It was frequently stated in the sentence given by court martial that the punishment whatever it was, riding the wooden horse, riding the rail, receiving the biblical "Thirty-nine" lashes, or running the gauntlet,[119] was to take place at some time when all the soldiers were together as at the beating[120] of the retreat or at the head of the regiment.[121] Punishments ordered by court martial in that way served two purposes. They furnished amusement for the soldiers at the same time the purpose for which they were intended, that of making an example of the misbehavior of one of the soldiers.
While the Virginia riflemen were in camp at the siege of Boston there was a practice which served both as a source of amusement and as a display of marksmanship. There were two brothers, one of whom would place a board five inches wide and seven inches long with a bit of white paper in the middle of it about the size of a dollar, between his knees while the other at about sixty yards distance would shoot eight bullets through it without injuring the brother.[122]
The duel was another common practice which seemed to furnish amusement besides deciding the honor of some individual.[123]
Hunting, too, was a means of cheering the dreary days, but this too was often "Killing two birds with one stone", for often the soldiers went hunting to provide the regular rations, but at other times it was done just for the sake of the sport to be found in it. The following is taken from a New York paper of December 12, 1785. "A Fox hunt. The Gentlemen of the army with a number of the most respectable inhabitants of Ulsler and Orange purpose a Fox Hunt on the twenty third day of this instant to which all Gentlemen are invited with their hounds and their horses. The game is plenty and it is hoped the sport will be pleasant * * * "[124].
Along with the hunting frays went fishing[125] and nutting[126] trips which added a little variety to the ordinary camp scenes. There were several days celebrated by the Americans at that time which meant a holiday for the soldier with perhaps an extra allowance of rum[127] or meat. Some of those days were Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, May day, Commemoration of the French Alliance, or a celebration following a victory. The celebration usually consisted of a parade, a sermon by the chaplain followed by a banquet and perhaps a dance for the officers, and extra rations for the privates.[128]
Another celebration mentioned by several diaries and one which seemed to be a joyful occasion was as one writer said "and (we) convert(ed) the evening to celebrate as usual wives and sweethearts which we do in plenty of grog".[129]
There were a few games which served to shorten some of the long dreary days for the soldier, some of them were; fives,[130] shinny,[131] goal,[132] ball[133] and a kind of football.[134] No description of the above games has been found, but to judge by the context they were all outdoor games.
The diversions discussed so far in this chapter have all been outdoor games, but the real test came when the soldiers were crowded into the huts during the winter months with nothing to think of but their own miserable conditions. Since no one had thought of organizing the soldier's leisure time he had to invent something for himself. The first things thought of, naturally, were the amusements which had existed at home. Card playing came to his mind, but in the army the game of cards or any other game of chance was absolutely forbidden by order of congress and the commander-in-chief. "Any officer, non-commissioned officers, or soldier who shall hereafter be detected playing at toss up, pitch and hustle or any other games of chance in or near the camp or villages bording on the encampments shall with out delay be confined and punished for disobedience of orders * * * The general does not mean by the above order to discourage sports of exercise and recreation, he only means to discontinuance and punish gaming".[135] In another order Washington said, "Men may find enough to do in the service of their God and their country without abandoning themselves to vice and immorality".[136]
Dancing had been another form of entertainment at home but that too was usually impossible because of the lack of room. That was especially true at Valley Forge and other camps, but at Morristown, however, a large room in the commissariat store house was reserved for dancing,[137] lodge meetings, and the like for the masons had chapters in the army camps.[138]