Female Military in the Continental Army

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Number and Race
Three Categories of Women
Ethical Problem
Conclusion
References

Introduction

During the American War of Independence, women served in the Continental army along with men. However, female participation is a complicated topic to study: it is not as documented as the male one, not to mention that a lot of female soldiers hid their gender. Our knowledge about the involvement of black women is more than fragmentary. Women served as camp followers, soldiers, or militiawomen. Female participation in the military was a serious ethical problem for those times, which had hard consequences for the servicewomen, but such attitude was entirely normal for the 18th century.

Number and Race

John Rees claims that the percentage of women in the Continental Army was around 3% (Rees, 1995, par. 2), but the actual number is hard to find out since some women were disguised as men, and a lot of females may be unrecorded. The personalities known to us are mostly white, but black women’s participation is also documented (Moore, 1991, p. 366).

Three Categories of Women

Three groups of women serving in the Continental army can be named: camp followers, enlisted women, and militia warriors (Grant De Pauw, 1981, p. 209).

The first category is the camp followers, whose duties were cooking, nursing, and doing laundry. Camp followers were seeking safety and employment (Colonial Williamsburg, n.d., par. 2) or were soldiers’ wives (Skaine, 1999, p. 52). They regarded their work as their social responsibility and patriotic duty. Although they were not exactly military, I mention this category for two reasons. First, the options available to women in the military were limited at those times. Second, the army could hardly function without them.

Some women managed to disguise themselves as men and enlist in the military. Among them is the famous Deborah Sampson, who is often praised by historians and patriots. We must understand, however, that she is a lucky example since when discovered, she was honorably discharged. A lot of other discovered women faced dishonor and punishment for enlisting.

The women, who joined the militia, fought on an irregular basis, joining militia whenever the safety of their area was threatened (Grant De Pauw, 1981, p. 209). However, it is important to know that militia activity is not well-documented, so we do not know much about them.

Ethical Problem

Not surprisingly for the 18th century, female participation in the Army was an ethical problem. George Washington was not fond of their involvement and ordered to get rid of those, who “is not absolutely necessary” (Rees, 1995, par. 10). Discovered female soldiers could even be jailed. Nevertheless, it is necessary to take into account that the standards significantly differed back then, and for that time such a reaction was normal.

Conclusion

A lot of facts about female service in the Continental Army remain uncovered. The service of black women and militiawomen is especially poorly documented. It is known that female service presented an ethical problem, and it is important that we not look at this problem with modern eyes.

References

Colonial Williamsburg. (n.d.). Women’s service with the Revolutionary Army. Web.

Grant de Pauw, L. (1981). Women in combat. The Revolutionary War experience. Armed Forces & Society, 7(2), 209-226.

Moore, B.L. (1991). African American women in the U.S. military. Armed Forces & Society, 17(3), 363-384.

Rees, J.U. (1995). “The proportion of women which ought to be allowed…” An overview of Continental Army female camp followers. The Continental Soldier (Journal of the Continental Line), 8(3), 51-58. Web.

Skaine, R. (1999). Women at war: Gender issues of Americans in combat. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.

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Female Military in the Continental Army

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