A Study of Army Camp Life during American Revolution

by Mary Hazel Snuff

Wednesday 4th w(eg)ot some boards to fix out tents and it rained and we did not do it.

Thursday 5th It rained, and I wrote a letter home and staid around the house."[¹⁹⁸]

When the new recruit was given the duty of being on guard with the orders that he was not to sleep or leave his post he felt for the first time the hand of authority, he felt that the orders were ridiculous when he must shave every day and appear at roll call every morning with his hair powdered, but when he could not go more than a mile from camp without a pass and that only two furloughs were allowed at one time,[¹⁹⁹] then he was sure that his personal liberty was imposed upon.

It was just that attitude taken by the soldiers toward their officers and the orders given by them or toward the duties they were ordered to perform that made the question of discipline a serious one. Army life was a novelty at first, but before many weeks had passed the aspect changed. The soldiers were in new conditions and new modes of doing things had to be learned. What to do and what not to do were questions with the new recruits. There had been little of the "being ordered" by anybody at home especially among the New Englanders.[²⁰⁰] Now the private had to salute, take orders from and ask permission of an individual, who in all probability had been his next door neighbor at home with no more training than himself and perhaps one who had just "taken" command without having been appointed by the proper authority.[²⁰¹]

The trouble came from both sides; the officer felt the importance of his position to such an extent that he could not see the private's view point, but on the other hand the private was not willing to endure an ordinary amount of subordination. The orders sent out from headquarters concerning the matter were numerous depicting to the soldiers and to the officers as well, their duties and privileges.[²⁰²] The question of discipline was one which caused Washington a great deal of concern on first entering camp,[²⁰³] and a matter which always brought comment from the foreigners who visited our camps or worked with our army.[²⁰⁴] As the war progressed the conditions grew better, but the personnel changed so often that one group just reached the stage where some sort of law and order was made possible when they left and the whole process was to be gone through again with the newly enlisted group.

The general rules of discipline were laid down by the Continental Congress in what were called "The Rules and Regulations for the Government of the Army". Congress there described the general conduct of the soldiers, as to their duties and privileges and also recommended the punishments which should be inflicted by the court martial in case of violation of the rules by any one.[²⁰⁵] There were also orders issued from headquarters, which gave more detailed directions in respect to the personal appearance of the soldier, how his hat should be cocked, how his hair should be cut, and the like,31 others in respect to the duties of the soldier on fatigue,[²⁰⁶] on guard or about the camp, his conduct toward citizens, the punishment for stealing, and numerous other things which were incident to camp life, as the regulation of 'Grog shops'[²⁰⁷] orders, concerning the morale of the soldiers,[²⁰⁸] and health precautions.

The means of enforcing the disciplinary rules was the court martial, an instrument which is of common use in time of war, but some of the trials and decisions of the revolutionary court martial are interesting if not amusing and yet significant because of the state of affairs which they reflect.

First as to the organization of the court martial, there was to be a general and a regimental court, the general, the higher and the regimental the lower court. The general court was to consist of not less than thirteen members none of whom were to be under the rank of a commissioned officer and the president was to be a field officer. The regimental court was to consist of not more than five members and in case five could not be assembled three were sufficient, and any commissioned officer of a regiment by the appointment of his colonel could hold the court in the regiment for minor cases.[²⁰⁹]

All crimes not capital and all disorders and neglect that officers and soldiers might be guilty of, though not mentioned in the Articles of war, were to be taken into a general or regimental court according to the nature of the crime. The offense could be punished at the court's discretion, but no one was to be sentenced to death except in the cases mentioned in the rules layed down by congress and no sentence was to be executed until the commanding officer had approved it. The commanding officer also had the power to pardon or suspend sentence if he saw fit. According to the organization of the court martial, it was to inflict at its own discretion only degrading, cashiering, drumming out of camp and whipping not exceeding thirty-nine lashes.[²¹⁰]

According to entries made in orderly books and diaries, those orders were often overlooked and the originality of the members of the court was worked into service.