Hygiene and Cleanliness in Revolutionary War Armies

A Military Encampment in Hyde Park, London
by James Malton after Paul Sandby, c.1780
(Yale Center for British Art)

    In the early days of the American Revolution, the newly-formed Continental Army was faced with innumerable logistical challenges. Clothing, feeding, housing, and training 20,000 men was an extraordinarily daunting task for the Continental leadership, of which few officers had experience with at such a scale. Of all these issues, none became more blatantly clear than the army’s sanitary situation during the Siege of Boston. In November of 1775, Dr. James Thacher commented on the state of the Continental army surrounding the city:

“Our hospitals are considerably crowded with sick soldiers from camp; the prevailing diseases are autumnal fevers and dysenteric complaints, which have proved fatal in a considerable number of instances.”

    Hygiene-related diseases like dysentery had long plagued field armies, especially during siege conditions. Thousands of men were contained in an area dictated by the strategy of the siege, and were subjected to intense labor in less-than-ideal conditions. For this new army that was growing by the day, these issues had the potential to spell disaster if not properly addressed. 

    Continental leadership looked for effective ways to implement the hygienic standards of the day into army life. Many looked to their prior experience in the British Army, which had  recognized the importance of cleanliness and its ability to impact morale and discipline. First published in 1768, Bennett Cuthbertson’s System For The Complete Interior Management and Oeconomy of a Battalion of Infantry provided valuable guidance on maintaining good hygiene in the British Army:

“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 [sic] 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 [sic] dressed in every particular…”

    Such regulations may seem somewhat surprising, given as most standards have vastly evolved over the past 250 years. However, army life has the tendency to magnify hygienic challenges within the discourse of cleanliness, and often sees the rise of robust solutions to counter them. By January of 1776, the Continental Army had implemented new hygienic standards that mirrored that of the British Army. In that month, Sergeant Jonathan Burton of New Hampshire reflected on the army’s revitalized approach to cleanliness in his diary: 

“... there are many Practices in Regular Service highly worthy of Immitation but non more essential than this and Keeping Soldiers clean and neat, the first is Absolutely Nessary for Self Presavation, the other for health and appearance for if a Solder cannot be Induet to take Pride in his Person he Soon Be-comes a Sloven and Indifferent to every thing else whilst we have men therefore who in Every Respect are Superior to Merserny Troops that are Fighting for Two or three Pence a Day onely why cannot we in appearance be Equal to them when we fight for Life Liberty Property and our country.”

    Following the success of the Siege of Boston, the Continental Army continued to adhere to these policies throughout the war. By the time of the army’s encampment at Valley Forge, there were standing orders that dictated daily combing and washing of hair, shaving twice a week, and bathing at every opportunity. The adoption of such hygienic standards was but one example of the Continental Army’s adaptability that improved its overall capabilities as a fighting force during the American Revolution.

References:

Orderly book of Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment (16th Massachusetts Regiment), 1780. 18th Century Material Culture database.

Cuthbertson, Bennett. System for the Complete Interior Management and Oeconomy of a Battalion of Infantry. United Kingdom: Rouths and Nelson, 1776.

Diary and Ordlery Book of Sergeant Jonathan Burton of Wilton, N.H., While in Service in the Army on Winter Hill: December 10,1775 - January 26, 1776. Columbia University Library

Thacher, James. A Military Journal During the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783: Describing Interesting Events and Transactions of this Period; with Numerous Historical Facts and Anecdotes, from the Original Manuscript. To which is Added, an Appendix, Containing Biographical Sketches of Several General Officers. United States: Cottons & Barnard, 1827.