The Equipment of the Virginia Soldier in the American Revolution Andrew John Gallup College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1991 The Equipment of the Virginia Soldier in the American Revolution andrew John Gallup College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Military History Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Gallup, andrew John, "The Equipment of the Virginia Soldier in the American Revolution" (1991). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625655. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-s7w6-xp43 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EQUIPMENT OF THE VIRGINIA SOLDIER IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Anthropology The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Andrew J. Gallup 1991 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Author Approved, July 1991 /?. Theodore Reinhart Norman Barka James Haskett TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................... iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS................................. v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS................................. vi ABSTRACT ............................................... vii INTRODUCTION .......................................... 2 THE MILITARY IN ENGLAND AND NORTH AMERICA ............ 21 PART I. EQUIPMENT OF THE VIRGINIA CONTINENTAL LINE .. 3 0 PART II. EXAMPLES OF EQUIPMENT ..................... 95 PART III. EQUIPMENT AND ATTITUDES ................... 127 APPENDIX THE SERVICE OF THE VIRGINIA LINE ......... 13 9 SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................. 147 WORKS CITED AND CONSULTED ............................. 148 ACKNOWLEGEMENT S The writer wishes to express his appreciation to Professor Theodore Reinhart for guidance of this study and to Professor Norman Barka and Mr. James Haskett for their service on the thesis committee. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Coats a. Hunting Frock .............................. 96 b. Regimental Uniform C o a t ................... 9 6 2. Small Clothes a. Breeches ................................. 101 b. Military Overalls ......................... 101 c. Trousers ................................. 101 d. Waistcoat ................................. 101 3. Other Clothing a. S h i r t ...................................... 104 b. Neck S t o c k ............................... 104 c. S h o e s ...................................... 104 4. Headgear a. Cocked H a t ............................... 107 b. Round H a t ................................. 107 c. Light Infantry C a p ....................... 107 5. Other Equipment a. Haversack................................. 114 b. Knapsack ................................. 114 6. Cartridge Boxes a. Leather Cartridge B o x ..................... 117 b. Tin Cartridge Canister .................. 117 7. British Musket Parts a. Side P l a t e ............................... 132 b. Escutcheon Plate ......................... 132 c. Trigger Guard ............................. 13 2 d. Butt Plate T a n g ........................... 13 2 e. C o c k ...................................... 132 8. French Musket Parts a. Side P l a t e ............................... 132 b. Butt Plate T a n g ........................... 13 2 c. Trigger Guard ............................. 132 d. C o c k ...................................... 13 2 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS PPS PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC STORE PTJ PAPERS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON VG VIRGINIA GAZETTE WGW WRITINGS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON CVSP CALENDAR OF VIRGINIA STATE PAPERS vi ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether the military material culture used in the American Revolution by soldiers of Virginia reflects societal attitudes toward war. The equipment used by the Virginia soldier is determined through the records of the Williamsburg and Philadelphia Public Stores and other primary sources. Selected secondary sources are also used. Collector's guides and other works illustrating the military material culture were consulted. Examples from these works were matched to the descriptions of equipment used by the Virginians. These examples comprised the data for analysis and interpretation. Individual attributes of selected examples of the military equipment were compared and contrasted with similar features of British and other European equipment. This was integrated into assumptions concerning state militarism, societal attitudes about war, and how it would be reflected in a society's military material culture. vii THE EQUIPMENT OF THE VIRGINIA SOLDIER IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Introduction Military forces in every age reflect the societies they are created to defend (Louis Morton, in Glatthaar 1985:xiii). Dr. Glatthaar supports the statement quoted above with a review of the actions and personal writings of the men of the Federal army that marched from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia and into the Carolinas under William Sherman during the final year of the American Civil War. If the theory is correct, and Glatthaar's work advances an argument that it is, then this should be true for the military forces of other periods of American history. Also, if material culture produced and used by a society reflects that society, then the material culture used by the military forces would serve as an insight into that society. A general hypothesis of this study, and perhaps of all material culture studies, is that material culture reflects characteristics of the society that produced and used particular artifacts. This study will concentrate on a more specific hypothesis: that the equipment of the soldier reflects the attitude of his society toward war. The artifacts to be studied are those that constitute the equipment used by the soldier, recruited by the state of Virginia, who served with the Continental Army during the 2 3 American Revolution, 1775-1783. It is assumed that these artifacts will, taken as a whole, suggest social attitudes concerning the conflict of which they were a part. This will, of course, view a particular social group at a particular point in time. Yet, if the results of this goal are creditable, then perhaps further reflection might be possible into attitudes that may have continued through time. This study will not provide a quantitative analysis of the military material culture of the American Revolution. These artifacts, with sufficient documentation, do not exist in the quantities necessary to allow statistical manipulation. Although it can be established through documentary sources that a particular type of item was used, there may be only one example of this item in existence. The problem of the lack of repetitive examples will be compensated by examining the total group of artifacts. The lack of a quantitative analysis will make this study more art than science. However, material culture study is a relatively new mode of inquiry; and if it serves no other purpose, this study may produce further questions concerning the artifacts involved or the method. Material culture studies combines many disciplines. Thomas Schlereth in describing the current state of material culture studies uses the term "missionary effort" (Schlereth 1982:xiv). This study can be considered part of this effort. This study also attempts to respond to another point made by 4 Schlereth. I feel very strongly, however, that research on artifacts and the American past must move beyond the merely descriptive stage of investigation into the more problematic area of historical analysis and interpretation (Schlereth 1980:5). The words, "historical analysis and interpretation" demonstrates Schlereth*s bias in material culture studies. He is very clear about his use of artifacts. "I view the study of artifacts and the American past as a thoroughly historical study and, hence, a totally humanistic enterprise" (Schlereth 1980:3). However, he does not suggest that history is the only discipline that uses artifacts in cultural studies. He notes contributions from subfields "such as history of technology, folklife studies, cultural anthropology, historical archeology, cultural geography, and art history" (Schlereth 1982:xiii). Schlereth acknowledges a debt to archeologist James Deetz for providing a broad definition of material culture that has had an affect on his view of material culture. Deetz would have material culture include: "... cuts of meat as material culture since there are many ways to dress an animal, plowed fields, even the horse that pulls the plow, since scientific breeding of livestock involves the conscious modification of an animal's form according to culturally derived ideals. Our body," argues Deetz, "itself is a part of our physical environment, so that such things as parades, dancing and all aspects of kinesics-human motion-fit within our definition. Nor is the definition limited only to matter in the solid state. Fountains are liquid examples, as are lily ponds, and material that is partly gas includes hot air balloons and neon signs". Deetz has also suggested, in Invitation to Archaeology, that even language is part