigade” http://www.scribd.com/doc/235418684/Remember-ing-the-Ladies-Margaret-
Johnson-and-Elizabeth-Evans-Women-of-the-New-Jersey-Brigade

Rees, “Reading List: Women and the Military During the War for Independence," The
Continental Soldier, vol. IX, no. 1 (Winter/Spring 1997), 52.
http://revwar75.com/library/rees/wread.htm

10
Rees, “`To Cash paid the Revrd. John Mason for Servant Hannah’s wages …': Hannah
Till, General Washington’s Wartime Cook"
https://www.scribd.com/document/330715949/To-Cash-paid-the-Revrd-John-Mason-for-Servant-
Hannah-s-wages-Hannah-Till-General-Washington-s-Wartime-Cook

Rees, "`Sospecting the prisner to be a tory ...': A Continental Army Court Martial, July
1777" (This court martial of a civilian took place in Brigadier General Prudhomme de Borre's 2nd
Maryland Brigade, Major General John Sullivan's Division. De Borre’s brigade contained the 2nd,
4th, and 7th Maryland Regiments, along with the German Regiment and Hazen's 2nd Canadian
Regiment. Of particular interest in these proceedings are the arguments used to entice the soldiers
to desert, reasons for their dissatisfaction, and the testimony of Alice Wood, attached to Hazen's
Regiment, who had left her children behind when she followed her husband into the army.}
The Continental Soldier, vol. IX, no. 1 (Winter/Spring 1997), 45-46, and,
Military Collector & Historian, vol. 60, no. 3 (Fall 2008), 167.
https://www.scribd.com/document/364103303/Sospecting-the-prisner-to-be-a-tory-A-Continental-
Army-Court-Martial-July-1777

William Laffan, ed., The Cries of Dublin: Drawn from the Life by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, 1760
(Dublin: Irish Georgian Society, 2003), 107.

11
 B. Apparel and Goods Worn or Issued to Female Followers of American Troops
Don N. Hagist, “She was very fond of soldiers,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXIX, no. 2 (Summer
2000), 15-16.
Don N. Hagist, “The Women of Fort Jefferson” (goods issued to individuals at a Kentucky fort,
1780-1781), The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXX, no. 1 (Spring 2000), 21-23.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214790248/Apparel-Worn-by-and-Goods-Issued-to-Female-Followers-
of-American-Troops-Don-N-Hagist-She-was-very-fond-of-soldiers-The-Brigade-Dispatch-vol-XXI

Kim Stacey, “A Women on Campaign: Clothing of a Soldier’s Wife in the 84th Regiment,” The
Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVII, no. 4 (Winter 1997), 12.

C. British Female Followers

Don N. Hagist, “The Women of the British Army in America”
Contents
1. A Look at the Numbers
2. Married to a Soldier
3. Widows and Orphans
4. Restrictions on Marriage
5. Employment
a. Women as Sutlers
b. Women as Nurses
c. Women as Laundresses
d. Women as Seamstresses
e. Other Employment
6. Occupations and Numbers
7. Habitation in Garrison
8. Habitation on Campaign
9. Life on Campaign
10. Women in Battle
11. Hazards
12. Domestic Distress
13. Notes on Clothing and Behavior
14. Notes on Children
Conclusion
https://www.academia.edu/36119670/Don_N._Hagist_The_Women_of_the_British_Army_in_Amer
ica_

Don N, Hagist, “Women on Burgoyne’s Campaign,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXX, no. 4 (Winter
2000), 18-20
http://www.scribd.com/doc/213934713/Don-N-Hagist-%E2%80%9CWomen-on-
Burgoyne%E2%80%99s-Campaign-%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade-Dispatch-vol-XXX-no-4-Winter-
2000-18-20

12
Mrs. Middleton and Mary Driskill, the Experiences of Two Women with British Regiments
Don N. Hagist, “Mrs. Middleton Takes Prisoners,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXIX, no. 3 (Autumn
1999), 17 (a British Army woman’s experiences, from a primary source).
Don N. Hagist, “Mary Driskill, 10th Regiment of Foot,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXX, no. 2
(Summer 2000), 15 (a British Army woman’s experiences, from a primary source).
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214783573/Mrs-Middleton-and-Mary-Driskill-the-Experiences-of-Two-
Women-with-British-Regiments-Don-N-Hagist-%E2%80%9CMrs-Middleton-Takes-Prisoners-
%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade

Paul E. Kopperman, "The British High Command and Soldiers' Wives In America, 1755-1783,"
Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, no. 60 (1982), 14-34. Married women, 14;
women's duties, 15-16, 21; number of women in the Continental Army, 16; the thoughts of the high
command concerning women, 16; the number of women in the army and individual regiments, 19-
20, 26-28; women's rations, 22-23; women as patients in hospital, 31, 33.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214779011/Paul-E-Kopperman-The-British-High-Command-and-
Soldiers-Wives-In-America-1755-1783-Journal-of-the-Society-for-Army-Historical-Research-no-60

D. German Female Followers

(Part 1) Bruce E. Burgoyne, “Women with the Hessian Auxiliaries during the American
Revolutionary War,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 1 (Spring 1996), 2-8.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214066869/Bruce-E-Burgoyne-%E2%80%9CWomen-with-the-
Hessian-Auxiliaries-during-the-American-Revolutionary-War-%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade-
Dispatch-vol-XXVI-no-1-Spring-1996-2
(Part 2) Bruce E. Burgoyne, “Women with the Hessian Auxiliaries during the American
Revolutionary War,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 1 (Spring 1996), 19-23.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214077163/Part-2-Bruce-E-Burgoyne-%E2%80%9CWomen-with-the-
Hessian-Auxiliaries-during-the-American-Revolutionary-War-%E2%80%9D-The-Brigade-
Dispatch-vol-XXVI-no-1-Spring
Bruce E. Burgoyne, “Women with Hessian Military Units” (being a compendium of women
identified as having followed German corps during the American War, 1775-1783), The Brigade
Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 3 (Autumn 1996), 2-10.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214347053/Part-1-Bruce-E-Burgoyne-%E2%80%9CWomen-with-
Hessian-Military-Units%E2%80%9D-being-a-compendium-of-women-identified-as-having-
followed-German-corps-during-the-Amer

Don N. Hagist, “Notes on German Army Women,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXXII, no. 2 (Summer
2002), 20.
https://www.academia.edu/36221967/Don_N._Hagist_Notes_on_German_Army_Women_The_Brigad
e_Dispatch_vol._XXXII_no._2_Summer_2002_20

13
 E. French Troops and Female Followers
René Chartrand, “Notes Concerning Women in the 18th Century French Army,” The Brigade
Dispatch, vol. XXV, no. 3 (Summer 1995), 2 (explanation of the relative paucity of women with
French forces in America).
Donald J. Brandt, “Rochambeau's Army, and Women in America,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXV,
no. 3 (Summer 1995), 3 (insights on women with and around a French regiment).
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214927135/French-Troops-and-Female-Followers-Rene-Chartrand-
%E2%80%9CNotes-Concerning-Women-in-the-18th-Century-French-Army-%E2%80%9D-The-
Brigade-Dispatch-vol-XXV-no
F. Refugees and Women following Loyalist Regiments
Todd W. Braisted, "Refugees & Others: Loyalist Families in the American War for Independence,"
The Brigade Dispatch (Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution), two parts: vol. XXVI, no. 4
(Winter 1996), 2-7; vol. XXVII, no. 2 (Summer 1997), 2-6.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214984897/Refugees-and-Women-following-Loyalist-Regiments-Part-1-
Todd-W-Braisted-Refugees-Others-Loyalist-Families-in-the-American-War-for-Independence
Todd W. Braisted, "Refugees & Others: Loyalist Families in the American War for Independence,"
The Brigade Dispatch (Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution), two parts: vol. XXVI, no. 4
(Winter 1996), 2-7; vol. XXVII, no. 2 (Summer 1997), 2-6.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/214995035/Refugees-and-Women-following-Loyalist-Regiments-Part-2-
Todd-W-Braisted-Refugees-Others-Loyalist-Families-in-the-American-War-for-Independence

Sarah Elizabeth

14