537/ / ^ ? ? ? QUARTERING, DISCIPLINING ,AND SUPPLYING THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN, 1T79-1780 FEBRUARY 23, 1970 1VDRR 5 Cop, 2 1 1 ’ QUARTERING, DISCIPLINING, AND SUPPLYING THE ARMY FEBRUARY 23, 1970 U.S. DEPARTMENT OE THE INTERIOR national park service WASHINGTON, D.C. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .................................................... i I. CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO THE MORRISTOWN ENCAMPMENT 1779-1780 .............................................. 1 II. QUARTERING OF THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN,1779-1780 ......... 7 1. PREPARATION OF THE C A M P ............................. 7 2. COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN . 9 III. DAILY LIFE AT THE ENCAMPMENT............................... 32 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE ARMY OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.............................................. 32 2. ORGANIZATION OF THE CONTINENTAL A R M Y ................... 36 3. HEADQUARTERS: FORD MA NS IO N......................... 38 4. CONSTRUCTION OF THE C A M P ............................... 40 5. LIFE AT THE WINTER QUARTERS......................... 48 6. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AT THE MORRISTOWN ENCAMPMENT .... 64 7. A MILITARY ENCOUNTER WITH THE E N E M Y ................ 84 IV. DISCIPLINE OF THE TROOPS AT MORRISTOWN.................... 95 1. NATURE OF MILITARY DISCIPLINE ....................... 95 2. LAXITY IN DISCIPLINE IN THE CONTINENTAL AR M Y ............ 99 3. OFFENSES COMMITTED DURING THE ENCAMPMENT ........... 102 V. SUPPLY OF THE ARMY AT MORRISTOWN.......................... 136 1. SUPPLY CONDITIONS PRIOR TO THE MORRISTOWN ENCAMPMENT . 136 2. THE PROBLEM OF PROVISIONS............................. 148 3. INADEQUATE SUPPLY OF CLOTHING ....................... 158 4 . THE FINANCIAL PREDICAMENT......... 166 5- THE PROBLEM OF TRANSPORTATION 176 6. HEALTH FACILITIES .................................... 186 VI. EPILOGUE................................................... 201 APPENDICES....................................................... 213 BIBLIOGRAPHY 225 INTRODUCTION It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors. Plutarch "Quartering, Disciplining, and Supplying the Army at Morris­ town, 1779-1780" (MORR-H-3) is a study of the winter encampment of the Continental Army at Morristown, New Jersey, during the seven-month period from December 1779, through June 1780. The 18th century was a century of ferment, a century of a contest between the established order and new ideas. The Revolutionary Army was the product of the ideals of the American Revolution and of Washington's idealism and leader­ ship. Men of many nations fought in this army. Some died in battle; others stayed to become citizens of the new nation. The road to freedom was long, difficult and costly. Battles such as Ticonderoga, Trenton, Saratoga and Guilford Court House are his­ torically important events in the Revolutionary War - Valley Forge and Morristown are also historically important as sites of winter encampments of the Continental Army. Except for raids, forays and chance encounters, armies of the time of the American Revolution spent their winters i in hibernaculo. George Washington and his army endured a miserable and depressing hibernation at Valley Forge where the ragged heroes nursed their chilblains during the long, hard winter. At Morristown, the Continental Army survived two hard winters under equally or perhaps more wretched conditions. In December of 1779, Morristown became for the second time the base of the main body of the American Army, where the maJority of the soldiers were to spend the next seven months. Upon their arrival, the soldiers' first task was to provide themselves with shelter. When they had completed their hutting, under difficult weather conditions, they settled into a daily routine of camp life which proved to be hard and monotonous, characterized by a complex of difficulties which possibly never existed to an equal degree at any other time during the war for American independence. The snow not only blanKeted the soldiers but also blocKed the roads, prevent­ ing the organized military drill and disrupting the supply system. Soldiers were often without meat for two or three days. Many had no shoes or stockings, others no pants or blankets. In some cases the soldiers boiled their shoes and ate them. It may be said that the tragedy of the Morristown winter encamp­ ment of 1779-80 reflects the weakness of the Continental li Congress, the depleted finances and the inefficient and corrupt organization of the auxiliary services. It is truly remarkable that the army, poorly and inadequately fed and clothed and miserably sheltered from the severe and prolonged winter, did not dissolve altogether. That this did not happen is due to the greatness of Washington, whose perseverance and determination helped keep the Revolution alive. The Greek historian Polybius stressed the importance of tenacity when he wrote twenty-two centuries ago: "Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal. Others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before." In holding fast to fundamentals, firmness and persistence is usually needed. This Washington had. The army, inspired by Washington's leadership, emerged at the end of the encampment prepared to resume the battle which eventually led to the British defeat and to the signing of the peace treaty that officially ended hostilities between the United States and Great Britain. Virgil's famous line, "parcere subjectis et debellare superbos," - to spare the prostrate and breaK down the proud - is a fair summary not only of Roman policy in war but also of the policy of Washington. Thus at the end of the 18th century, we witness the partial breaK-up of the first British Empire, which had been brought into existence by the Earl of Chatham as a result of the Seven Years' War. iii One cannot closely study this period without being inspired by the raw courage and tenacity of these men--little more than a "rabble in arms"--who in the face of apparently insuperable odds of adversity, desertion, and disease held firm, to form the nucleus of an army that carried Washington and the country to ultimate victory and independence. About two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato, in his worK The Republic, recommended that youth be inculcated with the patriotism necessary for the success of the ideal nation. Today we witness not only a decline in parental discipline, but also a lacK of patriotic feeling. There is a clear decline in accepted standards. Freedom is easier to lose than to attain. It was Patrick Henry who said that "Bad men cannot make good citizens." "It is impossible," he added, "that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free men. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incom­ patible with freedom." Freedom, although God-given, depends on each of us. It is a fragile gift which we must preserve and fortify. Freedom is not for the lazy. It demands character, will and education. It required decisiveness, self-respect and self- reliance. History gives us many examples of democracies which have been destroyed by external and internal powers. Awareness of the his­ IV torical past should stimulate our concern that nothing threaten our freedom, for which Washington and his men fought and suffered. The Roman consuls once ignored the alarming voice: Caveatis, consules, ne quid detrimenti. Res publica caparet - "be on guard, Consuls, so that the Republic does not suffer." And Rome eventually collapsed. Let us hope that in this country such a warning will never be similarly ignored. Since the existence of every human society is determined by its ideas and institutions, it follows that social progress and well-being depend primarily on the truth of the principles on which the society is built and on the good order which prevails in its administration. In connecting the source material for this study, I have borne in mind the injunction "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction." (Romans 15:4). But the study of documents is only one element, and not the most important, in the pursuance of historical research. The most important is experience and the spirit of inquiry. The preparation of this study led me to Morristown, New Jersey, where I received the encouragement and assistance of Mr. Melvin J. Weig, Superintendent of the Morristown National Historical ParK, and his excellent staff. My colleagues, John v Luzader, Francis F. Wilshin, and Edwin C. Bearss shared with me unselfishly their extensive Knowledge of history, and I am grate­ ful to them for their assistance. To Mr. Frank B. Sarles, Jr., go special thanks for reading the study in the final form. My gratitude is also due to Mrs. Maxine Gresham for her typing of the manuscript and to my wife Hana for her patient understanding. George J. Svejda vx I. CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO THE MORRISTOWN ENCAMPMENT 1779-1780 The direct circumstances which led to the establishment of the military headquarters at Morristown were based on the events in the South, where during September-October of 1779, Vice Admiral Count Charles d'Estaing's squadron was cooperating with the American forces commanded by General Benjamin Lincoln in a 1 joint assault upon Savannah, Georgia. Washington was fully counting and depending on a joint action of d'Estaing's fleet 2 against the British forces in New YorK City. However, on October 9, 1779, the Joint expedition upon Savannah failed, and on October 20 the French fleet departed for the West Indies 3 and France. Unaware of his debacle (during which Count Casimir Pulaski was mortally wounded) and facing Sir Henry Clinton's forces, firmly established in New York City, as well as the problem of the oncoming winter, Washington was forced to consider 4 a winter campsite for his troops. ]. Francis Vinton Greene, The Revolutionary War and the Military Policy of the United States. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911), pp. 200-05* 2. John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799. Vol. 17: October 21, 1779~February 9, 1780.