Following the Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment. By Nancy K. Loane. Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-59797-385-4. Pp. ix-205. $25.39 (hardcover).
If you have ever had the privilege of touring the Valley Forge National Historic Park, you will undoubtedly know a thing or two about the difficulties faced by the Continental Army during the winter of 1777-1778. While General George Washington and his men were camped at Valley Forge, they faced numerous hardships – disease, unsanitary conditions, cold weather, shortages of basic supplies, such as food and clothing, and much more. The deprivations suffered by the Continental Army at Valley Forge seared this particular winter into the national memory as an example of all that the Continentals endured while fighting for freedom from the British. What is perhaps less well known, however, is that a significant number of women traveled with the Continental Army and faced the same hardships (and others particular to womanhood) as did the men. In Following the Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment, Nancy K. Loane sheds light onto these women by addressing the common camp followers who traveled with the Continental Army and also the officers’ wives. Loane argues that the camp followers and officers’ wives provided vital services to the Continental Army in various ways; however, for as much as these women helped the army, many soldiers and officers disliked and even abhorred the common camp followers (3-4, 113-114, 143-144, 129).
While other historians have examined Continental Army camp followers and officers’ wives, Loane lends a new perspective to this study by focusing on the women at the Valley Forge encampment. To provide important contextual evidence, Loane does include the women’s experiences at other winter encampments, but the focus remains on the winter of 1777-1778. With this specific focus, Following the Drum illuminates the valuable services provided by the women to the army.
A photo of the recreated soldiers’ huts, taken during my visit to Valley Forge in 2018.
To thoroughly address the variety of services the women performed for the army and the roles they filled, Loane’s work is organized topically. Beginning with Martha Washington, Loane provides a fascinating examination of how officers’ wives, also known as ladies, served the army during the winter encampments. Martha Washington performed her typical wifely duties while at Valley Forge – she ran “the household, acting as hostess, socializing with the ladies and officers, and participating in ceremonial functions” (14). Additionally, she bolstered her husband’s spirits, thanks to the deep love that existed between the couple (23, 31). Despite enjoying George’s company, Martha did suffer from loneliness throughout the winter encampments that she spent away from her beloved home of Mount Vernon (28-29).
Surely, though, this loneliness was slightly reduced by the presence of other ladies at the Valley Forge encampment. In addition to other officers’ wives, Loane focuses on Catherine Greene’s and Lucy Knox’s experiences at the encampment, also providing biographical information of these women to contextualize their time at Valley Forge. Furthermore, Loane examines the children of these women, analyzing how their mothers’ personalities and wartime absences or experiences affected them later in life. Catherine Greene in particular had a complicated relationship with her children. Though she endured a pregnancy at the Valley Forge encampment, she also often left her children in the care of others while she traveled to be with her husband, Nathanael, throughout the course of the war (58, 73-74). Sadly for all, Catherine’s personality and her frequent absences resulted in difficult relationships with her children (75-76). Also at the Valley Forge encampment was Lucy Knox, the wife of Henry Knox. Lucy took her young daughter with her to Valley Forge, where they both enjoyed Henry’s company (81). Being together as a family was especially important for Lucy, Loane asserts, given that Lucy’s American loyalties resulted in her Loyalist parents severing ties with her (81-82, 79-80). By beginning the book with these women, and also other officers’ wives, Following the Drum clearly reveals how the ladies bolstered their husbands’ spirits and performed the social responsibilities of upper class women while at the Valley Forge encampment.
The latter portion of the book examines the “camp followers,” or the average, lower class women who traveled with their soldiers to Valley Forge. Loane first addresses George Washington’s household staff or, as Loane says, his “military family” (105). This group of people was certainly higher in status than the average camp follower, given the ties to the General. Including both white and black men and women, and at least one Irish woman, Washington’s “family” in general received his support and kindness (105-111). As an example of this, Washington’s elderly Irish housekeeper (whose predecessor turned out to be a Loyalist! (109)) received an invitation from the General after the war to spend the rest of her days at Mount Vernon (111).
Of much lower regard, though – even in Washington’s own view – were the “average” camp followers (113-114). As Loane states, these four hundred or so women traveled with the army to Valley Forge in the belief that they could best survive the war if they stayed with the army (113-114). Though looked down on by most and forced to literally walk behind the army (114, 128, 135), these women provided absolutely essential services that helped preserve the army. Many women were laundresses (116-119), cooks (129, 133) and nurses (119-125); unfortunately, some also filled the role of prostitute (125-128). However, other women deviated from the “traditional” female roles. Some women, known as Molly Pitchers, took up their wounded husbands’ artillery positions (115-116, 139-140). For her service in this capacity, Margaret Corbin received a pension from the army, becoming “the first camp woman with the Continental Army to be acknowledged by a pension” (140). Others, such as Deborah Sampson and Anna Maria Lane, disguised themselves as men and fought with the Continental soldiers (140-143). Loane acknowledges, however, that typical camp followers performed the previously mentioned services for the army, often traveling with children in tow and enduring scarcities (143, 133). These women struggled to find enough clothing for themselves, were insufficiently paid for their services, and received no standard rations (unless they worked for the army (136)) till close to the end of the war (117, 121, 137). On top of all of this, they birthed and reared children in these difficult conditions (133, 139).
These women are brought to life through Loane’s clear writing and her use of sources. Depending on letters, soldiers’ accounts, official reports, the recollections of officers’ children, pension records, and more, Loane’s examination of both the ladies and the camp followers is grounded in excellent research. One of the strengths of the book is found in the appendix: “Making the Myth of Martha Washington: Nineteenth-Century Fantasy vs. Eighteenth-Century Reality” (149-164). In this appendix, Loane looks at how nineteenth-century authors, such as Elizabeth Ellet, and Washington’s own descendants, particularly George Washington Parke Custis, developed myths about Martha Washington. One myth in particular that took hold in national memory is the belief that Martha “filled her days bringing solace to the soldiers in their huts” (149). In this appendix, Loane critically addresses how this belief developed by walking through the various nineteenth-century stories that perpetuated and deepened this myth, but yet had no basis in the eighteenth-century primary sources. This appendix is extremely valuable in its analysis of these nineteenth-century authors and historians who contributed to such myths, and reclaims Martha’s true role at Valley Forge. Having worked as a seasonal ranger at Valley Forge, Loan’s analysis of these myths is grounded in experience and insight.
Following the Drum is an excellent book that provides clear insight into the lives of officers’ wives and camp followers during the American Revolution. The focus on the women’s experiences at Valley Forge, within the context of the broader war and their lives in general, lends new insight to this often overlooked topic. I would highly recommend Following the Drum for anyone interested in the Revolution. Scholars, the general public, and members of the living history community will greatly enjoy this book and learn a great deal from Loane’s excellent scholarship.
Image Citations
Unknown artist. “Martha Washington.” Painting. c. 1800-1825. National Portrait Gallery. Wikimedia Commons, File:Martha washington.jpg – Wikimedia Commons (accessed June 6, 20201).
All other images taken by Anna Layer.
Living in History 