"Shaved, combed, and powdered..." Soldiers' Tonsorial Practices during the War for Independence. by John U. Rees

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1 "Shaved, combed, and powdered..." Soldiers' Tonsorial Practices during the War for Independence by John U. Rees In the pastime of living history much care is taken with uniforming, carrying the correct equipment, and ensuring that those who are need them wear contact lenses or period eyewear. There are several aspects of appearance slightly more sensitive to broach; hair length, beards and mustaches. First, the good news; from several different sources it is evident that both long and short hair were worn in both armies. From reading the pre-war manuals and perusing period portraits the impression is obtained that long hair was the rule and short hair the sometimes seen exception to that rule. Hair Length. Early in the war British commanders may actually have encouraged short hair, for the same reasons that regimental coats and hats were cut down for service in the field, and the open-order two-rank line was adopted for American conditions. Unfortunately, information on this is mixed. Unit orders for the 40th Regiment, 2 June 1777, stated that "Black tape [is] to be provided immediately to tie the Mens Hair," and that "The Mens Hair that is not properly Cut to be done this Day..." Whatever the proper haircut was within the regiment, it was long enough to require a tie.1 British officers often imposed their own views within their regiment, so hair length may have varied from unit to unit. Dr. Benjamin Rush wrote Anthony Wayne in September 1776, "I have this day seen a prisoner belonging to the 23rd regiment taken by our people near New York. I was much pleased with the fashion of his hair. It was cut Short all round by Genl Howe's orders. Count Saxe recommended this fashion in his memoirs. it saves time & trouble & prevents lice. It moreover prevents a Soldier from suffering from rain which often keeps the hair wet for hours Afterwards." Rush then suggested, "Suppose you introduce it in your regiment? If you begin with yourself, every private as well as officer must follow your example." Whether Wayne heeded his advice is unknown, but the following year Dr. Rush published his Directions for Preserving the Health of Soldiers, in which he reiterated these views. "The Hair by being uncombed, is apt to accumulate the perspiration of the head, which by becoming putrid sometimes produces diseases. There are two methods of guarding against this evil, the first is by combing and dressing the hair every day; the second is by wearing it thin and short in the neck. The former is attended with delays often incompatible with the duty of a soldier, and therefore the latter is to be preferred..."2 Some American commanders recommended short hair for their men and occasionally tried to impose some uniformity in hair length. In July 1777 Colonel Samuel Webb informed his regiment that "The Genl. expects that the Troops keep themselves clean & neat, their Hair cut decently short & comb'd..." General Washington made several such efforts late in the war. General orders, 12 August 1782, "Notwithstanding the Troops are verging so near perfection, some small improvements may yet be made: to wear the hair cut or tyed in the same manner throughout a whole corps would still be a very considerable improvement; when it cannot be done in a Regiment, similarity in a company would add much to the beauty of it. In March of the following year he again recommended "Uniformity in the mode of wearing the hair, either cut short or tied in a similar manner in the several regiments or corps should be attended to, so far as the circumstances will admit. Nothing can add more to the elegance of appearance in any body of men than a pointed compliance with this recommendation... at present there is a great difference to be observed among the various corps of the Army."3 For further insights, Charles Royster gives a wonderful overview of hairstyles in the Continental Army as a reflection of popular trends and a symbol of independence and individuality in his book A

2 Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1979, pp ). 1. British Orderly Book [40th Regiment of Foot] April 20, 1777 to August 28, 1777, George Washington Papers, series 6B, vol. 1, reel Benjamin Rush to Anthony Wayne, 29 September 1776, Paul H. Smith, ed., Letters of the Delegates to Congress , (Washington, D.C., 1976), vol. 5, pp Benjamin Rush, Directions for Preserving the Health of Soldiers Recommended to the Consideration of the Officers of the Army of the United States ("Published by Order of the Board of War," Lancaster, Pa., 1777), p General orders, 14 July 1777, Webb's Additional Regiment, Worthington Chauncey Ford, ed., Correspondence and Journals of Samuel Blachley Webb, vol. I (New York, N.Y., 1893), p General orders, 12 August 1782, Orderly Book of Lt. Col. Ebenezer Stout's 2nd Massachusetts Regiment, 7 August - 29 August 1782, Early American Orderly Books, , Collections of the New-York Historical Society, microfilm edition (Woodbridge, N.J., 1977), reel 16, item 161 (henceforth cited as Early American Orderly Books). General orders, 10 March 1783, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington, vol. 26 (Washington. D.C., 1938), pp (henceforth cited as Fitzpatrick, WGW). One of the manuals used by the Continental Army officers gives some of the prevailing ideas concerning the dressing of the men's hair. "A Soldier must never be allowed to wear a wig, if it can possibly be avoided; but when there is an absolute necessity for so doing, it should be made to imitate the regimental form of dressing the hair... and it should be a rule, to take off the wigs from the recruits, whenever the season of the year will admit it, although their hair be ever so short, as it will look more military than a peasant's wig..." This manual also supports the likelihood that soldiers (and perhaps civilians, as well) kept their hair tidy by greasing it, even when it was not powdered. In stating that the men's hair should be kept "loosely platted [plaited]" rather than queued since "A Queue greases the back of the coat,..." (p.???) ('System for the Compleat Interior Management and Oeconomy of a Battalion of Infantry' by Bennett Cuthbertson, Esq., 1768), pp Beards and Shaving First, a personal definition of the 18th century "beard." A beard ranged from several days growth (perhaps less if the individual's whiskers grew quickly) to several weeks or months. While it is certain that both Continental and British soldiers let their beards grow under certain circumstances, it is highly unlikely said beards were neatly trimmed and coifed. The wearing of facial hair by civilians during the 18th century is a complicated subject, and one which can not be addressed in detail here. Suffice it to say that in civil society a clean-shaven face was the accepted norm; even in the poorer classes it seems that men made every effort to shave their beards on a more-or-less regular basis. It has been generally taken as a truism (by those who care to admit it) that the wearing of beards (i.e., whiskers deliberately grown for wear on a long-term basis) and mustaches was not generally accepted in late eighteenth-century Anglo-America and was probably seen as somewhat of an oddity. While no definitive work has been produced on the subject, and perhaps never will be, it was thought that it may be useful to address the subject at least as regards the military. First, several examples of the circumstances under which beards were worn in civil and military life.

3 American Civilian In 1776 or 1777, "Christopher Ludwig [Ludwick], a baker of Philadelphia... being employed... to manage the ovens, he assumed the title of Bakermaster-General of the army, and made a vow never to shave his beard until a fortunate conclusion of the contest." Alexander Graydon, Memoirs of My Own Time (Phila., ), 142. Continental Army, 1777 Captain John Chilton, 3rd Virginia Regt., "26th. [July 1777] 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 enbraced 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, A. Keith Family Papers, , Virginia Historical Society. British Army, 1783 "When the 42nd [Regiment of Foot] left New York for Halifax in 1783 one of its soldiers recorded in his diary: 'Them among us who have grown hair upon the face of our countinence some very much and others a little bit, have been told to get it shaved off good and well for the review which we are preparing for now. Ensign Campbell says that runners [sideburns] will be overlooked but no full-haired faced will be passed. Top lips to be shaved to and all.'" Philip Katcher, Armies of the American Wars (New York, N.Y., 1975), 64. Unfortunately the source for this information was not cited by the author. Shaving, Hair "Ribbands," and Powdered Hair Below is a collection of contemporary orders and narratives relating to beards and hair. Continental Army, 1776 January 1776 excerpt from the Diary of Jabez Fitch, Jr., a Connecticut lieutenant who wrote that "I arose a little after 3 o'clock, attended the alarm post as usual. I then went to Capt. Ripleys barber and got shaved and at 8 o'clock went to the main guard... We marched down to the main guard house where we relieved the old guard." Herbert T. Wade and Robert A. Lively, "This glorious cause...": The Adventures of Two Company Officers in Washington's Army (Princeton, 1958), 43. The following series of orders were issued on the Virginia Peninsula early in the war. General Orders Williamsburg, March 28, "I would recommend it to all young Officers of a Company to view their men warned for Guard and see that their Beards are close shav'd and as clean and decently dressed as their situation will allow."

4 Williamsburg, April 19, "R.O. An Officer of the different Companyes is every day to see the men of their Companyes, warnd for guard, Paraded and marched to the General parade by a Serjant by good time, at the same time he is to examine their arms & accutrements & see they are in good order; Likewise to see that the mens heads are combed, their hatts Cock'd agreeable to former orders, their Bairds shaved Close, their shoes Cleaned, in every respect as neat as their sircumstance will allow." Deep Spring, August 19, Regimental Orders, "No man is to appear on the parade for Guard but as clean as his Circumstances will allow. He should have a clean shirt, shoes, leggings or stockings, hair combed, shirt collar buttoned, wt a stock, Hunting Shirt well put on, hat clean & beard shaved." Charles Campbell, ed., The Orderly Book of That Portion of the American Army Stationed At or Near Williamsburg, Va., Under the Command of General Andrew Lewis From March 18th, 1776 to August 28th, 1776 (Richmond, Va., 1860), 8, 26-27, 78. "Providence 4th April [1776] Genl Greens Orders Colo Hitchcocks & Colo Littles Regt to turn out tomorrow Morning to Escort His Excellency into town to parade at Eight OClock both officers & men to be drest in uniform And None to turn out Except those who are drest uniform And those of the Non Commissd Officer & soldiers that turn out to be Wash'd both face & hands Cleane their Beards shaved of[f] their hair Combd & Powdered & there arms Cleansd..." Orders, 4 April 1776, Orderly Book of Moses Little's Massachusetts Regiment, Early American Orderly Books, , Collections of the New York Historical Society, microfilm edition (Woodbridge, N.J., 1977), reel 2, item 26. Camp at Cadwell's, on Long Island, near New York. Orders for the 4th Pennsylvania Bn. 13 April "The Weekly Officer will see that the men at Roll calling in the Morning have their Hair Tyed - Hands and Face Washed & in every respect appear in a Soldierly Manner." Albany, New York. Lt. Col. Wayne's orders for the 4th Pennsylvania Bn. 16 May 1776: "The three companies belonging to his Battn now here, to appear clean and shaved on the Parade tomorrow morning precisely at 10 o'clock without their arms. From thence to proceed to the place of worship with Drums and fifes, it being the day which the Hon. Congress have ordered observed and kept in Fasting and Prayer." Camp at Isle aux Noix. Colonel Wayne's orders for the 4th Pennsylvania Bn.: 12 June 1776: "The men to be under arms at 9 0'clock... in order to be inspected.... Every noncommissioned soldier who shall come to the Parade dirty, with a long beard or his Breeches knees open shall be mulcted a days Provision for each offence, and do a double tour of duty, for the Col. lays it down for a [torn page] that that soldier who neglects to appear as decent as the nature of his situation will admitt, is unfit for gentlemen's Compy and a coward." "Orderly Book, Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion, Col. Anthony Wayne, 1776.", Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 30 (1906), 94, 214,

5 1777 "26th. [July 1777] 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 enbraced 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, A. Keith Family Papers, , Virginia Historical Society. 8 August 1777, near Germantown, Pennsylvania. "We received orders to hold ourselves in readiness to pass a grand review at 10 A.M., upon which we all got into uniform, with our hair dressed and powdered." "Diary of Lieutenant James McMichael, of the Pennsylvania Line, ", Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. XVI, no. 2 (1892), "Brigade Orders June 9th [1777]... every Soldier for guard to be dress'd neat and Clean & head powdered..." Brigade Orders, August 13, 1777, "... Officers will attend to and Direct their Men to Shave and Shift twice A Week..." "Wilmington 3d Septr 1777 Division Orders... The whole Division to be paraded in the front of the encampment at 4 o'clock precisely, the Officers commanding regts to See their Men Clean, their hair powder'd & green boughs in their hats, the Whole to be Counted of[f] in Divisions properly Officer'd." "Camp Near Newport Sepr 6th Regimental Orders The Commanding officers of Companies are Requested to have their men Clean & hair powder'd to morrow at 2 OClock with their Arms & Accoutrements in good order, fit to bear Inspection by the Commander in Chief..." Joseph Brown Turner, ed., The Journal and Order Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Line (Port Washington, N.Y., 1970), 82, 141, 156, 161. "Boston Oct The Regiment to hold themselves in readiness to embark on Board the Flat bottom Boats to morrow morning at 6. oclock, it is expected that every Non Commissioned Officer & Soldier, will have his Cloathing & Necessaries put up in their Knapsacks this afternoon, together with two days provisions Cook'd, likewise that every soldier shaves himself this afternoon [so] that when he embarks to morrow morng he may appear neat, Clean well powder'd & in a soldier like manner." Numbered Record Books Concerning Military Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement of Accounts, and Supplies in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records (Microfilm Collection) (Washington, D.C., 1971), Record Group 93 (M853), reel 3, vol. 17, Orderly Books,

6 possible belonging to Lt. Col. William Smith of Jackson's Additional Regiment, , 21. December 28, 1777 "The men should comb their hair every day after washing it, cut theyr beard twice a week and alwais when they are upon parade for guards, and take baths when they will have an opportunity to it." Stanley J. Idzerda, ed., Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, , vol. I (Ithaca, 1977), , memorandum on soldiers' dress and appearance "Division Orders. Poramus, December 4th, A.D The Troops To parade to-morrow Morning at 10 o'clock, fresh shaved & well Powdered, arms & accoutrements in the Best Order possible, to appear in the most Soldierly Manner... in Order to Manouveir." "Regimental Orders. Poramus, December 8th, A.D Agreeable to Division orders, the Regts to Parade at three o'clock this afternoon, in the most Soldierly manner Possible, their arms and a Coutrements in the Best order. The Quartermaster will draw flour for the men to Clean their Jacoots [sleeved waistcoats?] & Breches and to Powder their hair." "Division Orders. Newark, Decr 11th, A.D The men are all to wash their Stockings & Clean their arms this evening, & the whole to Parade to-morrow Morning, Precisely at 9 O'Clock, fresh shaved & well Powdered. Any Soldier that appears in a slovenly manner will be Punished. Previous to the Line of March, which will be at 10 O'Clock..." The Orderly Book of the First Pennsylvania Regiment. Col. James Chambers. July 26, December 1778, John B. Linn and William H. Egle, eds., Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd series, vol. XI (Harrisburg, Pa., 1880), Soldiers' Necessaries, 1779 A "Plan for the Cloathing of the [Light] Infantry" submitted in 1779 (probably by General Anthony Wayne) included "A Queue Ribband { to be renewed every six months" as part of "The Small Mounting." The issuing schedule was to be as follows: "The Soldier should receive their Necessaries = At their first Entering the Regiment; Their Uniform = Every New Years Day, And their Small Mounting = at four different Periods in the Year. Ist. Delivery = Jany. Ye 1st 1. A Shirt. = 2. a pair of Stockings. = 3. a Pair of Shoes. = 4. a Queue Ribband

7 IId Delivery = April Ye 1st 1. A Shirt = 2. A Pair of Stockings. = 3. A Pair of Shoes. IIId Delivery = June Ye 1st 1. Huntg. Shirt = 2. A P. of Overalls = 3. A Queue Ribband IVth Delivery = Septr. Ye 1st. 1. A Shirt. = 2. A Pair of Stockings. = 3. A Pair of Shoes" "Plan for the Cloathing of the Infantry", 1779, George Washington Papers, Presidential Papers Microfilm, (Washington, DC, 1961), series 4, reel "It is expected that the men for the daily Guards will appear upon the Grand and other Parades shaved, combed, and powdered and their Cloaths clean as Circumstances will permit." General Orders, 19 August 1780, John Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, vol. 19 (Washington, DC, 1937), "The General notices with great complacency that strict obedience which has been paid... respecting fitting and putting on the Clothing, cocking and decorating the Hats, as well as giving almost every other article a martial and uniform appearance. Notwithstanding the Troops are verging so near perfection, some small improvements may yet be made: to wear the hair cut or tyed in the same manner throughout a whole corps would still be a very considerable improvement; when it cannot be done in a Regiment, similarity in a company would add much to the beauty of it. At general Inspection & reviews, two pounds of flour, and one half pound of render'd tallow per hundred men, may be drawn... for dressing the hair..." New York Hist. Society Order Books Reel 16, No. 161, Orderly Book: Lt. Col. Ebenezer Stout's Second Massachusetts Regt., August 7-August 29, 1782 Newburgh, August 12, Charles Royster gives a wonderful overview of hairstyles in the Continental Army as a reflection of popular trends and a symbol of independence and individuality in his book A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1979, pp ). More on Hair Powder and Powdered Hair Excerpted from John Rees, "'Whilst in this country...': Sullivan's Expedition and the Carolina Campaigns" (published in Food History News) Prospects for a better supply of food did not improve with the appointment of General Horatio Gates as new overall commander in the south. Desperate to retrieve the appalling military situation, Gates decided to advance towards the British army through a region "by nature barren, abounding with sandy plains, and very thinly inhabited." Colonel Otho Holland Williams described the situation in late July

8 and early August 1780: "The distresses of the soldiery daily increased - they were told that the banks of the Pee Dee River were extremely fertile - and so they were; but the preceding crop of corn (the principal article of produce) was exhausted, and the new grain, although luxuriant and fine, was unfit for use. Many of the soldiery, urged by necessity, plucked the green ears and boiled them with the lean beef, which was collected in the woods, [and] made themselves a repast, not unpalatable to be sure, but which was attended with painful effects. Green peaches also were substituted for bread and had similar consequences... It occurred to some that the hair powder which remained in their bags would thicken soup, and it was actually applied." (Hair powder was edible, though probably unappetizing if carried for a long time. In December 1778 orders for the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment noted that "The Quartermaster will draw flour for the men to Clean their Jacoots & Breches and to Powder their hair." In August 1782 Washington gave instructions that "At general Inspection & reviews, two pounds of flour, and one half pound of render'd tallow per hundred men, may be drawn... for dressing the hair...") Dan L. Morrill, Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution (Baltimore, Md., 1993), p. 86 (henceforth cited as Morrill, Southern Campaigns). 64. ibid., p. 88. Regimental orders, 8 December 1778, The Orderly Book of the First Pennsylvania Regiment. Col. James Chambers. July 26, December 6, 1778, John B. Linn and William H. Egle, eds., Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, vol. XI (Harrisburg, Pa., 1880), p General orders, 12 August 1782, Orderly Book of Lt. Col. Ebenezer Stout's 2nd Massachusetts Regiment, 7 August - 29 August 1782, Early American Orderly Books, reel 16, item 161. German Captain Johann Ewald, "I have seen many soldiers of this [Continental] army without shoes, with tattered breeches and uniforms patched with all sorts of colored cloth, without neckband and only the lid of a hat, who marched and stood their guard as proudly as the best uniformed soldier in the world... he keeps his piece clean and shining, and powders his hair as white as possible with provisions flour when on grand parades." Johann Ewald, Diary of the American War: A Hessian Journal, Joseph P. Tustin, ed. (Yale Univ. Press, 1979), 340. Thus, more grist for the mill.

Material Encounters Catalogue The Black Watch Castle and Museum, Perth

Material Encounters Catalogue The Black Watch Castle and Museum, Perth II. Individual Records Department: Collection Type: The Black Watch Castle and Museum, Perth North American Powder Horns Accession number: BWRM.A2361 No. of items: 1 Category Equipment Object name: Powder