Six of our regt lived together Mess Groups, Carrying Food (and a Little Bit of Tongue) in the Armies

es of the Revolution John U. Rees

Contents Mess Groups Food Distribution Carrying Food The Burden of Rations And, Tongue

____________________ This monograph was inspired by a November 6-8 2009 Welbourne, Virginia, immersion picket (living history) event. My experience that weekend provided a few insights and led me to share a bit on Continental Army mess squads, carrying rations in knapsacks versus haversacks, and the issue of beef tongue to the troops. Some of the information below is excerpted from several of my military food columns in Food History News, as well as a longer work, to be published in Military Collector & Historian, titled:
"To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.: Soldiers' Food and Cooking in the War for Independence Subheadings: "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.

Mess Groups. Enlisted men formed themselves into mess or cooking groups, usually based around those soldiers assigned to a single common tent. Mess groupings in the American Civil War sometimes gave themselves fanciful or humorous appellations; here are a few examples, circa 1861, Screws, "Hard Corner Sharps," Bristol Boys," "Happy Crew," "Montgomery Guards," "Punch Bowl Hotel, "Kensington Boys," and Happy Family messes.1 Information is sparse on names for Continental Army mess squads, but two references indicate that some did have special monikers and how they were awarded. Fifer Samuel Dewees Captain Rosss company, 11th Pennsylvania Regiment (then 10th and finally 6th Pennsylvania) described the apportionment of food to messes, and two ways those groups were identified:

The Orderly Sergeant of each company divided the meat into as many messes as were in each company (six men constituting a mess) and then a soldier was made to turn his back to the piles. The Sergeant would then put his hand upon or point to each pile separately and ask, Who shall have this? The soldier with his back to the mess piles then named the number of the mess or the soldier that was always considered as head of the mess, and in this way they proceeded until all was dealt out.2

So, Continental Army mess groups could be known by the name of the soldier who acted as leader or by an assigned number. Pvt. Samuel Hallowell, a soldier of Col. Rufus Putnams Massachusetts Regiment in 1777, told of at least once instance of a facetious designation being used, writing in his memoirs, Respecting being lowsey [Lt.] Colo. [Ezra] Newhall observed one time it was Difficult for him to keep clear of them for they likt clean clothes. Six of our regt lived together called the Lowsey Mess, whether by themselves or others is unsure.3 Food consumption involved more than just filling troops bellies. On an administrative level there was a real need to regulate and oversee the distribution and preparation of provisions, while for the common soldiers it was often better to spread the daily cooking duties among the group rather than relying upon one individual. To make these tasks easier, and taking advantage of the natural tendency among the men to band together, mess squads were formed, these being generally comprised of six men, the usual number allotted to occupy a single soldiers' tent.4 Maj. Gen. Friedrich Wilhelm de Steubens 1779 Regulations gave some rules each mess was to follow:
The utensils belonging to the tents are to be carried alternately by the men ... The soldiers should not be permitted to eat in their tents, except in bad weather; and an officer of a company must often visit the messes; see that the provision is good and well cooked; that the men of one tent mess together; and that the provision is not sold or disposed of for liquor.5

Each sixman mess was allotted a kettle, sometimes with a wooden bowl, they had to carry with them when on the march (the tents and tentpoles were put in wagons). A 19 June 1778 army order directed, "In future the Camp Kettles are always to be carried by the Messes; each soldier of the Mess taking it in his turn, and no man is on any Account to presume to put the Camp Kettle belonging to the Mess in a Waggon." This stipulation was reiterated at intervals during the war. Other items were sometimes assigned each mess, as evidenced by 10 June 1777 army orders, Such regiments as have not already drawn Tomahawks, are immediately to provide themselves with at least one or two to a mess. The Quarter Master General is to charge those to the regiments, and each mess charged with what is delivered to it, that they may be returned when called for, or pay for them, if lost."6

Soldiers of Capt. Andrew Fitchs company, 4th Connecticut Regiment, in their mess groups preparing an evening meal. (Model Company event, Putnam Park, Redding, Ct., 25 to 27 September 2009. Photograph courtesy of the recreated Corps of Sappers and Miners: http://thecorpsofsappersandminers.org ) ______________________________

Optimally, the creation of scores of these closeknit groupings served as a basis by which companies and regiments were welded together. They also served to emphasize the distinctions between the rank and file and those who commanded them. Orders at "Boston June 28. 1777 refer to that separation: A Sergeant & Ten private Men are to barrack in a Room, the Men in each Room will form themselves into two Messes & the Quarter Master Sergeant will draw Provisions accordingly; the Serjeants will form into a Mess & Diet by themselves ..."7 The distinction between commissioned officers and their men was strictly enforced: General Orders, 13 July 1777,
Lieut. Cummings of the 1st. Virginia regiment charged with 'Messing with common soldiers [among other charges] ...' The Court ... are of opinion, considering the peculiar circumstances of the matter (as to the charge of his messing with private soldiers) related by the prisoner, and having no evidence to prove the contrary, that he should be reprimanded by the commanding officer of the regiment he belongs to, at the head of the regiment.8

Messmates shared cooking responsibilities, as well as the task of finding extra food to supplement the official allotment or replace missing items. Hopefully, they could also be

counted on to look out for each other's welfare, too. Joseph Plumb Martin recounted that at White Plains, New York, in autumn 1776
One day after roll call, one of my messmates with me sat off upon a little jaunt into the country to get some sauce [vegetables, roots, or greens eaten or cooked with meat.] of some kind or another. We soon came to a field of English turnips and pulled and cut as many as we wanted [Shortly afterwards Martin took sick and] was sent back to the baggage to get well again ... When I arrived at the baggage I had the canopy of leaves for my hospital and the ground for my hammock. I found a spot where the dry leaves had collected between the knolls. I made up a bed of these and nestled in it ... I had nothing or eat or drink, not even water, and was unable to go for any myself, for I was sick indeed. In the evening, one of my messmates found me out and soon after brought me some boiled hog's flesh (it was not pork) and turnips ... I could not eat it, but I felt obliged to him notwithstanding. He did all he could do. He gave me the best he had to give, and had to steal that, poor fellow.9

A portion of Gen. George Washington's 4 August 1782 order alludes to the mess squad as a social grouping: " the mode of cooking and manner of living are objects which require attention. Officers should every day visit the tents and kitchens, observe and regulate the Cookery, see the soldiers at their meals and take care that they mess and live properly together." Sgt. Andrew Kettell seconded this when he wrote with some emotion of the bond that could grow between men who messed together. 21 September 1780, "I had the Unwelcome News at the Death of W. Lite which was as Greate a Shock as I ever met with in my life as [he] was [an] agreable Mess Mate and a obliging Companion ..."10

Non-commissioned officers mess eating in their tent. (Capt. Andrew Fitchs company, 4th Connecticut Regiment, Model Company event, Putnam Park, Redding, Ct., 25 to 27 September 2009. Photograph courtesy of the recreated Corps of Sappers and Miners: http://thecorpsofsappersandminers.org )

Often mess groups would be formed among men from the same town or region, but occasionally soldiers who did not know each other were thrown together. J.P. Martin wrote of such a situation during the summer of 1780, when he was drafted out of his regiment into the newlyraised Corps of Sappers and Miners.
I immediately went off with the other men drafted from our brigade, and joined the corps in an old meetinghouse at the Peekskill [in New York]. ... I had now got among a new set, who were, to a man, entire strangers to me. I had, of course, to form new acquaintances, but I was not long in doing that. I had a pretty free use of my tongue, and was sometimes apt to use it when there was no occasion for it. However, I soon found myself at home with them. We were all young men and therefore easy to get acquainted.11

While these connections could be made with some ease, it seems that messes were not formed in an offhand manner. Two days after his joining the Corps the first issue of food was made to Martin and his comrades: "We then drew, if I remember right, two days rations of our good old diet, salt shad, and as we had not, as yet, associated ourselves into regular messes, as is usual in the army, each man had his fish divided out by himself."12 Ties to old comrades were not soon forgotten. Soon after Martin joined the Sappers and Miners, the army moved down towards Tappan. "Just before arriving at our encamping ground, we halted in the road an hour or two. Some four or five of our men, knowing that the regiments to which they formerly belonged were near, slipped off for a few minutes to see their old messmates." The army being ready to move again, and the men not having returned, Martin was detailed "to remain with their arms and knapsacks till they came [back] ... I accordingly waited an hour or two before they all returned."13 Despite such connections, problems with theft occasionally cropped up. During the 1779 Indian Expedition Maj. Gen. John Sullivan Campaign wrote,
It is with great Grief and Astonishment the Comdr. in Chief is informed that some of the Soldiers steal the stores of the Army and even the private allowance of their Messmates, while others are so vile as to throw away their own provision. this discovers an unjust and ungenerous disposition as well as an inattention to their own comfort and safety ... [To remedy this, he decreed] that as the Army have drawn provisions to a certain period [and] he will not suffer the Army to return thro' want of Provision untill that period be expired ... 500 lashes [are] to be inflicted when any person [is] detected in the before mentioned offences and in addition thereto to draw only one lb. of Flour and Meat pr. week during the Campaign.14

Soldiers did occasionally waste their food or consume it too quickly. In June 1777 General Sullivan attempted to persuade his troops to conserve their provisions to last the allotted time. "Flemington [New Jersey] 18th June 1777 The Genl orders that all the troops be immedietly furnished with 3 days Provision to have it Cook'd Dirictly & that no Soldier make any plea after the 3 Days is expired, that he has no provisions As the Genl is Determined None Shall be Drawn till that time is Expired ..." This tendency was not limited to American forces. An officer serving under Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne in summer 1777 noted that campaigning British soldiers carried on most marches not "less than four days provision ... [which] added to his accoutrements, arms, and sixty rounds of ammunition, make an enormous bulk, weighing about sixty pounds."15 If some of this equipment had

been dispensed with

they might have carried more provision. Admitting this it would not remedy the evil, it being with difficulty you can prevail on a common soldier to husband his provision, in any exigency whatever. Even in a settled camp, a young soldier has very short fare on the fourth day after he receives his provision; and on a march, in bad weather and bad roads, when the weary foot slips back at every step, and a curse is provoked by the enormous weight that retards him, it must be a very patient veteran, who has experienced much scarcity and hunger, that is not tempted to throw the whole contents of his haversack into the mire, instances of which I saw on several of our marches. When they thought they should get fresh provision at the next encampment, and that only when they were loaded with four days provision: soldiers reason in this manner: the load is a grievous incumbrance want but a little way off and I have often heard them exclaim, 'Damn the provisions, we shall get more at the next encampment; the General won't let his soldiers starve.16

Food Distribution. A primary purpose of mess squads was to regulate food preparation; the first step in that process was the distribution of provisions, an operation that could be quite time consuming. The following orders illustrate some common aspects of food issuance. Delaware Regiment orders, "Lincoln Mountain [New Jersey] July 1st 1777 an Off[icer]. of each Company constantly [to] attend the Drawing of Provisions for their Respective Companies and take Care that no unsound Provision be delivered to them." Jacksons Additional Regiment orders, "Boston Augt 13. 1777... An orderly Corporal must be appointed to each Company whose Duty will be to receive the Provisions of the Quarter Master for the Company to which he belongs & equally divide it to the different Messes in the Company." 1st Pennsylvania Regiment orders, 25 February 1783, "Camp on James Island," South Carolina, "The Officer of Police reports that the provisions are cut up in several of the huts, this practice will soon render the Encampment very filthy, it must therefore be immediately put a stop to In the rear of the huts, and no place else, the soldiers are ordered in future to cut up and Divide their Provisions "17 Fifer Samuel Dewees described in detail the issue of rations at West Point, New York:
To each regiment there was a Quarter Master attached, who drew the rations for the regiment [and] a QuarterMaster's Sergeant that drew the rations for and dealt them out to the companies ... The Quarter Master's Sergeant at a proper hour would take [the] Sergeants and as many men as might be necessary, and repaired to the storehouse and slaughterhouse, which were built at the edge of the North River and extending some distance into the river ... These men always took poles with them that were kept for the purpose ... of carrying meat upon to the camp. They also took camp kettles with them for to carry Vinegar, Whiskey, &c. into the camp. These men on their return, were marched in front of their respective companies. The Roast Beef [a drum call signifying food distribution] would then 'be beat up,' and the men ... would hasten ... and stand ready to receive their quota. The Orderly Sergeant of each company divided the meat into as many messes as were in a company (six men constituting a mess,) ... I have been down at our slaughterhouse at times for the purpose of assisting in carrying the provision to camp, and have seen a great many cattle drove into it at one time. I recollect that, once we had to wait until the butchers would kill. They drove upwards of a hundred sheep into the slaughter house, and as soon as the doors were closed, some of the butchers went to work and knocked the sheep down in every direction with axes, whilst others followed and stuck or bled them, others followed them, skinned them, hung them up and dressed them. A very short time

elapsed from the time they commenced butchering them until our meat was ready for us. I recollect having been there at another time when they were killing bullocks ... I have known very great numbers of very fine and fat cattle slaughtered there [and] I have seen many very poor and indifferent ones killed there also ... But with these we had to be content in the absence of better ...18

In the same vein, Gen. George Washingtons 4 June 1777 orders at Middlebrook, New Jersey, noted some field camp considerations: "The Commissary General to have his slaughterhouse, at least a mile in the rear of the camp ... He must be provided with waggons, to convey the meat to places near each Brigade, for the more commodius distribution of it; and must see no relicts are left in those places, through carelessness."19 As Fifer Dewees noted, music regulated the soldiers day.
the musicians knew at once when a particular roll or march was named, what tune to play, and the soldiers all knew at all times what duty was to be performed upon the hearing of the musicians beat up There was always a great difference manifested in the manner of attending the calls, Fatigues March, and Roast Beef. The soldiers at the Fatigues call generally turned out slowly and down hearted to muster upon fatigue parade. When an officer would sing out, Orderly Drummer, beat up the Roast Beef, and the musician fairly commence it, the soldiers would be seen skipping, jumping and running from their tents and repair to where the rations were to be issued out. That there would be a difference manifested will not be wondered at when it is stated that the Fatigue Men had to muster for the purpose of going to labor, chop, dig, carry timber, build, etc., etc., whilst the others would turn out voluntarily to learn what they were to draw for breakfast, dinner, etc.20

Jonas, an anonymous soldier in the British 68th Regiment, described a similar process in an encampment on the Isle of Wight in 1758. After cooking the meal for his messmates, they had him,
bring the dinner to the tent, where I found my comrades all placed on the grass in a circle, and I had orders to fix the kettle in the center. Some had knives, while others had none; as to spoons and forks, we were all in one case, destitute, and no porringers or bowls, but to supply the want of the last, we took the kettle lid; one who was the best skilled in carving, was, by consent ordered to carve the flesh into six equal shares, and lay them abroad on the grass with the greens; when this was done, another received orders to call them; which is, one points his finger to one of the lots and cries, who shall have this? the man whose back is turned names one of the mess, and so proceeds till every mans lot is called After the meat was divided and called, every one took up his lot, and then proceeded to eat the broth in the best manner we could, with our canteen tops instead of spoons. We all put an equal share of ammunition bread into the kettle, which bread is delivered to us on set days, and stopped out of our pay, it is as black as our hats, in general, and quite sour.21

Like Jonas and his comrades, Continental troops had to make do with insufficient supplies of eating utensils, as we shall see below. The process of issuing rations seems generally to have resulted in the men receiving less than their due proportion. As Private J.P. Martin described the situation when he and his comrades received their food: "... what was it? A bare pound of fresh beef and a bare pound of bread or flour. The beef, when it had gone through all its divisions and

subdivisions, would not be so much over three quarters of a pound, and that nearly or quite half bones." Martin's recollections are seconded by Brig. Gen. Jedediah Huntingtons comments, "Brigade Commissaries have no Allowance for Wastage in dealing out Provisions, they are therefore under a strong Necessity of giving short Weight to the Regiments or be liable to account for the Wastage in the same Way, the Iniquity proceeds to the Men, after the Provisions are divided and subdivided to Companies and Messes the Pound is often reduced to 12 Ounces. the Commisaries ought to deal the full Quantity to each Company." Pilfering also played a part. Regimental orders, 28 February 1783, "Camp on James Island, "Corporal Young was tried upon the following Charge Viz. In defrauding the men ... of their provisions when Distributing of it pleads guilty but says the quantity he took was so small as not to exceed 1/2 lb and that he took it for the purpose of greasing his Gun."22 An order for the 4th Pennsylvania Battalion serving in northern New York illuminated additional concerns surrounding the ration issue. 17 April 1776,
It is once more recommended to the Weekly officers and Serjents that they see that their men do not Waste their provisions nor devide them after they receive them for their Messes. The major took notice that some men when they receive their provisions took and cut peices from their meat and put them on sticks to broil them on the fire and if they do this they will certainly not have provision enough, but will always be some that will suffer with hunger. The provision must be kept and cooked together and the men who are in messes must eat together and no division to be made except for those on Guard, which their comrades are to bring them their Provision when cooked. The Provisions must be divided for every day what they will cook as allso the Bread.23

This 1776 order was echoed by General Washington's 10 October 1777 directive: "The General being informed, that much provision is wasted by the irregular manner in which it is drawn and cooked, does ... exhort the officers ... to look into and prevent abuses of this kind ..."24 We will close this chapter by looking at ration issues aboard a British troop transport crossing the Atlantic, and during the American Civil War (18611865), revealing both similarities and differences with Continental Army practice. Hessian Pvt. Johannes Reuber, Rall Grenadier Regiment, noted on shipboard, 12 April 1776,
Every morning six men receive four pounds of ship's zwieback [hard bread, "twice baked"] or bread, one and onehalf as salted biscuits. On Sunday six men, as a group receive peas and four pounds of pork. Monday a gruel is cooked from oats, butter, and cheese. Tuesday six men receive four pounds of beef, three pounds of flour, onehalf pound of raisins, and an equal amount of beef fat, from which a pudding is made. Six men receive a numbered pouch in which the pudding is served. Wednesday again a cooked gruel, plus butter and cheese. Thursday six men receive four pounds of cooked pork and peas. Friday again oatmeal gruel, plus butter and cheese. On Saturday again a pudding as on Tuesday. Every day six men receive four measures of small beer to drink and every morning a can of rum. These are served at eight o'clock. The officers have their own victuals cooked by our cook in the German manner and eat together.25

A month and a half later Reuber wrote:

29 May [1776] Here I shall note our [shipboard] housekeeping. In the morning at eight o'clock, bread, meat, butter and cheese are issued by a sailor who is called the steward, in the presence of an officer ... Each man receives a small can of rum and vinegar. When it is cooked and is done, every six men have a wooden bowl with a number thereon representing the berthing spaces, from number one to the end. The cook calls first and fills it, and so until the last. And what we receive each day, I have previously noted. The soldiers must stir the pudding themselves, and for every six men, a bag is provided on which is the number of their berthing place, also. When it is ready, the cook calls the number and the six men divide the pudding. The same procedure is used with the meat one piece for six men, which is then divided into six pieces. The one who divides it points with his fork and asks who should have it. Another [of his mess], who has turned away, gives the answer. It would be a great pleasure to watch this activity if the portion of meat were not so small. Often a piece of meat is served which consists of more bone than meat.26

While coffee and sugar were rarely issued to Revolutionary soldiers, Union artilleryman John Billings 1860s description of dividing rations mirrored Continental Army practice:
It would have interested a civilian to observe the manner in which this ration was served out when the army was in active service. It was usually brought to camp in an oatsack, a regimental quartermaster receiving and apportioning his among the companies then the orderlysergeant of a company must devote himself to dividing it. One method of accomplishing this was to spread a rubber blanket on the ground, more than one if the company was large, and upon it were put as many piles of the coffee there were men to receive rations; and the care taken to make the piles of the same size to the eye, to keep the men from growling, would remind one of a country physician making his powders, taking a little from one pile and adding to another. The sugar which always accompanied the coffee was spooned out at the same time on another blanket. When both were ready, they were given out, each man taking a pile, or, in some companies, to prevent any charge of unfairness or injustice, the sergeant would turn his back on the rations, and take out his roll of the company. Then, by request, some one else would point to a pile and ask, Who shall have this? and the sergeant, without turning, would call a name from his list This process would be continued until the last pile was disposed of. There were other plans for distributing rations; but I have described this one because of its being quite common.27

Carrying Food. Optimally, soldiers were issued haversacks (a coarse linen bag) to carry rations on the march. The haversack was slung it over a mans right shoulder, hanging under his left arm. One surviving British example measures 13 1/2 inches high by 16 3/4 inches wide, with a two-inch linen strap (for photographs see, http://www.najecki.com/repro/misc/Nannos/HaversackBody.html ). On at least one occasion Continental soldiers were directed to construct their own. "College Camp [ Williamsburg , Virginia ] October the 11th. 1775 ... [A] Captain of Each Company is to Apply to the Quartermaster for Linnen Cloth to make a habersack for Each Soldier one yard of Oznabrigs is Supposed to be Sufficient for the purpose of making the sack ... Each Soldier to make his own sack ... as near one General Size & patern as Possible. Thread Sufficient for the purpose must be Drawn ..." (Haversacks could be multipurposed. In November 1757 British troops at Annapolis, Nova Scotia, went to an apple

orchard and "filled bags, haversacks, baskets and even their pockets with fruit." When in Pennsylvania , soldiers of the 64th Regiment were ordered to convey a ration issue to camp: "Ashtown Camp 14th September 1777 ... The Men are to go with their Haversacks for flour to Hills Milles.")28

Detail of Continental soldier wearing a haversack and canteen. (Artwork by George C. Woodbridge.) For photographs of original haversack see, http://www.najecki.com/repro/misc/Nannos/HaversackBody.html .

Bennett Cuthbertson noted in his 1768 military treatise, "a Soldier cannot conveniently get through the Duties of a Campaign, without a Haversack of strong, coarse, grey linen (which is always issued as part of the Camp-equipage) to carry his bread and provisions on a March..." With that said, Continental soldiers were often without haversacks due to supply shortfalls. For example, an "Abstract of the Arms & Accoutrements deliverd out at Philadelphia to the Continental Troops by the Commissary Genl. of Military Stores for the period from 1 April 1777 to the beginning of August the same year show only 3,135 haversacks issued as opposed to 13,297 knapsacks. This at a time when the army under Gen. George Washingtons immediate command numbered approximately 14,000, leaving at least three quarters of the troops without haversacks.29

(See next page for caption.)

(Photo on previous page)

Linen haversacks were the preferred receptacle for carrying food. (One surviving

British example measures 13 1/2 inches high by 16 3/4 inches wide, with a twoinch linen strap; the haversacks flap is closed with two buttons.) Here we see a
typical Continental soldiers haversack, with boiled beef and hard biscuit in a wooden bowl. Linen bags inside the haversack were used for storing meat, flour, biscuits, bread, and other rations. Also shown are a tin cup, horn spoon, and tin canteen with a wool cover. (Photograph by the author.) _______________________

Whether or not haversacks were available, soldiers transported food other ways, too. Portions of a mess squad's food were occasionally carried in a camp kettle, each man taking his turn with the burden. Connecticut soldier Joseph Martin wrote of this occurring autumn 1777, when his regiment halted in Burlington, New Jersey , "where we procured some carrion beef, for it was not better. We cooked it and ate some, and carried the remainder away with us. We had always, in the army, to carry our cooking utensils in our hands by turns, and at this time, as we were not overburthened by provisions, our mess had put ours into our kettle, it not being very heavy, as it was made of plated iron."30 Other items were specifically intended to hold food or converted to that purpose. In May 1779, the colonel of the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment directed his officers that the "Compys will have the [new] Knapsacks delivered, that the men may appear with their Cloathing in them this afternoon. The old Knapsacks the men have in their Possession, they will keep to carry their Provisions in them." In February 1776 a "new invented Knapsack and Haversack" was advertised to Maryland. The manufacturer touted it as already adopted by the American regulars of Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Virginia ..." The truth of that assertion is open to doubt, but the item is interesting in that it was a dual purpose knapsack intended to carry a soldier's clothing as well as food.31 Soldiers also packed food in their primary knapsacks along with clothing and other necessaries. Orders for Jackson 's Additional Regiment, " Boston Oct 4. 1777 The Regiment to hold themselves in readiness to embark ... it is expected that every Non Commissioned Officer & Soldier, will have his Cloathing & Necessaries put up in their Knapsacks this afternoon, together with two days provisions Cook'd ..." The same month a private with General Horatio Gates' Northern Army noted, "at night we drew rations and were notified to be ready early on the next Morn' to march to Stillwater, so we boiled our Meet and had our provisions all in our Paiks ready ... early in the Morn' [we] were paraded and marched off ..." Joseph Martin wrote of returning to the Valley Forge camp in early spring of 1778, carrying "two or three days' rations in my knapsack," and in July 1779 the troops on Sullivan's Expedition were issued rations and ordered "to take [them] in their packs ..."32 Using equipment unsuited for carrying food increased the troops' burden considerably, and without adequate containers to carry provisions they were easily spoiled or lost, thus wasting the extraordinary effort expended to obtain it. Unfortunately, in the Continental Army haversacks, canteens, and camp kettles had a high rate of attrition. Prior to each campaign large supplies of each were needed to complete the men adequately, but often sufficient quantities had not been received even after the army marched. This remained true until the war's end. While preparing to take the field in 1782, Quartermaster General

Timothy Pickering informed General Washington that nothing more was needed "except knapsacks, canteens & camp kettles." He particularly mentioned canteens as "an article so frequently lost & broken."33 Following a time-honored tradition soldiers were forced to improvise and suffer the inconvenience. Orders for the attack on the British at Germantown (4 October 1777) directed soldiers to "take their provision in their habersacks [sic], such as have not habersacks are to take their provision in their pockets, or in such manner as may be most convenient." Writing after the battle, Timothy Pickering, then Washington's adjutant general, noted that "Haversacks ... are exceedingly wanted for carrying the men's provisions. In the last action the men having no other way tied their provisions up in their blankets and shirts some of which were left in consequence thereof." (In a similar manner Sgt. Jeremiah Greenman, travelling to Valley Forge in 1778, "toock sum provision in a hankerchife.") When the New Jersey Brigade had a large influx of drafted men in June 1778, their commander wrote, "There is about 450 of the new Leveys come in. I do not know what we shall do for want of Haversacks, should we March, to carry their Provisions. Coll. Cox has given orders to the first and 2d Regts. to get as much cloath from his agent here as will make them [haversacks] but he says there is no more therefore the 3d and 4th [Regiments] must be served from camp."34 Every locale saw shortages. In May 1778 a two-thousand man expedition was sent against British held St. Augustine, East Florida. From "Camp at Fort Howe on Alatamaha" River, Georgia, an American officer complained to William Moultrie, "you have been much too parsimonious in your fitting us out for this expedition ... what is more inconvenient than to have only one camp-kettle to ten, twelve or fifteen men? and in this hot climate to have one small canteen to six or eight men? we think no expense too great to procure men, but we do not think after we have got them, that we ought to go to the expense of preserving their health ... the Gen. requested me to desire you to send round in a boat ... 500 canteens, 100 camp-kettles, and 35 or 40 tents ..."35 Units earmarked for John Sullivan's 1779 Indian Expedition experienced similar difficulties. General Edward Hand wrote in March, from Minisink on the New York/New Jersey frontier, that he "wish[ed] to know where we may be supplied with ... Camp Kettles & Canteens all which we are destitute of ..." (The units under his command were the 2nd New York Regiment, German Regiment, Spencer's Additional Regiment, Armand's Legion Infantry, and Captain Schott's Independent Company.) A series of receipts made early in 1779 show severe shortfalls in numbers of canteens and knapsacks needed by the New Jersey Brigade for the year's campaign. On 29 January, 301 knapsacks and 175 canteens were issued to the 2d New Jersey Regiment; four months later on 25 May an additional 50 knapsacks, 229 canteens, and 35 camp kettles were issued to the same unit. (Thirty five kettles would supply 210 common soldiers; during this period the overall strength of the 2d New Jersey ranged from 431 non-commissioned officers and rank and file in January, to 356 three months later.) In April, when the entire Jersey Brigade numbered 1,011 men, "86 Canteens 581 Knapsacks ... [and] five Hund. Canteen Straps" were issued to supply a deficit. Haversacks were also wanted. General orders at Wyoming, 27 July 1779, stipulated that "The Comdg. officers of regiments & corps will forthwith ... furnish their troops with knapsacks, haversacks and canteens complete." On 23 August 1779, after the troops under Sullivan had already marched great distances in difficult country, General Sullivan, at Tioga, Pennsylvania, ordered "The different Corps ... immediately to call on the Qr.Mr Genl

For ... Knapsacks, haversacks, & Canteens."36 A 21 August 1779 return for Sullivans army still shows shortages of much-needed food-related equipment, including knapsacks and haversacks (see below):37
"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," 21 August 1779. Camp Kettles Bowls with Camp Iron and Covers Kettles Cups Dishes Canteens Maxwell's Brigade 184 26 80 957 Poor's Brigade 213 19 869 Hand's Brigade 109 555 Proctor's Artillery 13 39 180 Knapsacks Haversacks 1044 765 851 535 625 526 100

Maxwell's Brigade Poor's Brigade Hand's Brigade Proctor's Artillery

Unit strength August 1779: Present Officers N.C.O.'s and Privates Fit for Duty and Staff Present, Fit for Duty Maxwell's Brigade 1225 83 1142 (1st, 2d, 3d New Jersey Regiments, and Spencers Additional Regiment) Poor's Brigade 1049 85 964 (1st, 2d, 3d New Hampshire Regiments, 2d New York Regiment) Hand's Brigade 800 66 754 (4th and 11th Pennsylvania Regiments, German Regiment, Morgans Rifle Corps, Schotts Rifle Corps) Procter's Artillery 147 16 131 (4th Battalion, Continental Artillery)

In another example, in June 1778, just before the Monmouth Campaign, the 1st Pennsylvania Brigade had 840 non-commissioned officers, and rank and file, but only 505 knapsacks and 24 haversacks. Returns for other Continental Army units show severe shortages of haversacks and knapsacks as well. (See endnote for equipment returns for several brigades and a single Massachusetts company, spanning the period from 1778 to 1782.)38

(See next page for caption.)

(Photo on previous page)

Mess groups occasionally carried provisions in camp kettles. Connecticut soldier Joseph Martin wrote of this autumn 1777; his regiment halted in Burlington, New Jersey, "where we procured some carrion beef, for it was not better. We cooked it and ate some, and carried the remainder away with us. We had always, in the army, to carry our cooking utensils in our hands by turns, and as we were not overburthened by provisions, our mess had put ours into our kettle " This photograph shows a small sheet-iron kettle, with rations of beef, rice, dried peas, and chocolate. Also pictured are a camp hatchet and soldiers brimmed wool hat. Joseph Plumb Martin, Private Yankee Doodle: A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Co., 1962), 81. (Photograph by the author.) __________________________

The Burden of Rations. The amount of food a haversack could hold depended upon its size, which may have varied even in the British army. A 1762 listing of equipment carried by British troops in America included "A Haversack, with a Strap Containing Six Days Provisions." (The weight of the soldier's entire burden given in this list was slightly over sixty-three pounds, at least twelve of which was comprised of foodstuff.) Ens. Thomas Glyn noted orders for the British Guards, 19 August 1776, When the Brigade disembarks two Gils of Rum to be delivered for each mans Canteen which must be filled with Water, Each Man to disembark with a Blanket & Haversack in which he is to carry one Shirt one pair of Socks and Three Days Provisions A British officer with General John Burgoyne, writing in August 1777, told of soldiers carrying an "enormous bulk, weighing about sixty pounds" including "four days provision ... [which] load is a grievous incumbrance."39 Continental troops often carried a similar quantity of food in their haversacks or knapsacks. Here are several examples: General Washington's "Head-Quarters, Smithe's Clove, June 10th, 1779. The Rum and whiskey in the maggazine to be Delivered amongst the Brigade Commissaryes, and a Gill Pr man to Be Issued to the whole army this Day. Four Days' flour to be Issued to the Troops, so that the whole Army will be supplyed up to Sunday Next Inclusive. Two Days' fresh Beef to be Issued this Day, and Cattle Eaquel to two Days' supply to be with each Brigade Commissary, Redy to be slaughtered when wanted." "Head Quarters, New Windsor, July 20th, '79. ... If the maggazines will afford it, the Brigade Commissary will allway[s] have about them, Redy to Issue at a Moment's warning, tow Days' salt Provisions and a Larger Quantity of Bread or flour. The troops are allways to have two Days' [meat] Cooked ... that they may be Redy to march at a moment's warning." On 30 July 1779 Maj. Gen. John Sullivan's soldiers in Pennsylvania were ordered "to take in their packs ten days bread, part hard & part soft, also two days' salted meat." (The allotment of these articles had been set on 11 July at "1 1/4 pound of soft bread or flour or 1 pound of hard bread per day [and] 1 1/4 [pounds] of fresh or salt beef ...")40 And Tongue. The scenario for the November 2009 progressive event at Welbourne Plantation, near Middleburg, Virginia, was to portray a company of the York County, Pennsylvania militia during the autumn 1777 Philadelphia campaign. Learning of the event impression, I remembered the memoirs of York County militia Private John Adlum (then serving with the Flying Camp), who recalled that while posted at Fort Lee, New Jersey,

Just after dusk in the evening [of 12 November 1776] the drum beat to arms ... [and] were informed that the enemy were landing on our side of the river ... I immediately tied up a shirt and a pair of stockings in my blanket and a piece of bread and the greater part of a neat's tongue that my mother gave me when I left home, and I kept the greater part of it with great care for an emergency. I left my knapsack in our hut; I encumbered myself as little as possible ...41

With that in mind, when I packed for the weekend my knapsack contained half a cooked and cured beef tongue. I dont know how the tongue would have fared in warmer weather, but the 27 to 50 degree Fahrenheit temperatures at Welbourne were certainly proof against spoilage, and while the appendage certainly looked as if it had recently graced a bovine mouth, the meat was quite good to taste. Beef tongue is not only suited to home-supplied American militia, Continental and British soldiers were occasionally issued them on a small scale. Thomas Simes noted army rations in his 1768 Military Medley:
American Weekly Allowance of Provisions for one Person.42 Seven pounds of bread or flour. Seven pounds of beef or pork. Half a pound of rice. Three pounds of peas; and Six ounces of butter.

Following this recital, Simes further explains, When they receive fresh meat, each person is to have one pound of beef a day; and one pound of flour; a bullock's head is to be issued for eight pounds, a tongue for three pounds, and a heart for its weight."43

Orders for Jackson's Additional Regiment, "Boston Oct 4. 1777 The Regiment to hold themselves in readiness to embark ... it is expected that every Non Commissioned Officer & Soldier, will have his Cloathing & Necessaries put up in their Knapsacks this afternoon, together with two days provisions Cook'd ..." Continental soldiers often carried provisions in their knapsacks when haversacks were not available. Pictured is a two-strap design, based on the British model, with separate bags holding flour and a beef (neats) tongue. Also shown are a horn cup and spoon, and wooden bowl and canteen. Private John Adlum, York County, Pennsylvania militia, volunteered to defend Fort Washington, New York, in November 1776, taking "a shirt and a pair of stockings in my blanket and a piece of bread and the greater part of a neat's tongue that my mother gave me when I left home [in July], and I kept the greater part of it with great care for an emergency." Continental troops were occasionally issued tongue; campaigning against the Iroquois, New Hampshire Capt. Jeremiah Fogg wrote on 28 August 1779, "This morning we had a dainty repast on the fruits of the savages ... sitting at a dish of tea, toast, corn, squash, smoked tongue, &c." Howard H. Peckham, Memoirs of the Life of John Adlum in the Revolutionary War (Chicago, Il., 1968), 49. Jeremiah Fogg, 2nd New Hampshire Regt., Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 (Glendale, N.Y.: Benchmark Publishing Co., 1970), 94. (Photograph by the author.)

_______________________________ While tongues were certainly issued at times other than winter camp, to date the only ration returns I have located mentioning them date from the 1777-78 Valley Forge cantonment. First, "A General Return of Provisions & Stores Issued in Camp ... [to

Washington's Army] for the Month of December 1777" lists large quantities of flour and beef, with lesser quantities of bread, pork, fish and "Veal or Mutton." Two hams and a small amount of tongue are also noted.44 A Commissary return dated 30 January 1778 includes a surprisingly small quantity of barreled beef, but does show 3 barrels tongues:
January 30, 1778, Commissarys Office 45 The Commissaries Magazine 525 barrels flour 37 barrels biscuit 47 barrels salt provision barrel shad 8 barrels soap 3 barrels tongues 1 hogshead spirit 7 hogsheads rum 3 hogsheads Ginn 4 hogsheads whiskey 2 hogsheads bacon 1 hogshead beef 2 hogsheads molasses 9 hogsheads salt 2 tierces dried Gammon 2 tierces fresh pork tierce rice 90 head of cattle The Bake House 35 Bls Flour 254 Bls Biscuit 2000 loaves of bread - weighing 10,000 pounds 4 hogsheads of biscuit 1 tierce of biscuit

Two provision returns for the New Jersey troops also show tongue being handed out. The first is for a single regiment, the 2d New Jersey, giving rations issued at camp January to May 1778. The document is included in its entirety to show proportions of different foodstuff. It must be noted that the 2d Jersey left Valley Forge at the end of March to a new station in and around Haddonfield, New Jersey; the small amounts of food issued in April and May was likely for men detached from the regiment or left behind in Pennsylvania.46

2d New Jersey Provision Issues, January to May 1778 47 January 1778 February 1778 March 1778 6062 pd of flour 3930 pd of flour 3871 pd of flour 2614 pd of bread 3963 pd of bread 3118 pd of bread 8325 pd of beef 4974 pd of beef 4426 pd of beef 269 pd of pork 636 pd of pork 112 pd of pork 15 pd of fish -------289 pd of fish -------210 pd of biscuit -------------150 pd of gammon -------------28 pd of tongues ------39 pd of soap 63 pd of soap 12 1/2 pd of soap 7 pd of candles 25 pd of candles 19 1/4 pd of candles -------8 pd of tallow --------------------256 gills of rice --------------200 pd Indian meal April 1778 267 pd of flour 261 pd of bread 317 pd of beef 27 pd of pork -------May 1778 208 pd of flour -------64 pd of beef 30 pd of pork 36 pd of fish

Rations issued to the New Jersey Brigade at Valley Forge (having at the time only two of four regiments present) for the month of May were as follows:48
7,827 pounds of flour 9,782 pounds of bread 8,064 pounds of beef 4 barrels of "Gams. Bacon or Gammo." * 26 barrels of salt pork 6 barrels of fish 2 barrels of salt 247 pounds of soap 341 pounds of candles 5 gallons of brandy 108 gallons of rum 52 1/3 gallons of whiskey 10 gallons of vinegar 2 bushels of peas or beans 48 pounds of tongue 56 pounds of sugar 6 firkins of butter 14 pounds of cheese 3 barrels of Indian meal * Gammo is likely gammon, i.e., "Smoked ham."

Several accounts, one from the War for Independence and two from the American Civil

War, indicate that tongue was a treat for soldiers used to coarser fare. Commanding a company of the 2nd New Hampshire Regiment campaigning under Maj. Gen. John Sullivan against the Iroquois, Capt. Jeremiah Fogg wrote on 28 August 1779, This morning we had a dainty repast on the fruits of the savages. Our friends at home cannot be happier amid their variety of superfluities, than we were while sitting at a dish of tea, toast, corn, squash, smoked tongue, &c." Some eighty years later, on 17 July 1861, 2nd Lt. Eugene Carter, 8th U.S. Infantry, noted after sleeping "in a field by the roadside" he awoke and "ate a sumptuous breakfast, composed of hard bread and half-boiled tongue." His brother Walter, serving with the 22nd Massachusetts Volunteers, Warrenton, wrote in mid-November 1862 that during a visit to Eugene, he treated Walter and brother Bob to "a royal meal, composed of roast beef, pickled tongue, sweet and Irish potatoes (the latter mashed in butter and milk), bread and butter, and sherry wine ... We had a gay dinner and a gay time."49 Finis. So, next time you go out for a living history event, give some thought to alternate ways of carrying provision, trying some tongue (no, not that way), and naming your mess squad who wants to be the Lowsey Mess? Endnotes 1. One memoir gives the names of over a hundred mess appellations. At the end of May 1861 the newly-recruited companies of several regiments of the Reserve Volunteer Division of Pennsylvania moved to their camp at a fair grounds about one and a half miles west of Easton, a town on the Delaware River. Their accommodations were long rows of bunk rooms, three of which were assigned to each company. As Adjutant E.M. Woodward of the 2nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserves, noted,
Among the first things that agitated the brains of the men, was to devise quaint names and mottoes to place over the doors to their quarters, and although they were not purely classical, some of them were typical of those who adopted them. Commencing on the extreme south of the eastern side, was Captain McDonoughs company, with Fourth Ward, City of Philadelphia; Fort McCandless, Sergeant Dillon commanding; "Fort Mann, Lieutenant John J. Gill commanding;" "Fort , Lieutenant J. D. Schock commanding" On the right of this was "The Quaker City Head Quarters;" "Camp McClare;" "Fort Wm. T. Blundin;" "Quaker Bridal Chamber;" "Calahan Hall;" "Live and let live." Next, "Fort James N. Byrnes;" "Screws;" "Hibernia Fire Engine Company;" "Bird in Hand;" "Finney House." Next, "Continental Hotel," "The Rose Cottage;" "Dart's Head Quarters:" "Hard Corner Sharps;" "The Old House at Home;" "Independent Rangers;" "Nailer's Head Quarters;" "Gay Rooster;" "Diamond Hall;" "Don't Tread on me;" "Minerva Hall;" "Git up and Git;" "Old Lebanon Garden, Captain Mealey." Next, "Happy Home of the Constitutional Rangers, Captain William Knox;" "Punch Bowl Hotel;" "Black Horse Hotel;" "Astor House;" "Ellsworth Hotel;" "The Government keeps us, and we will keep the Government ;" "Cohocksink Hotel;" "District Attorney's Office;" Notice, "Upon any, liquors being brought in, the moral character of applicants to practice at the Bar, must be strictly inquired into." Next, "Bristol Boys, Captain Wm. S. Thompson;" "Bower of Love;" "Happy Crew;" "The Old School House;" "The Old Spring House;" "Hole in the Wall;" "Montgomery Guards;" Next, "Einwechter's Head Quarters;" "Tenth and Eleventh Street Depot, Exchange Tickets, Seven cents;" "The Serious Family ;" "Out for a Day's shooting."

Next, "Ontario House, Captain Horatio G. Sickel;" "Donaghy's Inn;" "Bill Pool Club;" "We Respect all, and Fear none;" "Never Sink;" "Live Oak;" "Kensington Boys;" "Hike out and Simmer down." Next, "Balmoral Castle;" "Scotch Rifles, Captain J. Orr Finnie;" "Wallace's Cave, Lieutenant J. B. Fletcher;" "De Korponay;" "Struther's Retreat;" "Pony Hall." Next, "Penn Rifles, Captain George A. Woodward;" "De Korponay;" "The Flag Wyoming." Next, "Taggart Guards;" "De Korponay Bricks;" "Sunday Mercury, Captain E. M. Woodward;" "Spicket's Head Quarters;" "Railroad House;" "The abode of Virtue." Next, "Consolidation Guards, Captain P. I. Smith;" "De Korponay Pidgeon Box;" "Gay and Happy;" "Fort Defiance." Next, "Flatborough Guards, Captain I. W. Kimble;" "Free and Easy;" "Happy Family." Next, "Wide Awake Hall, Captain Wm. D. Curtis;" "Long Island, of Reading;" "Keystone Hook and Ladder Company;" "Elephant Guards." Next, "The Star of North Birdsboro', Captain Jacob Lenhart;" "Fort Sumter;" "Japanese Hotel;" "Arctic Circle;" "Death to Traitors;" "Jeff Davis at the Sheriff's Ball;" "The Blue Eyed Stranger;" "Moonlight Assassinators;" "Mount Vernon;" "Washington and Lincoln;" "Victory or Death;" "White Hall, Newtown, Captain David V. Feaster;" "Traitor Hunters;" "Love and Glory;" "Game Chickens;" "Ellsworth Avengers;" "Rebel Killers;" "Hard Scrabble Rangers;" "Chester County Volunteers ;" "Never Surrender;" "The Wheat Field;" "The Red Curtin;" "Susquehanna Tigers;" "Gloria Dei;" "Ellsworth's Heart," etc.

E.M. Woodward (adjutant, Second Penna. Reserves), Our Campaigns; or, the Marches, Bivouacs, Battles, Incidents of Camp Life and History of Our Regiment During Its Three Years Term of Service (Philadelphia: John E. Potter, 1865), 34-36. 2. Samuel Dewees, A History of the Life and Services of Captain Samuel Dewees ... The whole written (in part from a manuscript in the handwriting of Captain Dewees) and compiled by John Smith Hanna (Printed by R. Neilson, 1844), 163165; see also Dillon Music (World Wide Web), http://www.dillonmusic.com/historic_fifes/sammy_the_fifer.htm See also Samuel Dewees, pension file (W9405), Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land - Warrant Application Files, National Archives Microfilm Publication M804, reel 266. 3. Henry Hallowell in 1777 was a private in Capt. Ebenezer Winships Company, Col. Rufus Putnams Massachusetts Regiment. Howard Kendall Johnson, ed., Lynn in the Revolution Compiled from Notes [by Carrie May Sanderson], two volumes (Boston: W.B. Clarke Company, 1909), part 1, 163. 4. As soon as a regiment has taken the field, the soldiers composing it should be divided into regular messes, consisting of not more than five or six men each. The usual was of dividing them into messes of ten, twelve, or even sixteen men each, is liable to many objections. It is seldom, indeed, that a sufficient degree of harmony prevails among so many men to render their mess comfortable; to which may be added, that a large mess is always productive of less comfort, and more dirt, than a small one; when these circumstances are maturely considered, the balance will be found to lean considerably to the side of small messes. Quoted from Robert Sommerville "Memoir on Medical Arrangements" (date unknown, but prior to 1798); cited in William Blair, A.M. (Surgeon of the Lock Hospital and Asylum and of the old Finsbury Dispensary, London), The Soldier's Friend, or the Means of Preserving the Health of Military Men; Addressed to the Officers of the British Army (London: Published by Mr. Longman; Messrs. Vernor

and Hood; Messrs. Hookham and Carpenter Sold also by Messer. Mudie & Sons, Edinburgh; and by all other booksellers. 1798"), 2526 (Excerpts courtesy of Mike Williams, Detached Hospital, Brigade of the American Revolution, Senior Surgeon, 1323 Shoreline Trail, Graham, NC 272539731). 5. Friedrich Wilhelm de Steuben, Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States Part I. (Philadelphia: Stymer and Cist, 1779), 8384. 6. General orders, 19 June 1778, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, vol. 12 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1934), 9394; General orders, 19 June 1781, ibid., 22 (1937), 233. General orders, 10 June 1777, ibid., 8 (1933), 211212. 7. Orders, 28 June 1777, Orderly Book, possibly belonging to Lt. Col. William Smith of Jackson's Additional Regiment, 17771780, target 3, Numbered Record Books Concerning Military Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement Accounts, and Supplies in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records (National Archives Microfilm Publication M853, reel 3, vol. 17, 78) RG 93, NA. 8. General orders, 13 July 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, 8 (1933), 400 401. 9. Joseph Plumb Martin, Private Yankee Doodle: A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Co., 1962), 5253, 55, 100. 10. General orders, 4 August 1782, Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, 24 (1938), 463; General orders, 10 February 1783, reiterated this sentiment: "The greatest regularity and good order [is] to be observed by the men, as to the mode of cooking their victuals and the time of eating; as well as in the manner of messing and living together ...," ibid., 26 (1938), 111112; Journal of Sgt. Andrew Kettell of Massachusetts, May 1780March 1781 (W13568), reel 1477, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, Record Group 15. 11. Martin, Private Yankee Doodle, 194195. 12. Ibid., 195. 13. Ibid., 197. 14. General orders, 27 August 1779, Orderly book of Col. Oliver Spencer's Regt., 27 July 1779 28 September 1779, Early American Orderly Books, 17481817, Collections of the NewYork Historical Society (Microfilm edition: Woodbridge, N.J., 1977), reel 9, item 93, 112113. 15. Joseph Brown Turner, ed., The Journal and Order Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Line (Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1970), 86; 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 XXXVI, 8 August 1777, 378381. 16. Ibid., 378381. 17. Turner, The Journal and Order Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood, 93; Orders, 13 August 1777, Orderly Book, possibly belonging to Lt. Col. William Smith of Jackson's Additional Regiment, 17771780, target 3, Numbered Record Books (National Archives Microfilm Publication M853, reel 3, vol. 17, 1011). "Lieutenant Colonel Harmar's Orders for the First Pennsylvania Regiment [Book] No. 1.," 6 November 1782 to 28 March 1783, Harmar Papers, Clements Library, microfilm, vol. 27, reel 10.

18. Samuel Dewees, A History of the Life and Services of Captain Samuel Dewees ... The whole written (in part from a manuscript in the handwriting of Captain Dewees) and compiled by John Smith Hanna (Printed by R. Neilson, 1844), 163165; see also Dillon Music (World Wide Web), http://www.dillonmusic.com/historic_fifes/sammy_the_fifer.htm In describing "the Different Beats of the Drum," de Steuben's 1779 Manual gives the signal to go for provisions as "roast beef." de Steuben, Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, 9192; see also, Raoul F. Camus, Military Music of the American Revolution (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1976), 103104. "A Song in Praise of Old English Roast Beef" by Richard Leveridge (Lyrics by William Chappell). Popularly known as the "Roast Beef of Old England." Musical score available in Camus, Military Music of the American Revolution (see above). (Words supplied courtesy of Kim Newell)
"When mighty roast beef was the Englishman's food, It ennobled our hearts, and enriched our blood; Our soldiers were brave and our courtiers were good Oh, the roast beef of old England! And oh, for old England's Roast Beef! But since we have learned from effeminate France, To eat their ragouts, as well as to dance, We are fed up with nothing but vain complaisance, Oh, the roast beef ... Our fathers of old were robust stout and strong, And kept open house with good cheer all day [long] Which made their plump tenants rejoice in this song; Oh, the roast beef ... When good Queen Elizabeth sat on the throne, Ere coffee and tea and such slip slops were known, The world was in terror if e'en she did frown, Oh, the roast beef ... In those days when ships did presume on the main, They seldom if ever returned back again, As witness the vaunting Armada of Spain, Oh, the roast beef ... Oh, then we had stomachs to eat and to fight, And when wrongs were cooking, to set ourselves right, But now we're ahm! I could but good night. Oh the roast beef ..."

19. General orders, 4 June 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, 8 (1933), 181182. 20. Dewees, A History of the Life and Services of Captain Samuel Dewees, 163165. 21. Anon., A Soldiers Journal, Containing a particular Description of the several Descents on the Coast of France last War, With an entertaining Account of the Islands of Guadaloupe, Dominique, &c., And also of the Isles of Wight and Jersey, To which are annexed, Observations on the present State of the Army of Great Britain (London: Printed for E. and C. Dilly, in the Poultry, 1770) (Courtesy of Steve Rayner). Here is the entire relevant passage:

(Memoir of a soldier of the 68th Regiment of Foot, on his first days in camp on the Isle of Wight in 1758) The morning after I was joined to the company, I had to put my quota of
money into the mess; that some of us might go to market to buy provisions, which, when brought home, we drew lots who should cook, and the lot fell upon Jonas. Now I began to commence cook; in the first place I lighted my fire, then filled my kettle with water, then put in my meat, which was a shoulder of mutton[;] the vegetables were some long coleworts and I had instructions to make broth: But I managed this affair very indifferently; it was the first attempt indeed I ever had made in the art of cookery. I often asked my neighbour cooks if they thought my contents were sufficiently dresd? Some replied yes, and others no. At length some of my tent mates came, and gave me orders to bring the dinner to the tent, where when I arrived, I found my comrades all placed on the grass, without [i.e., outside] the tent, in a circle, and I had orders to fix the kettle in the center. Some had knives, while others had none; as to spoons and forks, we were all in one case, destitute, and no porringers or bowls, but to supply the want of the last, we took the kettle lid; one who was the best skilled in carving, was, by consent ordered to carve the flesh into six equal shares, and lay them abroad on the grass with the greens; when this was done, another received orders to call them; which is, one points his finger to one of the lots and cries, who shall have this? the man whose back is turned names one of the mess, and so proceeds till every mans lot is called. The bone fell to my share, and did so every day; the reason of which I discovered by degrees. When they called the allowances, they began who shall have this? John T; who shall have this? Thomas I; and who shall have this? Jonas; which was sure to be the worst lot. Thus my share was distinguished by and prefixed: And who shall have this? After the meat was divided and called, every one took up his lot, and then proceeded to eat the broth in the best manner we could, with our canteen tops instead of spoons. We all put an equal share of ammunition bread into the kettle, which bread is delivered to us on set days, and stopped out of our pay, it is as black as our hats, in general, and quite sour.

Researcher Steve Rayner also provided the following. Lieutenant William Bligh, somewhere between Tahiti and Timor, after the Bounty mutiny:
Monday the 25th. [May, 1789.] At noon some noddies came so near us, that one of them was caught by hand. This bird was about the size of a small pigeon. I divided it, with its entrails, into 18 portions, and by a wellknown method at sea, of, Who shall have this?* it was distributed *One person turns his back on the object that is to be divided: another points separately to the portions, at each of them asking aloud, 'Who shall have this? to which the first answers by naming somebody. This impartial method of division gives every man an equal chance of the best share.;

William Bligh; The Mutiny on Board H. M. S. Bounty, N. R. Teitel, ed. (First printed 1792. Reprinted New York: Airmont Books, 1965), 143144; From Thaddeus Weaver: Who Shall Have This? An impartial sea method of distributing the shares of short commons. One person turns his back on the portions, and names some one, when he is asked, Who shall have this? [We are glad to learn that this matter is impartially managed afloat. In barracks, the recruit usually finds it the reverse, which is managed by merely laying a stress on the word shall. Who shall have this? when Johnny Raw is named as a matter of course.] Annie Barnes, The United Services Magazine, (H. Colburn, 1867), 550. Original at the University of Michigan, digitized 9 May 2006 (World Wide Web), http://books.google.com/books?id=myDhirnqWAC&pg=RA1PA550&lpg=RA1 PA550&dq=%22who+shall+have+this%22&source=web&ots=mFGpa8kd G&sig=y9I3ky7CBZTUkcjckWOll63lJ20 22. Martin, Private Yankee Doodle, 286. Jedediah Huntington to George Washington, concerning observations on the army, 1 January 1778, George Washington Papers,

Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington: Library of Congress, 1961), series 4 (General Correspondence. 16971799), reel 46. "Lieutenant Colonel Harmar's Orders for the First Pennsylvania Regiment [Book] No. 1.," Harmar Papers, Clements Library, vol. 27, reel 10. 23. "Orderly Book, Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion, Col. Anthony Wayne, 1776," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 30 (1906), 9596. 24. General orders, 10 October 1777, Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, 9 (1933), 347. 25. Bruce E. Burgoyne, Enemy Views: The American Revolutionary War as Recorded by the Hessian Participants (Bowie, Md.: Heritage Book, Inc., 1996), 2223. 26. Ibid., 2324. 27. John D. Billings, Hardtack and Coffee or The Unwritten Story of Army Life (Boston: George M. Smith & Co., 1887), 122123. 28. British haversack pattern (1992), Brigade of the American Revolution. Haversack kit available from Roy P. Najecki, Sutler, 1203 Reynolds Rd., Chepachet , RI 02814; based on an original in the collections of J. Craig Nannos (World Wide Web), www.najecki.com . Brent Tarter, ed., "The Orderly Book of the Second Virginia Regiment, September 27, 1775-April 15, 1776", The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 85, no. 2 (April 1977), no. 3 (July 1977), 165-166. "Plan for the Cloathing of the Infantry", 1779, George Washington Papers, Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington, D.C., 1961), series 4, reel 63. John Knox, captain, 43rd Regiment, The Siege of Quebec and the Campaigns in North America, 1757-1760, Brian Connell, ed., (Edinburgh, U.K., 1976, originally published 1769), 50. Order Book of the 64th Regiment of Foot, George Washington Papers, series 6B, vol. 3, p. 2. 29. "Abstract of the Arms & Accoutrements deliverd out at Philadelphia to the Continental Troops by the Commissary Genl. of Military Stores from the 1st. of April 1777 to the 1st of August following ...," (enclosure) Board of War to Washington, 18 October 1777, GW Papers, series 4, reel 43. Bennett Cuthbertson, System for the Compleat Interior Management and Oeconomy of a Battalion of Infantry (Dublin, 1768), 85. 30. Martin, Private Yankee Doodle, 81. 31. Regimental Orders, 26 May 1779, The Orderly Book of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, Col. James Chambers, 23 May 1779 to 25 August 1779, John B. Linn and William H. Egle, eds., Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution, Battalions and Line. 1775-1783, II (Harrisburg, Pa., 1880), 442.
"Philada Feby 10th 1776 Dear Sir Inclosed you receive a proposal to furnish our Troops with the new invented Knapsack and Haversack & of Cartouch Boxes &c ... Your obedt Servant Saml Chase"

Samuel Chase to Thomas Jenifer, 10 February 1776, "Journal of the Maryland Convention, July 26-August 14, 1775/Journal and Correspondence of the Maryland Council of Safety, August 29, 1775-July 6, 1776," William Hand Brown, Archives of Maryland, vol. 11 (Baltimore, Md., 1892), 150. A "rough draft of the new Invented napsack and haversack in one that is adopted by the American regulars of Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Virginia ...", Samuel Chase to J. Young, 9 February 1776, (includes a rough sketch of new invented knapsack and haversack, Maryland State Papers, (Red Books), Archives of the State of Maryland, access. no. MdHR 4561, loc. 1-6-3-38, 4,

item 13. 32. Orders, 4 October 1777, Orderly Book, possibly belonging to Lt. Col. William Smith of Jackson's Additional Regiment, 1777-1780, 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 Publication M853, reel 3, vol. 17, target 3. M.M. Quaife, ed., "Documents - A Boy Soldier Under Washington : The Memoir of Daniel Granger", Mississippi Valley Historical Review, XVI, 4 (March 1930), 546. Martin, Private Yankee Doodle, 117. General orders, 30 July 1779, 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), 55. 33. Timothy Pickering to George Washington, 8 February 1782, Nod. Record Books, NA, roll 26, vol. 83, 72-73. George Washington, 8 July 1777, "Canteens, Tomhawks and other camp-utensils must be very beneficial to the troops; but unless more care be taken to preserve, it will be impracticable to supply them," General orders, Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, vol. 8 (1933), 369-371. 34. John F. Reed, Campaign to Valley Forge: July 1, 1777-December 19, 1777 (Philadelphia, Pa., 1965), 214. "Return of Cloathing wanting in the Brigades ... Camp at Towamensing", 13 October 1777, The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247 roll 38); Record Group (RG) 360, National Archives (NA), Washington, DC, 117-118. Robert C. Bray and Paul E. Bushnell, eds., Diary of a Common Soldier in the American Revolution: An Annotated Edition of the Military Journal of Jeremiah Greenman, (DeKalb, Il., 1978), 119. William Maxwell to George Washington, 5 June 1778, Washington Papers, series 4, roll 49. 35. Kenneth Coleman, The American Revolution in Georgia 1763-1789 (Athens, Ga., 1958), 106-108. Charles Pinckney to William Moultrie, 24 May 1778, William Moultrie, Memoirs of the American Revolution. vol. I (reprint, New York, N.Y., 1968), 212-214. 36. Edward Hand to George Washington, Washington Papers, series 4, reel 56. Receipts for equipment, New Jersey troops, 29 January, 27 April, 25 May 1779, James Abeel Receipt Book 1778-1779, Lloyd W. Smith Collection, Morristown National Historical Park Library (microfilm edition), reel 1. For unit strengths see Charles H. Lesser, Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Reports of the Continental Army (Chicago, Il. and London, 1976), 100, 112. Orderly book of Col. Oliver Spencer's Regt., 27 July 1779 - 28 September 1779, Early American Orderly Books, roll 9, item 93, 31. 37. 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. July 1779 strength return, Lesser, 124-125. Procter's Artillery Battalion, October 1779 return, 138 (N.C.O.'s and privates) 38. A Return of officers and men Camp Equipage now Present in the 1st. Penna. Brigade Commanded by
Coln. William Irvine [included the 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 10th Pennsylvania Regiments. The original return is broken down by regiment.]

June 3, 1778 Field Officers Commissioned Officers Staff Officers Non Commissioned Officers Rank and File Marqueas Horsemans Tents Common Tents Knapsacks Haversacks Camp Kettles Canteens Buckets 2 4 74 505 24 128 112 11

10 79 14 111 729 Wooden Bowls Axes Hatchets Tomahawks Spades Shovels Pickaxes Bell Tents 4 13 0 44 9 6 0 24

A Return of officers and men Camp Equipage now Present in the 1st. Penna. Brigade Commanded by Coln. William Irvine (Included the 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 10th Pennsylvania Regiments. The original return is broken down by regiment.) Thomas Alexander, Brigade Quartermaster, 3 June 1778, General William Irvine Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania. (Courtesy of Lee Boyle) _______________________________________________ With Sullivan's Army, 21 August 1779 Present Officers Fit for Duty and Staff Maxwell's Brigade 1225 83 Poor's Brigade 1049 85 Hand's Brigade 800 66 Procter's Artillery 147 16 (4th Battalion, Continental Artillery)

N.C.O.'s and Privates Present, Fit for Duty 1142 964 754 131

Maxwell's Brigade Poor's Brigade Hand's Brigade Proctor's Artillery

Camp Kettles Bowls with Camp Iron and Covers Kettles Cups Dishes Canteens 184 26 80 957 213 19 869 109 555 13 39 180 Leather Knapsacks Haversacks Portmanteaus 1044 765 85 851 535 80 625 526 41 100 22

Maxwell's Brigade Poor's Brigade Hand's Brigade Proctor's Artillery

Maxwell's Brigade Poor's Brigade Hand's Brigade Proctor's Artillery

Felling Fascine Fascine Axes Shovels Spades Picks Knives Hatchets 56 8 96 4 11 3 22 5 10 5 8 6 6

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.
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Col. Clarks North Carolina Brigade (1st and 2nd NC), Col. Baileys 4th Massachusetts Brigade (2nd, 8th, 9th, Mass.), and General Pattersons Brigade (10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, Mass.).
NC Brigade (126 officers, 541 rank and file present, fit for duty; 128 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 2 marquees 21 horsemans tents 168 common tents 123 tent poles 122 camp kettles 495 knapsacks 98 haversacks 26 pails 185 canteens 31 leather portmanteau 12 leather valises 1 canvas valise 1 cutting box 1 cutting knife 1 broad axe 14 narrow axes 2 handsaws 6 chisels 2 augers 2 hammers 4 shovels 4 spades 3 picks 2 covered wagons 16 open wagons 64 wagon horses C.P. 8 ditto P.P. 6 riding horses C.P. 8 ditto P.P.

4th Mass. Brigade (164 officers, 628 rank and file present, fit for duty; 229 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 4 marquees 26 horsemans tents 173 common tents 10 tent poles 25 tent lines 136 camp kettles 132 knapsacks 22 haversacks 19 wooden bowls 58 pails 559 canteens 65 leather portmanteau 4 canvas valise 30 iron cups 26 narrow axes 1 handsaw 1 drawknife 2 chisels 1 gouge 1 iron square 1 compass 1 gimblet 1 file 5 shovels 7 spades 1 picks 23 wagon horses C.P. 1 riding horses C.P. 16 ditto P.P. Pattersons Brigade (223 officers, 981 rank and file present, fit for duty; 147 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 3 marquees 22 horsemans tents 192 common tents 23 tent poles 27 tent lines 174 camp kettles 346 knapsacks 64 wooden bowls 76 pails 797 canteens 84 leather portmanteau 6 canvas valise 32 iron cups 26 narrow axes 8 shovels 11 spades 6 picks 1 covered wagon 4 wagon horses C.P. 1 riding horses C.P. 6 ditto P.P.

"A Return of Quarter-Master-General's Stores in The Brigades at West Point & Constitution Island," 1 August 1779, The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247, 1958, vol. 3, reel 192, 145), NA.
_______________________________________________

Return of the Pennsylvania Division in the service of the United States, Commanded by The Honble Major General Arthur St: Clair. October 1st. 1779.
4,032 rank and file (not including officers, staff, and non-commissioned officers) Good Clothing coats waistcoats breeches linen overalls stockings neckstocks hunting shirts shoes hats caps blankets Camp Equipage marquees horsemans tenst wall tents common tents valises leather portmanteau knapsacks 293 364 171 2586 149 112 10 887 9 407 546 Wanting repair 1632 1566 834 560 632 3 967 1545 176 570

9 66 14 315 21 17 1692

2 5 2 98 2 86

covered kettles
common kettles canteens bowls spoons axes spades shovels picks 389 967 51 84 96 22 8 6

60
41 38 5 21

Woolen overalls and axe slings are returned as zero.

Return of the Pennsylvania Division in the service of the United States, Commanded by The Honble Major General Arthur St: Clair. October 1st. 1779. Returns transcribed by Mathew Grubel Oct 6, 2003 from photostats at Morristown National Historical Park filed unded United States Army Returns. Original manuscripts at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
_______________________________________________

3rd, 5th, 6th, 9th Pennsylvania Regiments, plus Brigadier and others. The brigade returned 4 covered camp kettles (two with the 5th Regiment, two with the brigadier general), 196 camp kettles (61 (3rd), 48 (5th), 41 (6th), 44 (9th), and two with the Brigadier and others), 36 wooden bowls (10, 17, 2, 6), and 20 iron spoons (12, -, -, 8). Total brigade strength was: 3rd (55 officers, 240 rank and file present, fit for duty; 80 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 5th (51 officers, 201 rank and file present, fit for duty; 78 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 6th (41 officers, 162 rank and file present, fit for duty; 42 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 9th (40 officers, 138 rank and file present, fit for duty; 51 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) (Lesser, July 1779 return, 124) 3rd (55 officers, 240 rank and file present, fit for duty; 80 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 1 marquee 10 horsemans tents 61 common tents 1 wall tent 50 tent poles 61 camp kettles 208 knapsacks 10 wooden bowls 215 canteens 12 leather portmanteau 3 canvas valises 12 iron spoons 18 espontoons 1 scythe 1 scythe stone 17 narrow axes 1 adze 1 handsaw 2 chisels 1 auger 1 gimblet 1 file 1 plane 1 shovel 1 spade 2 picks 4 open wagons 21 wagon horses C.P. 8 riding horses P.P. 5th (51 officers, 201 rank and file present, fit for duty; 78 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 1 marquee 7 horsemans tents 57 common tents 3 wall tents 41 camp kettles 224 knapsacks 17 wooden bowls 229 canteens 15 leather portmanteau 3 canvas valises 12 narrow axes 7 shovels

6 spades 5 picks 1 covered wagon 4 open wagons 20 wagon horses C.P. 1 riding horses C.P. 7 riding horses P.P. 6th (41 officers, 162 rank and file present, fit for duty; 42 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 1 marquee 9 horsemans tents 42 common tents 2 wall tents 50 tent poles 41 camp kettles 166 knapsacks 2 wooden bowls 126 canteens 17 leather portmanteau 1 scythe 10 narrow axes 1 shovel 1 spade 1 pick 1 covered wagon 4 open wagons 21 wagon horses C.P. 4 riding horses C.P. 2 riding horses P.P. 9th (40 officers, 138 rank and file present, fit for duty; 51 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 8 horsemans tents 33 common tents 2 wall tent 45 tent poles 44 camp kettles 144 knapsacks 6 wooden bowls 84 canteens 12 leather portmanteau 2 canvas valises 8 iron spoons 11 espontoons 1 scythe 1 scythe stone 10 narrow axes 1 gimblet 2 shovela 3 spades 4 picks 1 covered wagon 4 open wagons 20 wagon horses C.P. 3 riding horses C.P. 3 riding horses P.P.

Brigadier and others 4 marquees 1 horsemans tents 3 common tents 5 tent poles 2 covered camp kettles 2 camp kettles 1 wooden bowl 1 canteen 2 leather portmanteau 2 canvas valises 1 espontoon 3 narrow axes 1 chisel 1 iron square 1 ruler 1 gimblet 4 shovela 4 spades 4 picks 2 covered wagon 8 open wagons 1 riding horse C.P. 2 riding horses P.P. 3d, 5th, 6th, 9th Pennsylvania Regiments, plus Brigadier and others. The brigade returned 4 covered camp kettles (two with the 5th Regiment, two with the brigadier general), 196 camp kettles (61 (3d), 48 (5th), 41 (6th), 44 (9th), and two with the Brigadier and others), 36 wooden bowls (10, 17, 2, 6), and 20 iron spoons (12, , , 8). Total brigade strength was: 3d (55 officers, 240 rank and file present, fit for duty; 80 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 5th (51 officers, 201 rank and file present, fit for duty; 78 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 6th (41 officers, 162 rank and file present, fit for duty; 42 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 9th (40 officers, 138 rank and file present, fit for duty; 51 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough)

"A Return of QuarterMasterGeneral'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); Lesser, Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Reports of the Continental Army, 124, July 1779 return. "A Return of Quarter-Master-General's Stores in the Second Pennsylvania Brigade ... at Camp West Point," 4 August 1779 The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247, 1958, vol. 3, reel 192, 153), NA.
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(Lesser, May 1781 return, 202) Return of Quarter-Master General Stores on hand in the first Connecticut Brigade Commanded by J Huntington B.G., Camp Highlands, 25 May 1781. 1st. Regiment (45 officers, 147 rank and file present, fit for duty; 224 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 1 marquee tent 2 horsemens tents 1 wall tent 42 camp kettles 161 knapsacks 7 wooden bowls 4 pails 34 canteens 31 portmanteaus 3 iron wedges 1 broad axe 10 narrow axes 1 handsaw 1 hammer 5 spades 2 picks 1 covered wagon 22 espontoons 1 set of wagon gears 3rd Regiment (42 officers, 187 rank and file present, fit for duty; 144 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 2 horsemens tents 1 wall tent 73 camp kettles 138 knapsacks 18 wooden bowls 15 canteens 27 portmanteaus 9 canvas valises 1 iron pot 1 brass kettle 2 iron wedges 1 grindstone 1 broad axe 25 narrow axes 1 adze 1 handsaw 1 drawknife 1 auger 3 pincers 1 hammer 1 gimblet 6 spades 3 picks 1 covered wagon 18 espontoons 1 set of wagon gears

5th Regiment (39 officers, 118 rank and file present, fit for duty; 177 rank & file sick, on command, and on furlough) 2 horsemens tents 4 common tents 1 wall tent 54 camp kettles 43 knapsacks 23 wooden bowls 2 pails 21 canteens 27 portmanteaus 6 canvas valises 1 broad axe 14 narrow axes 1 handsaw 1 drawknife 1 hammer 3 spades 2 picks 1 covered wagon 12 espontoons B[rigadier]. & staff 3 horsemens tents 4 common tents 1 wall tent 4 camp kettles 1 pail 3 portmanteaus 2 canvas valises 1 grindstone 3 narrow axes 1 adze 2 hammer 2 covered wagons 18 espontoons 1 set of wagon gears Also listed are 112 Bad knapsacks, 3 covered wagons wanting Repair, and 8 Bad espontoons

Return of Quarter-Master General Stores on hand in the first Connecticut Brigade Commanded by J Huntington B.G., Camp Highlands, 25 May 1781, 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. 27553.
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In July 1782 Captain Rufus Lincoln's company, 7th Massachusetts Regiment, contained one sergeant, three corporals, and forty-three privates. An April company equipment return listed 4 knapsacks, 1 haversack, and 5 canteens; in May knapsacks increased to 40 and canteens to 37. Eventually during 1782 (April to October) 41 canteens, and 43 knapsacks were issued, but no haversacks. James Minor Lincoln, The Papers of Captain Rufus Lincoln of Wareham, Mass. (New York: Arno Press, 1968; reprint of 1904 edition), 125, 136, 137, 138, 140, 154, 162, 172, 175, 176, 197.

39. Arthur Baillie, lieutenant, to Henry Bouquet, colonel, 28 August 1762, Henry Bouquet, Papers of Col. Henry Bouquet, series 21648, part 2 (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1940), 77-78. (Courtesy of R. Scott Stephenson, "'The Camp Looks So Pretty With all the Lanterns': Thoughts on Reconstructing the Physical World of the British Soldier on Campaign in North America", Standing Orders: A Newsletter for Researchers of the British Army in North America, 1739-1765, vol. 3, no. 1 (November 1990)). Thomas Glyn; "The Journal of Ensign Thomas Glyn, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards on the American Service with the Brigade of Guards 1776-1777," p. 7 (transcribed by Linnea Bass, Palatine, Il., 1987). See also Howe Orderly Book, orders, 20 August 1776, Howe Orderly Book; "Howe, William Orderly Book, June 30 - October 4 1776." "General Orders from 30th June to 5th. Octr. 1776:" "General orders by His Excellency the Honble. Wm. Howe From 30th. June & ending 5th. October 1776." Collection of Morristown National Historical Park. Wisconsin Historical Society microfilm #P79-3244 (transcribed by Stephen Gilbert, 1992). 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 XXXVI, 8 August 1777, 378381. 40. The Orderly Book of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, Col. James Chambers, 23 May 1779 to 25 August 1779, John B. Linn and William H. Egle, eds., Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution, Battalions and Line. 1775-1783, II (Harrisburg, Pa., 1880), 449, 470. Louise Welles Murray, ed., Notes from Craft Collection in Tioga Point Museum on the Sullivan Expedition of 1779, (Athens, Pa., 1929), 55. General orders, 11 July 1779, Orderly book of Col. Oliver Spencer's Regt., 27 July 1779 - 28 September 1779, Early American Orderly Books, reel 9, item 93, p. 31. 41. Howard H. Peckham, Memoirs of the Life of John Adlum in the Revolutionary War (Chicago: The Caxton Club, 1968), 49. 42. Thomas Simes, The Military Medley: Containing the Most Necessary Rules and Directions for Attaining a Competent Knowledge of the Art ... (Dublin: [n.p.], 1768; reprint Kings Arms Press, 1994), 272, "American Weekly Allowance of Provisions for one Person." 43. Ibid. 44. "A General Return of Provisions & Stores Issued in Camp ... for the Month of December 1777," The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247 reel 199); Record Group (RG) 360, National Archives (NA), Washington, DC, p. 579. 45. Thomas Jones, "Return of Provisions at Camp after Serving the Troops for Jan 31st. [sic] January 1778, 30 January 1778, courtesy of Lee Boyle, 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 76, no. 22110. Copy in The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247 reel 199, i192, f481); Record Group (RG) 360, National Archives (NA), Washington, DC. 46. John U. Rees, "I Expect to be stationed in Jersey sometime...": An Account of the Services of the Second New Jersey Regiment:
Part I, December 1777 to June 1778 (1994, unpublished, copy held in the collections of the David Library of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing, Pa.), contains seventeen appendices covering various subjects including studies of the casualties incurred by the New Jersey Brigade (1777-1779), the uniform clothing of the New Jersey Brigade (1776-1778), the use of the nine-

month draft in 1778, and names of all the officers and enlisted men of the regiment. Chapter titles:
The March to Winter Quarters: 13 December to 25 December 1777 General Orders, 20 December to 25 December 1777 Countering the "depredations of the Enemy": 23 December to 28 December 1777 The Valley Forge Camp in the Waning Days of 1777 A. General Orders: 25 December to 31 December 1777 B. "I fancy we may ... Content ourselves in these Wigwams ...": 1 January to 19 March 1778 Valley Forge in the First Months of 1778 General Orders, 1 January to 19 March 1778 "I Expect to be stationed in Jersey sometime ...": 22 March to 1 April 1778 General Orders of the Army, 20 March to 28 March 1778 "The Enemy Giting intelligence of our movement ...": 4 April to 30 May 1778 General Orders of the Army, 8 April to 6 May 1778 Reinforcements and Alarms: The Actions of Brigadier General William Maxwell and the Remainder of the Jersey Brigade, May 7 to May 24, 1778 The Institution of Nine-Month Enlistments from the New Jersey Militia, February to June 1778 Procuring Arms and Equipment for the Regiment, March to June 1778 Clothing the Men in the Spring of 1778 The Jersey Brigade is Reunited, May 28 to June 19, 1778

47. Return of rations issued to the 2nd New Jersey Regiment for the period from January to May 1778, Revolutionary War Rolls, New Jersey, 2d Regiment, 1775-1783, National Archives Microfilm Publication M246, Record Group 93, reel 57 (21-22), miscellaneous records. 48. "General Return of Provisions and Stores Receivd for the Troops in Camp ... for the Month of May 1778," New Jersey State Archives [Trenton] Revolutionary War Manuscripts (Numbered), Military Records, reel 5807861909, document 4312. A second return signed by Deputy Commissary General of Issues Thomas Jones lists ration quantities actually issued at Valley Forge from 25 to 31 January 1778. 6/7 seems to means 6/7 of a pound. Provisions Issued, 25-31 January 1778, include: Rations due 21,370 2/7 per day Drawn 17, 578 per day Daily issues:
19,075 5/7 pounds flour 3,383 1/7 pounds bread 20,436 6/7 pounds of beef 1,748 5/7 pounds of pork 233 2/7 pounds fish 29 6/7 pounds mutton 24 4/7 pounds of soap 169 6/7 pounds soap 8 4/7 pounds candles 206 pints salt 3 pints of rice 558 4/7 jills spirits 760 1/7 jills Li[ ] 1004 6/7 jills vinegar 6/7 no. tongues

Totals: 20 pints of rice 1189 pounds of soap 7034 Jills of vinegar

Thomas Jones, Provisions Issued, 3 February 1778, courtesy of Lee Boyle, 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 75, no. 22033. Copy in The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M247 reel 199, f503); Record Group (RG) 360, National Archives (NA), Washington, DC. Rations for January 1778 for New Jersey Brigades four regiments consisted of:
26,314 pounds of flour 10,913 pounds of bread 35,603 pounds of fresh beef 906 pounds of pork 9 bushels and 2 7/8 quarts of salt 193 pounds of soap 52 3/4 pounds of candles 109 gallons of rum 470 pounds of herrings

In addition to these items the brigade received lesser amounts of gammon, tongues, Indian meal and rice. "General Return of Provisions and Stores Issued to the Troops ... in the Middle Department for the Month of January 1778," New Jersey State Archives [Trenton] Revolutionary War Manuscripts (Numbered), Military Records, reel 5807861909, document 3638; reel 5798831908, document 4315. Gammon, the buttocks or thigh of a hog pickled and smoked, Noah Webster, A Dictionary of the English Language: Abridged from the American Dictionary, for the Use of Primary Schools and the Counting House (New York: N&J White Publishers, 1836), 182. Gammon: a smoked ham, Richard M. Lederer, Jr., Colonial American English: A Glossary, (Essex, Ct.: Verbatim, 1985) See also "Account of Provisions Deliver'd for the Use of the 6th. Pena. Regt. ...," JanuaryJuly 1778; "A General Account of Provisions &c Issued from Jany. 1st. 1778 to the 31st. Inclusive," and provision returns for March, April, June and July 1778, for Late Conway's 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade and attached organizations, Records of Issuance and Receipt of Provisions, 1776-83 and 1786, Numbered Record Books Concerning Military Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement of Accounts, and Supplies in the War Dapartment Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93, National Archives Microfilm Publication M853, reel 41, vol. 112 and 121, targets (6 Pa. 8-9, 44-45, 72-73) 26-27, 38-39, 90-91, 104-105. A series of accounts of provisions issued for the 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade (late Conway's) and attached officers and organizations lists the following foodstuffs in varying quantities: flour, bread, beef (salt and fresh), pork, fish, rice, tongue, mutton, beans, molasses, gammon, bacon, biscuit, butter. The provision returns for the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment for the first seven months of 1778 also include small quantities of vinegar, Indian meal, cheese, "Heads & Plucks, and peas. 49. Jeremiah Fogg, 2nd New Hampshire Regt., Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 (Glendale, N.Y.: Benchmark Publishing Co., 1970), 94. Robert Goldthwaite Carter, Four Brothers in Blue (Austin and London: University of Texas, 1979), 11, 163.

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Works by John U. Rees related to food in the armies of the American Revolution: "It was my turn to cook for the Mess: Provisions of the Common Soldier in the Continental Army, 17751783, Food History News, vol. VII, no. 1 (Fall 1995), 2, 8. "Sometimes we drew two days rations at a time.: The Soldiers' Daily Issue, FHN, vol. VII, no. 3 (Winter 1995), 23. "Drew 2 pound of Shugar and 1 pound of Coffee: Extraordinary Foodstuffs Issued the Troops, FHN, vol. VIII, no. 1 (Summer 1996), 23. "The unreasonable prices extorted ... by the market People: Camp Markets and the Impact of the Economy, FHN, vol. VII, no. 4 (Spring 1996), 23. "Complaint has been made by many of the Inhabitants: Soldiers' Efforts to Supplement the Ration Issue, FHN, vol. VIII, no. 2 (Fall 1996), 12, 7. "Whilst in this country: Sullivan's Expedition and the Carolina Campaigns, FHN, vol. VIII, no. 3 (Winter 1996), 2, 67. "Hard enough to break the teeth of a rat.: Biscuit and Hard Bread in the Armies of the Revolution, (Also in the same issue, information on cooking with biscuit and hardtack during the American Civil War and the War for Independence in "Joy of Historical Cooking: Using Hardtack & Crackers."), FHN, vol. VIII, no. 4 (Spring 1997), 2, 35, 6 7. "The essential service he rendered to the army: Christopher Ludwick, Superintendent of Bakers, FHN, vol. IX, no. 1 (Summer 1997), 2, 6. The Gingerbread Man: More on Washingtons Baking Superintendent, Then and Now, FHN, vol. XVII, no. 1 (Summer 2005), 2. "As many fireplaces as you have tents: Earthen Camp Kitchens, FHN, vol. IX, no. 2 (Fall 1997), 2, 89, plus Matt and I Dig a Kitchen: Recreating an 18thCentury Cooking Excavation, FHN, vol. IX, no. 3 (Winter 1998), 2. Also published as "Earthen Camp Kitchens, Muzzleloader, vol. XXX, no. 4 (September/October 2003), 5964. For online version see (World Wide Web), http://revwar75.com/library/rees/kitchen.htm "Our pieloving ... stomachs ... ache to even look.: Durable Foods for Armies, 1775 1865, FHN, vol. IX, no. 4 (Spring 1998), 2, 78. "Tell them never to throw away their ... haversacks or canteens: Finding Water and Carrying Food During the War for Independence and the American Civil War, FHN, vol. X, no. 1 (37), 2, 89. "The victuals became putrid by sweat & heat: Equipment Shortages, the Burden of Rations and Spoilage During the War for Independence and the War Between the States, FHN, vol. X, no. 2 (38), 2, 67. "False hopes and temporary devices: Organizing Food Supply in the Continental Army: part I. To subsist an Army well: An Organizational Overview, FHN, vol. XII, no. 3 (47), 2, 910. part II. Owing to this variety of waste : Producing, Storing, and Transporting Bread, FHN, vol. XII, no. 4 (48), 2, 910. part III. We now have 500 head of fat cattle: Procuring, Transporting, and Processing Livestock, FHN, vol. XII, no. 4 (48), 2, 89. A perfect nutriment for heroes!: Apples and North American Soldiers, 17571918, FHN, vol. XIV, no. 1 (53), 2, 6. The oficers are Drunk and Dancing on the table : U.S Soldiers and Alcoholic Beverages, FHN, vol. XIV, no. 2 (54), 2. The repast was in the English fashion : Washingtons Campaign for Refined Dining in the War for Independence, FHN, vol. XIV, no. 3 (55), 2.

"Give us Our Bread Day by Day.: Continental Army Bread, Bakers, and Ovens: part I. Waste and bad management : Regulating Baking, FHN, vol. XV, no. 4 (60), 2, 9. part II.A bakehouse was built in eleven days : Contemporary Baking Operations and Army Masonry Ovens, FHN, vol. XVI, no. 1 (61), 2, 8. part III. Seeing that the Ovens may be done right : Bake Oven Designs, FHN, vol. XVI, no. 3 (63), 2, 8. part IV. The mask is being raised!!: Denouement: EarlyWar Iron Ovens, and a Yorktown Campaign Bakery, FHN, vol. XVI, no. 4 (64), 2. Invited to dine with Genl Wayne; an excellent dinner : Revolutionary Commanders Culinary Equipage in Camp and on Campaign: part 1 Plates, once tin but now Iron : General Washingtons Mess Equipment, FHN, vol. XVII, no. 2 (66), 2, 8. part 2 40 Dozens Lemons, in a Box: British Generals Provisions and Mess Equipage, FHN, vol. XVII, no. 3 (67), 2, 8. part 3 A Major General & family: Nathanael Greenes Food Ware, FHN, vol. XVII, no. 4 (68), 2. part 4 My poor cook is almost always sick : General Riedesel Goes to America, FHN, vol. XVIII, no. 1 (69), 23. Sufficient for the army for fifteen days : Continental Army Frozen Rations, FHN, vol. XVIII, no. 2 (70), 2. "The manner of messing and living together: Continental Army Mess Groups, FHN, vol. XVIV, no. 2 (74), 2, 5. On with Kittle, to make some hasty Pudding : How a "Continental Devil" Broke His Fast, FHN, vol. XVIV, no. 3 (75), 2, 9. "A hard game: Cooks in the Continental Army, FHN, vol. XVIV, no. 4 (76)), 2, 9. "We had our cooking utensils ... to carry in our hands.: Light-Weight Military Kettles, 1775-1782. Included in the endnotes: Tin Kettles, 1759-1771 British and German Kettles Kettle Capacity and Weight, and Excavated Artifacts, Circa 1750-1815 FHN, vol. XX, no. 1 (77)), 2, 7, 10. "They were made of cast iron and consequently heavy.: Eating Utensils and Less Commonly Used Cooking Implements, 1775-1783, FHN, vol. XX, no. 2 (78)), 2, 4-5. A capital dish : Revolutionary Soldiers and Chocolate, FHN, vol. XX, no. 3 (79)), 2, 9, 12. "A better repast: Continental Army Field and Company Officers Fare (series closing column, not yet published) See also: "'The foundation of an army is the belly.' North American Soldiers' Food, 1756-1945," ALHFAM: Proceedings of the 1998 Conference and Annual Meeting, vol. XXI (The Assoc. for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums, Bloomfield, Ohio, 1999), 49-64. Part I. "'I live on raw salt pork ... hard bread and sugar.': The Evolution of Soldiers' Rations" Part II. "Salt Beef to C Rations: A Compendium of North American Soldiers' Rations, 1756-1945" (World Wide Web, http://revwar75.com/library/rees/belly.htm ) "'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 LightWeight 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 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 Military Collector & Historian, vol. 53, no. 1 (Spring 2001), 7-23. Our wants of the common conveniences were sometimes curiously supplied : A Revolutionary Soldiers Wooden Bowl, Military Collector & Historian, vol. 61, no. 3 (Fall 2009), 210-214. "'Properly fixed upon the Men': Linen Bags for Camp Kettles," The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVII, no. 3 (Autumn 1997), 2-5. (World Wide Web, http://revwar75.com/library/rees/kettlebags.htm ) "`A disgusting incumbrance to the troops': More on Kettle Bags and Carts in the Continental Army, 1781," The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVIII, no. 3 (Autumn 1998), 12-13. (World Wide Web, http://revwar75.com/library/rees/encumberance.htm ) General Wayne's detachment is almost starving.: Provisioning Washingtons Army on the March, June 1778, Appendix N of "What is this you have been about to day?: The New Jersey Brigade at the Battle of Monmouth, http://revwar75.com/library/rees/monmouth/MonmouthToc.htm