Belonging to the Army
Subtitle: camp followers and community during the American Revolution
By: Holly A. Mayer.
Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Columbia, S.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 307
Subjects: United States. Continental Army -- Military life.; Camp followers -- United States -- History -- 18th century.
Description: Belonging to the Army reveals the identity and importance of the civilians now categorized as camp followers, whom Holly A. Mayer calls the forgotten revolutionaries of the War for American Independence. These merchants, contractors, family members, servants, government officers, and military employees provided necessary supplies, services, and emotional support to the troops of the Continental Army.

They served in virtually every imaginable capacity, from lifting spirits with food, drink, and dances to nursing the sick, digging ditches, and spying on and fighting against the enemy. Mayer demonstrates that by making encampments livable communities - a matter of some significance given the years it took to achieve independence - these civilians played a fundamental role in the survival and ultimate success of the Continental Army.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [279]-291) and index.
Table of contents: title: Custom, conflict, and camp followers; title: The Army : a continental community; title: The mercantile community : sutlers and other suppliers; title: Retainers to the camp : the conjugal family; title: Retainers to the camp : the extended family; title: All persons serving with the Army; title: Subject to orders and the discpline of war; title: Contributors to a glorious work.