Credits

I want to give credit to the people who are responsible for the majority
of the quotes, and some of the image finds found here. I do very little
military specific laundry research. On occasion I stumble into things
when doing general laundry research.

Read anything you find from these gentlemen, a lot of these quotes are
from their work and research, just reused here in a laundry context:

John U. Rees
Don N. Hagist
Jennifer Heim
Steve Rayner
Kirsten Hammerstrom

I am also always inspired by:

Jana Violante
Margaret Staudter
Anna Gruber Kiefer
Carrie Fellows
Eliza West
And every other woman who is working on keeping history alive
through research and interpretation.
There are a lot of barriers one has to keep in mind when doing military laundry. I
advise anyone doing it to understand how you be doing it in an 18th century civilian
setting, vs what you are able to do in a camp based on what you have. Also be
aware of what chemicals are dangerous, and what not to mix together, and how to
deal with a grease fire.

There are a few issues in doing any laundry demonstration, and they are greatly
magnified when doing a military laundry demonstration. First, you cannot use most
of the chemicals and processes being used during the time period without either
breaking EPA or OSHA laws and guidelines. An issue related to this, is trying to
rinse clothing after washing it. Another issue for the historically minded is that there
is little documentation on what is being done in the colonies in general when it
comes to laundry. At least not enough to draw broad conclusions. So focusing on
laundry in a military context makes a decent interpretation even more difficult to
portray.

I advise people to instead use it as something to do while you discuss other things
related to women and the army, or any other related subject.

Feel free to write me and debate any of what is shared here. I enjoy discussions that
help the community grow and see things from different points of view.
Cleanliness
Washing, bathing, changing into clean clothing and shaving gave
people the feeling of being well groomed. People desired to feel
clean, and worked to achieve cleanliness.

Before we Marched Capt. Wallace Capt. Powel myself, Lt. Mercer Lieut.
Tibbs, Lieut. Baynham & Ensn. Peyton were denied our Posts in Battalion,
for this reason, there was a Genl. Order for every Officer to attend Roll
call at Retreat - I had not seen my chest for near a week. I was
consequently very dirty with a long beard. I had embraced this opporty. of
shaving & shifting and was about 1/2 shaved at the beat. I said the Men
turn out and also said Mr. Black go to hear the Roll call, for this I was
arrested . John Chilton Diary, 26 July 1777

Even the POWs experiencing incarceration on the dreaded prison

ships, struggled to find a way to clean themselves, and attempted to
rid themselves of facial hair.

Daily washing with salt water, together with their extreme emaciation,
caused their skin to appear like dried parchment. Many of them remained
unwashed for weeks; their hair long and matted, and filled with vermin;
their beard never cut, excepting occasionally with a pair of shears.
Ebenezer Fox (Continental)
Having clean clothing that touches one's skin is part of being a clean person in the 18th
Century. Although the concept of bathing in the period differs, people are bathing. They
generally use a small tub with water and soap, or a watercourse. In a military context
being clean, shaving oneself and wearing clean clothing was expected.

XIII
Soldiers must be obliged to put on clean linen twice a week for certain viz
Sunday and Wednesday on the first of which days they should be powdered and
dressed in the best of whatever cloathing belongs to them with thread stockings
besides these two days it must also be insisted on that they never parade for
duty without clean shirts their hair well powdered gaiters highly polished and
compleatly dressed in every particular
Cuthbertson's System for the Complete Interior Management ...
23rd June 1781. It is strongly
recommended to the Commanding Officers of
Companies to pay more attention to them,
and in particular that they keep their
Accoutrements and Trowzers more clean,
they being most shamefully dirty during
the March. The Commanding Officers of
Companies will be answerable this Order is
complied with.

Orderly Book of H.M. 43rd Regiment of Foot,

May 23 - August 25, 1781
The British Museum, London - Translated by
Gilbert V. Riddle

Six women, wifes of men belonging to

the detach-ment may be sent there at the
same time the necessaries go, who will
be employed in washing for the men, that
they may be kept clean
General Orders, America, January 27, 1775
 Soldiers were expected to have clean clothing. They were given time to do their
laundry. In some cases men did their own laundry.
"The troops are in future to be exempt
from exercise every Friday afternoon,
Which time is allowed them for washing
Linnen and cloathing."
May 14 1778 General Orders General Washington
3d We crossed the river
Schuylkill over a floating
bridge and encamped four
miles from Philadelphia
where we continued
through the day to give the
men time to rest and wash
their clothes ~ James Thacher
1781
"Regimental Orders, July 30, 1777.
As we have now a good
opportunity for washing the dirty
clothes belonging to the Regiment,
the Colonel expects no time will be
lost in doing the same, as an
examination of the arms and men
will be made with great strictness
tomorrow morning at Troop
Beating. The Regiment is to be
paraded this afternoon at 5 o'clock to
attend Divine service. The men will
be careful not to in the heat of the
day, as it is productive of Fever
and Ague, but defer it until Sun-
down.
Walter Stewart, Colonel. 2nd PA
Regiment of the Continental Line
Morning Orders 16th June. An
Hour will be appointed every Day for
the Men to wash their Trowzers and
Shirts under the charge of Two
Serjeants and Two Corporals who
are to march them from Camp
and return with them, any Man
absent from Camp upon any
pretence without a written pass
from the Officer Commanding his
Company will be immediately
punished by Drum head Court Ma
Orderly Book of H.M. 43rd Regiment of
Foot, May 23 - August 25, 1781, (The
British Museum, London - Translated by
Gilbert V. Riddle)
Women following the army were often put in the
position of laundress. Women followed the army
despite many hardships. Women on both sides of the
war had children, lost loved ones and overcame
adversity during the time that they followed the army.

"accompanyed her husband... in the service... and

continued in said service in the capacity of
washerwoman for the officers untill the close of
the war where her husband was duly discharged.
That she had while in said service several
children"

Deposition of Maria Cronkite

Wife of Patrick Cronkite, Fifer, 1st New York Regiment 1777 - 1783
Standard Carried by the 1st New York Regiment
Deponent took her stand just back of the American tents, say
about a mile from the town, and busied herself washing,
mending, and cooking for the soldiers, in which she was
assisted by the other females; some men washed their own
clothing. She heard the roar of the artillery for a number of
days, and the last night the Americans threw up
entrenchments, it was a misty, foggy night, rather wet but not
rainy. Every soldier threw up for himself, as she understood,
and she afterwards saw and went into the entrenchments.
Deponent's said husband was there throwing up
entrenchments, and deponent cooked and carried in beef, and
bread, and coffee (in a gallon pot) to the soldiers in the
entrenchments.

On one occasion when deponent was thus employed carrying

in provisions, she met General Washington, who asked her if
she was not afraid of the cannonballs? She relied, 'No, the
bullets would not cheat the gallows' that It would not do for
the men to fight and starve too.

Deposition of Sarah Mathews Osborn of Albany, New York

For the Pension of Her Husband, Aaron Osborn
National Archives.
Sarah Osborn Benjamin
In the 18th century the average woman knew how to make soap. It was not a safe process. Soap is made by combining two
ingredients. Lye, which during the time period is the chemical potassium hydroxide, and an oil, beef fat turned into tallow
being the most commonly used in the period. Producing both of the ingredients could be a dangerous undertaking.

The Commissary will furnish Fatt & Casks to Each

Regt for the purpose of making Soap The Q Master
will immediately Cause the women belonging to Each
Company & Batt n to attend to this necessary
Business The Troops to manuver regularly
ORDERLY BOOK OF CAPTAIN ROBERT GAMBLE
November 1779
https://archive.org/details/orderlybookofcap00virg
Many laundry practices are only uncovered because they are considered to be inappropriate. Examples of
these are doing laundry in the barracks, dumping water on the parade grounds, scrubbing and rubbing
linens to remove dirt, doing laundry upstream and polluting drinking water in doing so. However burning
down a building probably tops them all. Hydrogen released while making soap in a brass or copper kettle
IN barracks really can come back to bite you. Or maybe it was the tallow being melted and someone silly
throwing some water on it

In 1773 the dangers of soap making are said to have culminated in the destruction of Crown Point. The story
goes that women making soap in the barracks at Crown Point are caused the fire that burned for 3 days,
causing the magazine to explode and ultimately destroying the fort.

In April 1773, a fire destroyed the barracks of the British fort at Crown Point, New York.
A court of inquiry was held to determine the cause, and part of the testimony focused on the
activities of Jane Ross, wife of a soldier in the 26th Regiment of Foot. An officer of the 26th
testified that "it was the common talk" that the fire was caused by a soldier's wife boiling soap,
a chimney fire having started in the fireplace that Mrs. Ross had used to make soap the day
before. Mrs. Ross testified that it was common practice to make soap in the barracks rooms,
that she was not aware of any orders prohibiting this practice, and that the chimney had last
been swept some five weeks prior to the fire.
The Women of the British Army in America by Don N. Hagist
Tallow is made by melting the organ fat of an animal and straining it. This process is
simple but simplicity does not mean that it is safe. Melting a pot of a flammable
substance over a fire can have some very bad consequences. If a flame rises at all from
the coals, the entire pot can light up, causing a very large fire. Keeping a lid on the
kettle helps prevent this from occurring. Removing the lid over the fire is not advisable,
I learned this the hard way. A grease fire can be dealt with by smothering it. However I
have seen even in modern times people react poorly and grab water for a grease fire.
Trying to put out a grease fire with water, no matter the size, results in a very large
fireball. When dealing with a grease fire, smother it or allow it to burn out. In modern
times if you want to make tallow, I advise you to do it outside, or use a crock pot.
The second ingredient is potassium hydroxide. To produce this substance,
you only need hardwood ashes (cherry being the favorite option, oak, because
of its tannens being the worst) and water. This can be produced using a lye
stone, but when on campaign that is impractical, so it is probably made by
boiling ash. The ash is simmered in the water for an extended period of time,
until eventually the ash water becomes lye. Lye is a very caustic substance
and is always dangerous to handle. It can cause severe chemical burns. In the
18th Century I have not seen lye being made in anything other than an iron
kettle. If lye is made in a reactive metal pot, such as copper, brass or tin, some
dangerous things occur. Hydrogen is released when a reactive metal and lye
come in contact with one another. The other issue that comes into play is that
ash based lye also known as potash, KOH or potassium hydroxide will corrode
reactive metals rapidly. Although soap is made in a copper kettle, lye is made
in iron pots. Iron is not reactive, When using an iron pot, the potassium
hydroxide will remove any seasoning the pot may have. In a military setting
any iron kettle could have been used. In civilian life a specific pot called a
potash or lye kettle, made from thick iron, was created for the making of
potash at home. Potash was a cottage industry in the period.

Although iron was used in lye making, a copper kettle seems to be the prefered
pot for the actual process of soap making. Orders stating that soap and
laundry being disallowed in the barracks may have been in part because of the
hydrogen released in this process. Hydrogen is released any time lye and a
reactive metal come in contact with one another. Any time soap is being made
in a copper kettle hydrogen is released until saponification occurs.
Saponification is a word used to describe when fat and lye stop being fat and
lye and start to become soap. When using potassium based lye, which is what
was available in the period, the resulting soap is a soft soap. Its consistency is
either liquid or like jelly combined with dish soap. in order to make hard soap
salt needs to be added.
No matter the orders, military laundry, was done indoors and out.

The Commanding Officer having

observed some women washing in the
Bar-racks, which must be prejudicial both
to the Rooms & the mens health
therefore it is his positive order that the
women find some other place to do that
Dirty work in, the Commanding Officer
being Determined to Drum out of the
Corps such as are Guilty of so shameful
a practice.
Orderly Book
Marine Garrison at Halifax
by the Circle of John Dowman c. 1770s

"he went to the Barrack in Dock Street, to

which the Prisoner belongs; in going into
one of the lower Rooms, he there found the
Prisoner Washing his Shirt..."
trial held in New York in 1779
Don N. Hagist, 22nd Regiment of Foot, appeared
originally in the Brigade Dispatch (XXIV, No. 3, Summer
1993
Much of what we do know about military laundry is because of
information discussing what not to do. In any time period people have to
be reminded...

Dont wash in the drinking water...

Commanding Officers of Corps are not to suffer their Women, on any account, to Wash in the Streams near the
Watering Places
Head Quarters Banker's House Staten Island 2d July 1777
Collections of the New York Historical Society

"Head Quarters, Fredericksburgh, October 24th, '78.

Information has been Given to the Comadent that the wemon of the Breaged still Continues the vile practise of washing
thire Dirty Clothing in the run upon which the soldiers thirst Depend upon for there water they Drink. It behoves both
officers & Men to put a stop to so vile a practise. He orders that when any women is found washing in it, unless below the
Breaged, she be Immedetly put in to the Bregad guard.

Pennsylvania Archives, John B. Linn and William H. Egle, (ed.) 2nd Series, Vol. XI [Harrisburg, 1880] The Orderly Book of the First
Pennsylvania Regiment. Col. James Chambers. July 26, 1778 December 6, 1778.
page 375 376.
Dont Destroy the Fabric by Rubbing It.

VII As it often happens that the women who wash for

Soldiers are not punctually paid by which means are
unable to provide that quantity of soap the must require
and thereby sooner rub it out Pay Serjeants should be
directed to stop for washing from those who are so idle to
neglect a punctual and every week clear off the Women
who by this method can have no excuse for doing justice
to the linen.
Cuthbertson's System for the Complete Interior Management ...
My Mantra is Know Your Stain
A lot of people scrub, and at times there are mentions of it. But in general it is warned against. It breaks
down the fibers and lessens the life of the clothing. This is where I use some of my modern knowledge
mixed with womens guides of the period. I have 5 kids, and I am surrounded by people who hunt. I mix
what I have learned from their laundry with experimental archaeology.

If I get a pair of drill breeches that have blood on them and dirt embedded in the knees... The blood stain
is my priority. A protein stain (like blood) is cooked and set by hot water. In order to remove the blood,
now a days I would soak it in some ammonia water (Windex) and detergent and rinse it in running cold
water. In the period I follow a similar method. I use lant (aged urine), soap and creek rinse method. I
know that rubbing stains spreads them or makes them go in deeper, so if I rub, I do it from the opposite
side. I will clap it some with it turned inside out. This should remove the blood. I repeat this until the blood
stain is gone.

Once the blood is dealt with, It is time to tackle the dirt stain, or worked in filth. Both are removed by hot
water (130 degrees or more) and soap. So pretreat and then put it with the other clothing for a standard
steeping hot wash with soap. Heat kills bugs, cleans set in dirt and oily stains.

"She got up at Gun firing, & felt a pair of Breeches by her Washing Tub".

(W. O. 71/84 p. 317-332, /87 p. 1-9, /88 p. 144-166, /91 p. 55-62). Sarah Serjeant of the 1st Regiment of Guards, - Don N. Hagist
 "The Commanding Officers of Corps
to be answerable that proper People
be sent on Shore at Dartmouth to
superintend the Women & others that
may be left there to wash or for any
other Purpose who are to be
accountable for all Depredations that
may be committed on the Houses or
Estates of the Inhabitants.
Labradore, Saturday 13th Aprill 1776
General Sir William Howe's Orderly Book: At Charlestown,
Boston and Halifax

A Guard is often sent with women doing the laundry. It is not only
for the welfare of the women, but to prevent looting, and ill will
between local people and those attached to the military.
25 July 1781: "This day this Bridge
fell in about 2 o'clock; it was 30 feet
high, of a very singular construction.
A number of soldiers were on or about
it, as well as women under it washing,
yet no one was hurt."

"Diary of the Pennsylvania Line. May 26, 1781 April 25,

1782", Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution, page
677. The foregoing "Diary" includes the journals of both
Captain Joseph McClellan and Lieutenant William
Feltman. Captain McClellan left the army on 13 June 1781.
[i.e., Good's Bridge, Appomattox River, Amelia County,
Virginia]
 Pay and Rations
What women were paid, and whether or not they received it seems to
be based upon the unit they were in.

I have notices that people like broad sweeping answers. However, with
women who followed the army there are very few of those.

Although some laundresses received rations and pay, it was not always
the case. With those following the Continental Army we are not even
sure if it was the usual case. It appears to have differed widely based
on the Army, the unit, and the time period in question.
"she thinks there was
twelve in the Mess to
which she was attached
that she cooked &
Washed for the Mess,
while there, she says that
Capt John Ross said to
her she ought to have
had two Dollars per
Week for what she did
Capt Ross, said to me,
that he would try to get
some out of their Wages
(to wit) the Soldiers and
pay Me but I never
received one penny."
Margaret Johnson
Summer of 1779 indicates that the
washerwomen of each company were
allowed one wood ration

Don N. Hagist
Order books, W. O. 34/242-244, Amherst Papers,
PRO.

Entry dated London, June 5, 1779.

Straw is to be allowed at the rate of

one truss to each paliass for two men,
and to be changed every thirty-two
days. Two trusses per company are
to be allowed for Batmen, or
servants not soldiers; and three
trusses per company or troop, for the
three washerwomen, to be changed
every fifteen days, they not having
paliasses

John Williamson, A Treatise on Military Finance,

London, 1782
"If pay is with-held from us, and
Provisions from our Wives and
Children we must all starve
together; or commit Acts which
may involve us in Ruin" Our Wives
add "could earn their Rations, but
the Soldier - nay the Officer- for
whom they Wash has naught to
pay them" In a word I was obliged
to give Provisions to the extra
Women in these Regiments or loose
by Desertion - perhaps to the
Enemy- some of the oldest and best
Soldiers in the Service"

Newburgh NY, January 1783

The Papers of Robert Morris, 1781-1784:
November 1, 1782 - May 4, 1783
October 7, 1778 the Women to find Soap for
Washing a Shirt Six pence, one pair of stockings two
pence one pair of Breeches five pence a Hunting Shirt
five pence a linen vest and stock five pence, in all two
Shilling; - the men to find soap; for Washing one Shirt
four pence, one pair of stockings one penny, one pair of
breeches or Overhalls, three pence, Hunting Shirt four
pence vest and stock three pence, in all One Shilling and
three pence; a Soldiers pay per Week is Eleven Shill, and
Eight pence; a soldiers pay for washing per week
(providing he has the above articles washed) two per
week, four Shillings - NB. if the women find Soap by
the Above calculation, supposing a woman to wash for
ten men Soldiers brings her 20 shillings per week and
leaves her sufficient time to Earn twice as much more, for
the officers washing; This Regulation to Respect the
Non Commissioned officers and Soldiers only The
Commissioned officers to agree for their washing any
way they chuse

Orderly Book, 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment

Regimental Orders
The loyalist women receiving
rations are to wash for the
non-commissioned officers and
men of the volunteers at four
coppers a shirt and in proportion
for other things.
Haldimand to Lieutenant French, July 14, 1780.
HP 21,821.
Light Infantry Kakeyatte 13th Oct r 1779
Frequent complaints are made to me that notwithstanding there are
three Women who draw Rations in my Company the Men Receive
no benefit by Washing from them for the future to prevent
complaints of this sort and the more equitable distribution of the
business amongst them Sergeant Grymes will immediately divide
the Company into three Squads as may be most agreeable to them
and give each woman a list of those she is obliged to wash for who
will deliver her the soap they draw and pay her the stimulated sic
price except when the soap is not sufficient & she is obliged to
purchase then they must make a reasonable allowance but on no
pretence whatever is she on an average to exceed two Dollars
Dozen the Woman's Just Accounts shall be punctually paid at the
End of every month by the men except she chuses to wait Longer If
any of the Women of my Company are properly convicted of
refusing to comply with this reasonable Order for the first fault her
whole Rations shall be stopt & and for the second she shall be
dismissed with disgrace as a useless charge & Expence to the
Continent

Collections of the Virginia Historical Society, Volume 11

Should any woman refuse to wash for soldiers at the
above rate he must make complaint to the officer
comdg the co to which he belongs, who on finding it
proceeds from laziness or any other improper cause he is
immed to dismiss her from the Regt viz if she
attempts to remain afterwards he must have her
drummd out as the col is determined that no woman shall
draw rations from the Continent
in his regt unless they make use of their endeavors to keep
their men clean."

Captain Patterson president

Orderly Book, 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, October 7, 1778
General Orders

"those who will presume to Charge more than the price

afore mentioned [one half-dollar per dozen articles] will
immediately be ordered out of the Camp & not to be
suffered to return."

1770, Sergeant John O'Neill

The Comding officers of Regts will call for a return of all y Soldiers in their
Corps that have any bounty money now Due them with the names of y officers
such soldier were inlisted by Ye officers of y PL have observed that ye
tradesmen & wash women belonging to y army makes a practice to Charge y
officers & soldiers very extravagent prices for which work they do in Camp
The Com ding officers of Regts unanimously agrees that y following
regulations & stipulated price be observed in future & that no more be given to
any soldier excused from doing Duty and wash women who draw rations than
what have been aforementioned viz Taylors for making a full Regtt Dress coat
20 shillings waist coat & Breeches 10 shillings each for summer wash Cloths 7
& for attention & mending &c all kinds of Cloaths in the same proportion Shoe
makers for making a pair of shoes Dol soling & heeling 2 shillings when
Leather and every material is found them and when they find ye stuff or any
part thereof are to Charge no more than 1st Cost of such articles Wash women
when sope is found them for officers washing Dol pr Day Any wash woman
who will presume to charge more then y price aforementioned will immediately
be ordered out of Camp & not be suffered to return The Adj of each Regt will
take a copy of the above regulations and read them to their Regts RICH
HUMPTON Col PB
Pennsylvania Archives: Pennsylvania in the War of Revolution, battalions and line,
1775-1783, vol. 2
"the following Prices be paid for
Washing; to the Women, who draw
provisions, with their respective Companies;
For a Shirt two Shillings; Woolen
Breeches, Vest and Overalls, two Shillings,
each; Linen Vest, and Breeches, one
Shilling, each; Linen Overalls, one Shilling
and Six Pence each; Stock, Stockings and
Handkerchief, Six Pence each; the Women
who wash for the Companies, will
observes these regulations."

Sketch of West Point 1783

(Library of Congress)
The Laundry Process
in a Military Context
I will be using this image to illustrate
the laundry process.
Laundry Basics in a Military Setting

Most laundry being done in a military context in the 18th Century

is undyed linen. Linen comes from either the flax or hemp plant.
This description of doing laundry covers these items. Other linen
items made for storing things in, as well as clothing made from
cottons and worsted wools being used in small clothes are
laundered as well using similar techniques but different methods,
however they are not discussed here.

Before being rinsed washing consists of soaking, steeping,

soaping and clapping (smacking it). On top of this the linen can be
bleached, blued, starched, and either ironed or rough dried (let
out to dry without ironing). These processes can take several days
depending on how they are done. In a military context any of
these thing may occur, but generally only some do occur.

From the things I have read about laundry being done in a

military context the following is what is possible to do in a
military setting in a single day, with a group of laundresses, under
optimal circumstances. When in a rush and on campaign,
anything can change.
Kettles
To the left and right are depictions of two large
kettles. Because they are in a cluttered area they
are hard to define without zooming in.

Heating water with soap and steeping laundry is the

easiest way to clean linen. These kettles simplify
the job. Constant rotation in smaller kettles make
laundry almost impossible without ruining the
textile by scrubbing or rubbing it to get the stains
out. A kettle and tub can be stacked during
transportation in the wheelbarrow.
Kettles
Kettles are a hotly debated subject among reenacting laundresses. This is my opinion and why I have it.

It is a common article taken from homes when Armys are out foraging. A very large copper or brass kettle weighs
little more than a tub.

I get to lay the entire argument aside, because I am using the image to decide what I do and do not have. The
image on the depicts two large kettles, along with a wheelbarrow. So how am I transporting everything? The
wheelbarrow. Where did I get my kettle, I either brought it from home, or got it on a foraging expedition from
someone in New Jersey.

When I have had access to a wheelbarrow carrying a wooden tub and a large kettle poses little to no difficulty.
With the amount of work that hot water cuts down in the laundry process I would take a kettle large enough for a
dozen shirts over a wooden tub on any excursion.

Otherwise I am stuck with little camp kettles and a ton of hot water rotational work IF those are what is being used
for laundry water, which there is also no record of. So we are going down to the local watercourse and steeping
clothing in scalding water for a couple hours, along with soap and possibly some white ash from firewood we
previously burned to make the water more alkaline.
Resolved by this Assembly , That the committee appointed to procure tin kettles
and iron hollow-ware for the use of the battalions of foot ordered to be raised in this
Colony do like-wise purchase two suitable brass wash-kettles for each of the
companies in the battalions aforesaid, and deliver the same to the
Commissary-General or his deputy, for the use of said Battalions.
COLONY OF CONNECTICUT, From May, 1775, to June, 1776

"3d Regiment (42 officers, 187 rank and file present, fit for duty; 144 rank & file sick, on command, and
on furlough)
73 camp kettles
18 wooden bowls
1 iron pot
1 brass kettle"

From John U. Rees Which supports above Return of QuarterMaster General Stores on hand in the first Connecticut Brigade Commanded by J Huntington
B.G., Camp Highlands, 25 May 1781.
Using other peoples camp kettles that need to be used for food is not a wonderful option for doing
laundry.

Wash Kettles on the Connecticut Document imply strongly that they are intended for laundry use. The
word wash in the time period is used far more often than laundry is for washing clothing. There is little
else one could ask to find to prove wash kettles in a military context exist. It is my favorite recent find,
by Jennifer Heim. I am of the opinion it is what everyone was looking for.

The other brass kettle mentioned does not have any specific use. It very well could be used to do
laundry, or make soap, which is needed for shaving. The iron pot would be a good help in making lye
for the soap.

My other option is no kettle, and just using the local waterway along with soap and a lot of scrubbing,
which would really upset Cuthbertson, who is of the mind that if you hand a woman soap laundry does
not need to be scrubbed. Also the soap would be harder to remove because I would be directly having
to apply it to the clothing, which every womans guide says not to do. Between the two, my entire
civilian laundress side begins to have an absolute meltdown, because I am English in thought with
laundry. So for me the use of soap implies the use of at least warm if not hot water. So, kettles of some
sort are being used. Even if to just heat the water to put in a tub.
The laundress has pulled her clothing from the kettle and is agitating things
that still need a little more work. She probably clapped the linens at the
waterside, either by hand or with a beetle. But since the beetle is not
pictured I am going to say she did it by hand, and did it with a little soapy
water in this very tub, rather than a bench, at the waterside. To clap them by
hand you repeatedly fold them and press down as if you were kneading
dough.

She also may be doing a final rinse, after having rinsed in the creek. Although
initial sweat stains are prevented with an alkaline like soap or lye, the yellow
sweat stains of time are removed by using a light acid. If she rinses the
clothing in vinegar water it will help bleach out some of the yellow stains left
from the laundry being rushed over the last few weeks because of the
campaign. Now and then an old blood stain that was not removed early
enough just takes a little time in the sun after a good rinse to get out the
remainder of it.
In this image I am going to take a leap and say this week this unit is
doing some starching. Starching prevents soil from staining clothing,
also gives items a nice crisp look.

The dog is coming over and taking a good sniff of the substance being
poured out, that makes me pretty sure it is not lye water or vinegar
water. My dog avoids both of those. Starch water on the other hand,
especially when it is clear starch she is interested in. Wheat starch is
most commonly used in the period, although both potato starch and
cornstarch are common in some areas. The higher end starches, such
as starch made from isinglass, gum tragacanth and gum arabic can be
added to the vegetable starch base once it is made into a starch.

Different articles of clothing receive a different amount of starch

depending on what is prefered in the era. When starching shirts one
puts starch on the cuff and collar, and then rolls it into the rest of the
shirt, so that the collar and cuffs are stiffest.
After starching the clothing is hung to dry until only slightly damp. If it is completely dried on the
line it has a different look to it. This type of drying is called rough dried.

Clothing do not have to be starched in order to hang them to dry. Although for bleaching drying on
the green is prefered (drying on grass), the line is optimal in a heavily trafficked environment such
as camp. You will also see clothing being dried over tents when there is nowhere for a line.
It is not uncommon for British civilians to roll their
laundry and allow it to partially dry adding starch
either before or after it is rolled, and then ironing it
dry.

Ironing and storing is the final step in camp laundry.

The woman on the right could have an iron in her
hand from the position she is in. There are other camp
images with women ironing. The woman with the
basket could be storing clothing for the owners to
receive when they return, or in order to bring it to the
owner. Sad irons are the most common iron, they are
just a large iron block with a handle.

The other type of iron is an iron that takes a heated

metal slug it is called a box iron. It is much lighter to
carry around, and much easier to keep heated than
sad irons, but a sad iron is much more common.
Laundry marks identify the
owner of the article of clothing
that must be returned.

all their linen articles should have the name of the owner with the number of the Regiment and Company
he belongs to marked with a mixture of vermilion and nut oil which when perfectly dried can never be
washed out under the flit of the bosom of the shirt will be found the most convenient place
Cuthbertson's System for the Complete Interior Management ...
Jane Garland (of the Marines) being sworn, Deposeth, that she
missed a shirt out of the Tent belonging to John Morris, & that the
shirt is marked with Red Ink I. M. The Shirt Produced above is sworn
by the Deponent to be the shirt she lost.
John Morris (of the Marines) being sworn deposeth that a few days
before the Engagement at Charlestown he gave a shirt to be washed by
Jane Garland & upon demanding it, he was told, that it was lost. That
one day last Week the serjeant sent for him, & produced his Shirt to
him. The Shirt produced in Court being compared to the one the
Deponent is wearing, appears to be marked in the same Manner, and
the Deponent says that it is his properly.

More interesting testimony of army wives, this from the trial of John
Withrington, Marine, Boston, 18 Dec 1775, for robbery [WO 71/82
p229-232]

Posted by Don Hagist November 11, 2016

Images: Things to Keep in Mind

Many of the camp scenes we have are in London. This may be

problematic because in London wash was done differently than
other places. It was a coal based society, the fires let off the
black soot coal is known for. Civilian laundry in London does
what it can to conserve water use. Almost all water is
transported to the laundress by water carriers and not done at
waterside. There are references of laundry being done on the
street or in the house, and people being comfortable with a very
minimal wash compared to other regions in the period. Wash
and rinse are all done in sitting water. The soaps that are used
are of a poor quality because a lack of good ash from hard
wood trees, and importing of ash balls made of fern and peat for
bleaching is not uncommon. These things complicate laundry
being done in London, and in images depicting the regions
surrounding London. However they differ very little from those of
Johnston in Canada.
 Not long after, an army was called forth to go on an
expedition up the East river... In this excursion, among
other plunder, we took a store of molasses, the
hogsheads being rolled out and the heads knocked in, a
soldiers wife went to dip her camp-kettle in a hogshead
of molasses and while she was stooping in order to fill
her kettle, a soldier slipped behind her and threw her into
the hogshead: when she was hauled out, a bystander
threw a parcel of feathers on her, which adhering to the
molasses, made her appear frightful enough. - This little
circumstance afforded us a great deal of amusement.