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Civilians, Soldiers, and Environment in Northern THE HIGHLANDS WAR: CIVILIANS, SOLDIERS, AND ENVIRONMENT IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY, 1777-1781 ________________________________________________________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to The Temple University Graduate School Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Steven Elliott December 2018 Examining Committee Members: Gregory J.W. Urwin, History Andrew C. Isenberg, History Jessica Chopin Roney, History Mark Edward Lender, History i © Copyright 2018 Bv Steven Elliott All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT This dissertations studies the problem of military shelter and its impact on the Continental Army‘s conduct during the War of American Independence. It examines ideas and practices about military housing during the eighteenth century; how Continental officers sought and obtained lodging for themselves and their men, refinements in military camp administration; how military decisions regarding shelter affected strategy, logistics, and social relationships within the army; as well as how quartering practices structured relations between civilians and the military. This dissertation maintains a geographic focus on Northwestern New Jersey, a region it defines as the Highlands, because this area witnessed a Continental Army presence of greater size and duration than anywhere else in the rebelling Thirteen Colonies. Using official military correspondence, orderly books, diaries, memoirs, civilian damage claims, and archaeological studies, this dissertation reveals that developments in military shelter formed a crucial yet overlooked component of Continental strategy. Patriot soldiers began the war with inadequate housing for operations in the field as well as winter quarters, and their health and morale suffered accordingly. In the second half of the war, Continental officers devised a new method of accommodating their men, the log-hut city. This complex of hastily-built timber huts provided cover for Patriot troops from the winter of 1777-1778 through the end of the war. This method, unknown in Europe, represented an innovation in the art of war. By providing accommodations secure from enemy attack for thousands of soldiers at little cost to the government and little inconvenience to civilians, the log-hut city made a decisive contribution to the success of the Continental Army‘s war effort. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of the dissertation would not have been possible without the support of a number individuals and institutions. First and foremost, Dr. Gregory J.W. Urwin championed my project from initial concept through the final draft of the dissertation. He challenged me to better myself as a writer and researcher, and to whatever extent this dissertation is clear and engaging to read is due in large part to his persistent critiques and revisions. My committee members Drs. Andrew C. Isenberg and Jessica Roney took time away from their own busy schedules to give ample suggestions to improve my work. My outside reader, Dr. Mark Edward Lender, likewise proved generous with his time in reading several chapter drafts and offered his enthusiastic support. Completing this dissertation would have been impossible without the financial support of several institutions. The Temple University Graduate School awarded me with a four-year teaching fellowship that covered the costs of tuition and provided a stipend for living expenses. The David Library of the American Revolution awarded me a one-month fellowship that allowed me to conduct extensive and uninterrupted research in that institution‘s holdings. A one-week fellowship at the Society of the Cincinnati likewise permitted me to mine that organization‘s collection. The New Jersey Historical Commission and North Jersey Heritage Trail Association each provided awards that covered travel and research costs. Finally, a three-month residential fellowship at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington afforded me time to write and explore archival holdings in the Washington, DC area. iv The support of friends, family, and colleagues made the entire process of writing this dissertation a pleasant one. The staff at Morristown National Historical Park made for wonderful companions during my summers working and researching at the park. Dr. Sarah Minegar and Dr. Jude Pfister in the curatorial department aided me with every research request. Park historian Eric Olsen deserves a very special thank you for the numerous insights and tips he generously provided from his own experiences studying Morristown‘s role in the revolution. Every conversation with him yielded new ideas that found their way into this dissertation. My partner, Rabeya Rahman, consistently offered to read drafts of various chapters and happily accompanied me on numerous research trips. Finally, my parents and brother supported my studies with hot meals, a roof over my head, and numerous fixes to computers and cars. I dedicate this dissertation to them. v To my parents vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………….……iii ACKNOWLEDGENENTS……………………………………………………….…….iv DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………….……vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION…………..………………………………………...….….1 2. EARLY-MODERN STANDING ARMIES AND THE PROBLEM OF SHELTER……………………………………………………….………….…22 3. THE EARLY-WAR SHELTER PROBLEM: HOUSING THE CONTINENTAL ARMY, 1775-1776………………………………….……….74 4. CONTINENTAL SHELTER IN TRANSITION, 1777-1778…..………..…130 5. TOWARDS A NEW ART OF CASTRAMETATION: THE MIDDLEBROOKE WINTER OF 1778-1779……………………………….…192 6. MORRISTOWN 1779-1780: THE LOG-HUT CITY TESTED ….…….….253 7. CIVILIANS AND SOLDIERS IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY……..…...312 8. THE SOCIAL WORLD OF WINTER QUARTERS…………………....….362 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………..….416 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………….…………………………………......439 APPENDIX : IMAGES………………………………………………………......…….462 vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Historians attribute the Patriot victory during the War of Independence to an attritional strategy which, especially after 1778, eschewed giving battle with the enemy except under favorable conditions. The Rebel commander-in-chief, General George Washington, maintained an aggressive outlook, but shortages in men, money, and supplies limited his opportunities for seeking battle. Raids, skirmishes, and prolonged periods of limited movement characterized the war in the Middle Colonies.1 The Continental Army that waged the war represented a complex organization that included thousands of soldiers and officers, women camp followers, and animals that needed immense quantities of food, clothing, and camp equipment. Historians have described the army as a mobile city due to its immense concentration of men and materiel.2 To pursue a positional strategy with a regular army, Continental commanders required bases where men could be sheltered, provisioned, and trained. Consequently, fortifications, magazines, and above all encampments underpinned the Continental Army‘s positional strategy, providing the infrastructure that facilitated a successful war effort. Mathew H. Spring, a leading historian of the British Army in the American Revolution, has succinctly summarized the importance encampments assumed in Continental strategy: ―Prudent rebel commanders shunned major confrontations on any but the most advantageous terms by ensconcing their armies in inaccessible and/or virtually impregnable fortified camps in the interior (like Washington at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania or Morristown in New Jersey).‖3 1 The renowned encampments at Valley Forge and Morristown effectively housed Patriot soldiers, equipment, and supplies. So too did lesser-known installations such as those at Redding, Connecticut, and Middlebrook, New Jersey. Beginning with Valley Forge in late 1777, General George Washington‘s army came to spend half the year in camp, typically retiring from the field in December and not returning to active operations until June. Timber-built cabins known as huts were the defining features of these Continental camps. Each housed about a dozen enlisted men or a smaller number officers, and offered superior protection from the elements compared to the tents used during mobile campaigns. At Valley Forge and Morristown, as well as Middlebrook, the Hudson Highlands in New York, and Redding, the Continental Army built thousands of log huts interspersed with alleys, streets, and parade grounds arrayed in dense complexes. The army effectively created urban, military environments from what had been field and forest. This dissertation studies these encampments, what it refers to ―log-hut cities.‖ These log-hut cities represented a distinct innovation in the art of war during the eighteenth century. European armies relied on different forms of shelter. Tents sufficed for active campaigns during warmer weather, but in wintertime commanders retired to billets in civilian homes or large, permanent barracks located in towns and fortresses. When European troops built timber shelters, they intended to use them only temporarily. Such structures garnered a reputation as ―shanties.‖ The Continental Army attempted to imitate its contemporaries during the war‘s first years. An absence of barracks, civilian opposition to billeting, and the fact that there were frequently not enough houses or public buildings available nearby forced George 2 Washington and his generals to seek alternatives. The densely-built arrangements of log huts first implemented at Valley Forge proved itself a serviceable option for housing a regular army. Historians and popular
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