Sunday, October 4, 2026

Continental Soldiers’ Baggage During the Revolutionary War

 By Sarah Lindecke

During the Revolutionary War, Continental soldiers carried with them items needed for daily life. These items could be anything from materials for cooking to personal mementos from home. Just as we travel today with items that make our lives easier, people in the 18th century wanted to do the same. In this blog we’ll look at different items carried by various people who traveled with the Continental Army.

The Average Soldier’s Kit:

              Soldiers’ supplies came from various sources depending on regiment, militia, and region. Some soldiers were able to quickly obtain needed items, while many others went without because their regiments were not able to supply them. Major General Philip Schuyler, commander of the Northern Department of the Continental Army, spent much of 1775-1776 working to supply his troops at forts like Ticonderoga and Crown Point.[i] Distance between the supplies and soldiers hindered the distribution of items, which led to significant shortages of everything from food to armaments. Over time, the Continental Army improved their access to supplies, but soldiers still relied on impressment—the forced seizure of livestock, food, and wagons—to obtain key supplies, or they were forced to go without.

              Though not every soldier had the same supplies, the average enlisted man could have expected to be supplied the following: 

Soldier's Knapsack. 1770. 
Washington's Headquarters Collection.

“A good Fire-Arm, with a Steel or Iron Ram-Rod, and a Spring to retain the same, a Worm, Priming wire and Brush, and a Bayonet fitted to your GUN, a Scabbard and Belt therefor, and a Cutting Sword, or a Tomahawk or Hatchet, a Pouch containing a Cartridge Box, that will hold fifteen Rounds of Cartridges at least, a hundred Buck Shot, a Jack-Knife and Tow for Wadding, six Flints, one pound powder, forty Leaden Balls fitted to your GUN, a Knapsack and Blanket a Canteen or Wooden Bottle sufficient to hold one Quart.”[ii]

              Additionally, men would be supplied with clothing when available.

              Camp followers often accompanied enlisted men. These were often wives or enslaved people who could perform paid or unpaid labor like cooking and laundry for the soldiers. Camp followers were not official members of the military and so they were expected to work for their meager necessities.[iii] In rare cases, however, they were paid in money or supplies. Many officers, like George Washington, took issue with camp followers, despite officers’ wives frequently choosing to travel with their husbands. Washington felt that these camp followers were a burden that should not be “supported through public expense” because this “would be robbing the public and encouraging idleness.”[iv]

              Every Continental soldier’s experience was likely different during the Revolutionary War, but consistent supply issues appear to have been nearly universal for soldiers whose commissaries struggled to provide for them.

Philip Schuyler’s War Chest:

    

Philip Schuyler's War Chest.
Schuyler Mansion Collections.

          In the Schuyler Mansion collection, there is a war chest (SM.1972.31), believed to have been Philip Schuyler’s. It was donated to Schuyler Mansion in the early 20th century by Schuyler’s great-great granddaughter, Kilda C. Malcom Harrell (1893-1977). Family tradition suggests that this chest was originally Major General Schuyler’s “camp chest” during the Revolutionary War. It was later used by great-grandson William S. Malcom Jr. (1857-1930). Conservation reports suggest that the top of the chest where “William S. Malcom Jr.” is painted is a replacement of the original top.

              During the American Revolution, a war chest or “camp chest” would be used to carry personal items, cooking utensils, clothing, bedding, maps, compasses, or anything else that would fit.[v] Officers, the men who most often had a camp chest, had many items they needed on a daily basis and if there were wagons traveling with them, a chest could securely and comfortably be stored there. Otherwise, especially for the average enlisted man, cooking pots, stoves, utensils, extra clothing, etc. were carried by hand or on their back. Over time, this extra weight would add up and, in many cases,—especially during the winter or when ill—this could slow down troop movement.

Wooden Chest Belonging to Capt. Benjamin Ledyard.
1770-1780. Fort Ticonderoga Collections.
              Captain Benjamin Ledyard of the 1st New York Regiment had a war chest that is today preserved by Fort Ticonderoga.[vi] This wooden chest is in relatively good condition for its age. Compared to the war chests of George Washington and Philip Schuyler, the style is far plainer. Ledyard’s chest was made with spruce wood, a soft, medium-weight wood that often does not hold up well in outdoor conditions. However, spruce wood is very common in the northeast, making it likely Ledyard made or purchased the chest in his locality. By contrast, Schuyler’s chest was made from pine. Similar to spruce, pine is a soft wood, but it is stiff, giving the wood durability and strength.  In the 18th century, yellow pine was abundant and much harder than modern species used today. The iron hinges and lock on Schuyler’s chest were also practically designed for a war chest that could be transported many miles throughout its time of use.

              Though Philip Schuyler did not directly lead his troops into battle, he spent much of 1775-1777 moving between the northern forts, like Ticonderoga, and his homes in Albany and Saratoga. When traveling between these locations Schuyler would have needed various items for his personal care and comfort, so the war chest likely moved with him.

George Washington’s Camp Bed:

              Mount Vernon has in its collection a version of a field bedstead that may have been used by George Washington during the Revolutionary War.[vii] As armies traveled frequently, there was not always a consistent place for men to sleep. Officers, like General Washington, expected comfortable accommodation, no matter where they traveled. This often meant that officers would move into abandoned or rentable homes where their army was headquartered—think the luxurious townhouses of Morristown, New Jersey and the country farmhouses at Newburgh, New York, which became Washingtons headquarters centered on the Hasbrouck House.

                At other times, Continental Army officers “roughed it” like the rest of their soldiers. One of the tents Washington used during the Revolutionary War is preserved in the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. The tent is ~300 square feet and could be divided so the space contained different rooms.[viii] One of the partitions could close off to create a private sleeping space for Washington where a field bed could be installed. One of these items survives in the Mount Vernon collection.

          

Field Bedsted. c. 1775. Mount Vernon Collections.

    Mount Vernon’s field bed has:

“four, identically turned posts, a rectangular headboard (replaced), and rabbeted rails. Head- and footposts are hinged in two places, so that the tapering, uncarved posts with swelled knob tops and the circular, tapered legs on tall, incurved, circular feet fold over the end rails. Side rails with iron hinges at their centers that fold inwards; a hinged, square, tapered leg (replacement) is attached at each joint for support. Iron hooks secure bedstead in open position.”[ix]

              When folded, the bed could be as small as 11x11x36 inches, making it a very portable item to provide the Commander in Chief a comfortable place to rest. Most men in the military would have had a bed roll to sleep upon the ground.

Marquis de Lafayette’s Brazier:

              During the Revolutionary War, soldiers and officers often cooked for themselves, or were cooked for by camp followers, on portable stoves, Dutch ovens, and braziers. These bulky items were key to cooking on the move and far from a kitchen. Dutch, or bake ovens, and braziers had feet and were used by placing them over a bed of hot coals and covered. These all-in-one portable cooking surfaces ensured that food was sufficiently cooked through relying on hot coals underneath and sometimes inside the ovens.

Marquis de Lafayette's Brazier. c. 1770.
Museum of the American Revolution Collections.
              The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia has a copper and iron brazier believed to have been owned by the Marquis de Lafayette.[x] The copper bowl is cradled by the iron stand and cooking surface. There is a wooden handle which allowed for handling while cooking. Hot coals placed in the copper bowl, meat or other items placed on top of the cooking surface.

              Though it cannot be proven that this brazier was definitively owned by the Marquis de Lafayette, it is a fine example of a brazier used during the American Revolutionary War.

Prince Simbo’s Powder Horn:

              Prince Simbo was a member of the 7th Connecticut Regiment during the Revolutionary War. He was likely a person of African descent and, though it is unclear his status prior to enlisting, he was possibly a free man. Most Black people without notation of an enslaver on the muster rolls enlisted as freemen. In Simbo’s case, his muster roll record lists no commentary, which suggests he enlisted independently. Connecticut had the largest population of enslaved people in New England during the 1770s, however there was also a small but increasing population of free Black men in the region as well. The small population of free Black people often had some degrees of personal agency and could enlist in the Continental Army, especially because the army was frequently in dire need of more soldiers.[xi]

Simbo began to serve as a private in 1777 and continued his enlistment until the end of the war. An item connected to Prince Simbo is a powder horn engraved with his name and place of residence, Glastonbury, Connecticut. Today Prince Simbo’s powder horn is in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History.

Powder Horn. c. 1777.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum
of African American History and Culture. 

Powder horns were containers for gunpowder which was a necessary part of firing guns during the 18th century. Most powder horns were made from cow, ox, or buffalo horns, affixed with a stopper and usually a sling so they could be worn.

Other engravings on the powder horn include a dove carrying a banner reading “LIBERTY,” a sun with a face, a deer, a pine tree, and various other pattern designs.[xii]  These inscriptions on the powder horn suggest that he was literate and had artistic skill. Other powder horns depicted maps of regions where a person came from or where they fought. Jospeh Frye, c. 1756, had a powder horn depicting the Hudson River Valley which was the region he fought in for the British during the French and Indian War.[xiii]

Prince Simbo’s unit fought at the Battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. While stationed in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1779, Prince Simbo took a thirty-day furlough and was later, in 1780, transferred to the Invalid Corps, which was a unit of wounded soldiers that focused on camp guarding and training.[xiv]

After the war, Prince Simbo returned to Glastonbury, Connecticut. where in the 1790 census lists that he was a head of household with five other free individuals. He died on December 14th, 1810.[xv] Prince Simbo is one of many people of African descent who served during the Revolutionary War for the Continental Army.

Miniature Portraits by Charles Willson Peale

             
During the 18th century and beyond, miniature portraits were popular items desired and purchased by members of the upper echelons of society. Miniatures were usually about 1 to 5 inches and depicted a bust of a person. These items were unobtainable for the vast majority of the population, but for wealthy Loyalists or supporters of the American cause these items were precious mementos. Miniatures were often small enough to be worn as part of jewelry, necklaces or bracelets, which provided incredible portability unobtainable for other portraits that because of size were restricted to being hung on a wall. Many officers carried miniatures of wives, children, or parents as they traveled with the army. However, when the conditions permitted, travelling or enlisted artists would create these works in army camps to be sent home to family.[xvi]

George Washington Miniature. Charles Wilson Peale.
c. 1777. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collections.

              During the winter at Valley Forge, 1777-1778, many officers of the Continental Army patronized Charles Willson Peale for portrait miniatures. The miniature of General George Washington is the most famous of this grouping. His portrait miniature is watercolor painted on ivory and is 1 ½ in x 1 3/8 in set in a gold bracelet case.[xvii] It is unknown if the item was intended as a gift to Martha Washington or another family member. Martha Washington often joined the Continental Army at their winter encampments to be alongside her husband during the non-fighting periods of the year. During campaign seasons she usually remained at Mount Vernon in Virginia. The miniature of George Washington made at Valley Forge may have been a memento for Martha Washington to take with her after returning home in the spring of 1778.

              Charles Willson Peale’s miniature of George Washington, alongside many other miniatures created throughout Peale’s career were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in 1883 by collector William Henry Huntington (c. 1820-1885).  

Alexander Hamilton’s Letters Home

              Only months after meeting in Morristown, New Jersey, Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler parted ways when she set off for home in Albany during the early summer of 1780. The pair’s whirlwind courtship had already culminated in a request to Elizabeth Schuyler’s parents for the approval of their desire to marry.[xviii] However, as the campaign season for 1780 loomed, Schuyler could no longer linger with the Continental Army. She returned home and awaited the time when Hamilton could join her at Albany to have their wedding. During this time apart, the pair exchanged letters, Hamilton sending quite a few more than Schuyler.

              On July 6th, 1780, Alexander Hamilton wrote:

“…it is a maxim of my life to enjoy the present good with the highest relish & to soften the present evil by a hope of future good. I alleviate the pain of absence by looking forward to that delightful period which gives us to each other forever; and my imagination serves up such a feast of pleasure as almost makes me forget the deprivation I now experience.”[xix]

The flirtatious nature of this letter is tempered with the overwhelming reality that Alexander Hamilton, and the other soldiers fighting in the Revolution, were living with an ever-present sense of danger. Letters home assuaged family members to suggest that their loved ones were still alive but could not ensure that a person would continue to have the luck of remaining safe from violence. Hamilton’s love letters to Elizabeth Schuyler were likely vital remembrances of the couples’ feelings for each other during the period of their separation. Those who were not literate often had to wait extended periods to hear about the fates of their families at home or on the battlefield.

Throughout the Revolutionary War, enlisted men and officers carried necessities, and sometimes more sentimental items that created a level of comfort when far from home. Many stories survive about the baggage soldiers carried during the war, which can illustrate the experiences of these diverse peoples. Throughout the war, people sought to bring items with them that allowed them to continue life as soldiers, even when times were tough.


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