
Part-time “ militia” soldiers rarely even had tents or decent blankets. Open-sided tents were used for selling or providing supplies, often with small folding tables and chairs. They slept on the bare ground or wrapped in blankets. As many as eight privates could be assigned to a single tent, though some would be out on duty at any given time. It was slung over a rope raised off the ground, with the ends staked down wide so they form triangles viewed from the end. Based on today’s city populations, that would be like having two two-million-person armies moving through modern N.C.!Ī tent for the soldiers was a single piece of canvas.
REVOLUTION TO THE LOOTER CAMP PLUS
During the 1781 campaigns here, the regular British and Continental armies had between 2,000 and 2,500 men each, plus followers. The largest city in North Carolina, Wilmington, had around 1,200 people. These camps were huge by the standards of the day. During the day, local farmers arrived with cattle, chickens, and wagons of produce hoping to sell for currency.” Every few hours, express riders arrived and departed carrying written status reports, strength returns, and the latest news. One historian writes of Camp New Providence (in today’s Charlotte): “There were probably 50 wagons carrying gunpowder, tents, officer baggage, or barrels of rum. A line of sentries or “pickets” encircled the camp, far enough from the edge to provide early warning of an attack, and some of the cavalry would keep an eye on the closest enemy forces. cannons placed in protective groups (“batteries”) facing outward.Ĭamps were placed near streams for drinking and cooking water, featuring one or more mills for grinding grain into flour, with enough trees nearby for firewood.wagons parked together under guard, when not in use to gather supplies and.rows of tents or temporary shelters for homes, stores, and services.But soldiers of the day were not accustomed to modern comforts! In good times, multi-day camps of the regular armies had: Compared to modern camps, Revolutionary War encampments were not comfortable places.
