By Jeff Sovelove
At first, General Washington wasn’t keen on having women around camp during the Revolution.
He quickly changed his mind.
That’s according to the 2nd New Jersey’s adjutant, Drea Hahn, who was among re-enactors who set up camp Saturday at Jockey Hollow in the Morristown National Historical Park.
at the 2022 Spring Encampment at Jockey Hollow. Photo by Jeff Sovelove
It was the park’s first spring encampment since the pandemic. Although there were fewer re-enactors than usual–many were attending a big event in Maryland–a good-sized crowd showered them with hearty “Huzzahs!” just the same.
Hahn explained that women who followed the Continental Army initially were seen as a hindrance and General Washington tried to get rid of them.
Then he found that their presence meant less desertion and higher morale among his troops. The women performed essential functions such as doing laundry and nursing sick soldiers to health.
Slideshow photos by Jeff Sovelove and Kevin Coughlin. Click/hover on images for captions:
Army surgeons were not like modern physicians, with years of formal training and degrees. They were unaccustomed to treating common illnesses — which 18th-century housewives were well versed in.
Washington eventually found these pioneering women so crucial that he ordered their laundry fees to be deducted automatically from soldiers’ pay, to ensure that the women got paid.
Savannah Horvath showed off a surgeon’s kit from the period, including the bone saw and other implements for surgery and removing teeth (performed without anesthetic in either case).
Surgeons of the time routinely bled everyone before surgery or dentistry. They thought an imbalance in body fluids caused sickness, and draining them could speed patients’ recovery.
In reality, patients often went into shock — calming them and reducing fever, Horvath said.
Lamb’s Artillery Company also was on hand Saturday, with its four-pound cannon specially designed for the Revolution.
Heavier cannon commonly used in Europe were too big for the primitive American roads and trails, and routinely bogged down. Even the four-pounders had to be pulled by a team of three horses. Soldiers took over for the last mile or so, with ropes tied to the axles.
You can see demonstrations of cannon- and musket fire when the spring encampment concludes on Sunday, April 24, 2022.
Admission is free, and kids can participate in fun drills led by Park Ranger Eric Olsen. Sunday’s schedule looks like this:
- 10 am: Hike to the Huts with the Soldiers
- 12:30 pm: Inspection of the Troops
- 1 pm: Firing Demonstration and Drill
- 1:30 pm: Children’s Drill
- 3 pm: Firing Demonstration and Drill
Park Ranger Tom Winslow was happy to welcome visitors into the historic Wick House for the first time in two years.
“It’s starting to feel like normality again,” Winslow said.
Kevin Coughlin contributed to this report.
