Supplying Washington S Army

This significant historical book on a previously unexplored aspect of the Revolutionary War was produced by the Center of Military History, providing an important basic reference on the military history of the Revolution. This book brings together for the first time a mass of data on the various institutions involved in keeping Washington's troops in the field. It should have a large impact on future accounts of the problems and operations of the Continental Army and serve as a standard reference on its supply system for decades to come. Military operations of the American Revolution have been fully covered in numerous volumes, but these works have included relatively little analysis of how the Continental Army was kept in the field. Accounts have described how Revolutionary soldiers left bloody tracks in the winter snow as they marched without shoes to defeat the British at Trenton. Their stamina and fortitude have been extolled in descriptions of the distress they suffered at Valley Forge. The curious reader, however, is left to wonder how the soldier was clothed and armed and why there was such a shortage of provisions. This study seeks to provide answers as to how the main Continental army, the army directly under General George Washington's control, was maintained in the field for eight years. Partial Contents: PREFACE * 1. THE CONTINENTAL ARMY * Appointment of Supply Chiefs * Gradual Evolution of a War Department * Mercantile Capitalism * Common Features of Supply Organization * Lack of a Stable Currency * Supply by Expropriation * Phases of Logistical Support * Preparations and Sources of Supply * Size of Continental Forces * 2. ORGANIZATION OF THE QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT * Appointment of Officers * Organization Under Mifflin * First Regulatory Measure * Mifflin's Services and Resignation * Appointment of Greene * Criticism of the Department * Reform of the Department * Appointment of Pickering * 3. LAND TRANSPORTATION * Need for Organic Transportation * Manufacture of Wagons * Establishment of the Wagon Department * Procedures and Abuses * Appointment of James Thompson * Proposals for an Enlisted Wagon Corps * Wagons on the Supply Lines * Congressional Action * Changes in the Wagon Department * Distress on the Supply Lines * Preparations for the 1781 Campaign * 4. FORAGE DEPARTMENT * Supply and Cavalry * Increased Demands in New York * First Regulatory Measure * Reasons for Forage Deficiency * Biddle's Reform Proposals * Problems Confronting Biddle * Biddle's Resignation and Recall * Forage Supply Under Pickering * 5. OTHER QUARTERMASTER SUPPORT * Water Transportation * The Boat Department * Sheltering the Troops * Quartermaster Artificers * 6. ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSARIAT * Appointment of Trumbull * Criticism of the Department * Regulation of 1777 * Appointment of William Buchanan * Continuation of the Issuing Department * Regulation of 1778 * Regulation of 1780 * 7. SUBSISTING THE ARMY UNDER THE COMMISSARIAT * Adoption of a Uniform Ration * The Ration and Health * Preparation of Food * Flour Supply Under Trumbull * Importance of Salt Meat Supply Under Trumbull Magazines * Supply During the Winter of 1776-1777 * Background for Valley Forge * Suspension of Meat Procurement * Competitive Measures for Flour Supply * Factors Hampering Meat Supply * Preparations Under Wadsworth * Flour for a Joint Venture Interference in Commissariat Matters * Transfer of Convention Troops * Depreciation and Supply * Distress at Morristown * 8. FROM COMMISSARIES TO CONTRACTORS * Criticism of the System * Possible Allied Cooperation * Breakdown of the Specific Supplies System * Limited Application of the Contract System * Contractual Authority * The Yorktown Campaign * Contractual Arrangements * Contract for a Moving Army * 9. ORGANIZATION OF THE CLOTHING DEPARTMENT * more

A narrative analysis of the complex evolution of the Continental Army, with the lineages of the 177 individual units that comprised the Army, and fourteen charts depicting regimental organization.

"Brandywine Creek calmly meanders through the Pennsylvania countryside today, but on September 11, 1777, it served as the scenic backdrop for the largest battle of the American Revolution, one that encompassed more troops over more land than any combat fought on American soil until the Civil War. Long overshadowed by the stunning American victory at Saratoga, the complex British campaign that defeated George WashingtonÕs colonial army and led to the capture of the capital city of Philadelphia was one of the most important military events of the war. Michael C. HarrisÕs impressive Brandywine: A Military History of the Battle that Lost Philadelphia but Saved America, September 11, 1777, is the first full-length study of this pivotal engagement in many years. General Sir William Howe launched his campaign in late July 1777, when he loaded his army of 16,500 British and Hessian soldiers aboard a 265-ship armada in New York and set sail. Six difficult weeks later HoweÕs expedition landed near Elkton, Maryland, and moved north into Pennsylvania. WashingtonÕs rebel army harassed HoweÕs men at several locations including a minor but violent skirmish at CoochÕs Bridge in Delaware on September 3. Another week of hit-and-run tactics followed until Howe was within three miles of ChadsÕs Ford on Brandywine Creek, behind which Washington had posted his army in strategic blocking positions along a six-mile front. The young colonial capital of Philadelphia was just 25 miles farther east. Obscured by darkness and a heavy morning fog, General Howe initiated his plan of attack at 5:00 a.m. on September 11, pushing against the American center at ChadsÕs Ford with part of his army while the bulk of his command swung around WashingtonÕs exposed right flank to deliver his coup de main, destroy the colonials, and march on Philadelphia. Warned of HoweÕs flanking attack just in time, American generals turned their divisions to face the threat. The bitter fighting on Birmingham Hill drove the Americans from the field, but their heroic defensive stand saved WashingtonÕs army from destruction and proved that the nascent Continental foot soldiers could stand toe-to-toe with their foe. Although fighting would follow, Philadelphia fell to HoweÕs legions on September 26. HarrisÕs Brandywine is the first complete study to merge the strategic, political, and tactical history of this complex operation and important set-piece battle into a single compelling account. More than a decade in the making, his sweeping prose relies almost exclusively upon original archival research and his personal knowledge of the terrain. Enhanced with original maps, illustrations, and modern photos, and told largely through the words of those who fought there, Brandywine will take its place as one of the most important military studies of the American Revolution ever written."

Appendices include laws and legislation concerning the Army Medical Department. Maps include those of territories and frontiers and Continental Army hospital locations. Illustrations are chiefly portraits.

This book examines the uniforms, equipment, history and organization of George Washington's Army. The chronology of the American Revolution (1763-1776) is summarized, and its major personalities introduced. Uniforms are shown in full illustrated detail.

Refuting commonly held myths about the American Revolution, this comprehensive history of the colonial army's winter encampment of 1777-1778 reveals the events that occurred both inside and outside the camp boundaries, discussing interactions between the soldiers and local civilians, divisions within the army, the political and military strategies of George Washington, and their implications in terms of the future of the United States. Reprint.