"The Great Neglect in provideing Cloathing...

"
Uniform Colors and Clothing in the New Jersey Brigade
from Northern New York, 1776, to the Monmouth Campaign, 1778
Part 2
John U. Rees

A hunting-shirt-clad common soldier of the New Jersey Brigade. The fact he wears overalls
(gaitered trousers) shows him to be a long-term soldier, rather than a nine-month levy. Maxwell's
Brigade was part of Major General Charles Lee's advance force at the Battle of Monmouth (28
June 1778). Lee later ascribed the difficulties he had in handling his forces during the battle to the
fact that "the regiments had no uniforms or distinguishing colours [i.e., flags] ..." (Photograph
courtesy of James Bevans.)
 Contents

1. "The regiments have no uniforms or distinguishing colours:" Uniform Coats

of the New Jersey Brigade during 1778
2. “The following Articles of Cloathing …”: 1778 Nine Months Levies’ Apparel
3. “Only a few light things in the Spring.": Clothing the Jersey Brigade’s Long Term
Soldiers, 1778
Appendix
(Research File) “Short skirted, according to the dress of our soldiery.”: An Overview of
Continental Army Early-War Regimental Coat Design (With contributions by Henry M.
Cooke IV and Matthew Keagle)
1. New England, 1775.
2. Regimental Coats, 1777, and the von Germann Drawings
3. Coats Without Lapels
4. Coat Construction Revisions, 1778 and 1779.
_____________

See also:
For Part 1 of, "The Great Neglect in Provideing Cloathing..."
Uniform Colors and Clothing in the New Jersey Brigade
from Northern New York, 1776, to the Monmouth Campaign, 1778
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Overview of Military Operations, 1776-1778
3 "The Jersey Blues": The New Jersey Battalions, 1755-1776
a. New Jersey Buttons
4. "Never...our proper quantity:" The New Jersey Brigade of 1777
Appendices
A. The Proportion of Men from the Second New Jersey of 1776
Who Reenlisted in the 1777 Regiment
B. 1777 Clothing Returns (Wanting and Issued) for the New Jersey Regiments
C. “The Blues offered again to fight …”: Contemporary and Later Use of the Term “Jersey Blues”
D. “Had on when he went away …”: New Jersey Deserter Advertisements, 1775-1777
E. “A Quantity of Tow Cloth, for the Purpose of making of Indian or Hunting Shirts …”
Proper Terminology: Hunting shirt, Rifle Shirt, Rifle Frock …
F. Related Articles by the Author on the New Jersey Brigade and the 1777-1778 Campaigns
Go to https://www.scribd.com/document/408478638/Part-1-The-Great-Neglect-in-Provideing-
Cloathing-Uniform-Colors-and-Clothing-in-the-New-Jersey-Brigade-from-Northern-New-
York-1776-to-the-Monmo
_______________
 "The regiments have no uniforms or distinguishing colours …"
Uniform Coats and the New Jersey Brigade During 1778

The men of Maxwell's Brigade began the year 1778 in a ragged and ill-clad condition. As
Captain William Gifford of the 3rd Regiment wrote on 12 January from "Camp at Valley Forge:"

We have a large Army in every respect fit... for Action, Tho' some are very bare for Clothes, I
wish with all my heart our State wou'd make better Provision for our Brigade, respecting Clothing
& other necessaries than they do, if they had any Idea of the hardships we have & do undergo,
they Certainly wou'd do more... than they do. I assure you Sir we have had a very severe
Campaign of it, since we came in this State.24

The clothing worn during 1778 presents an interesting change in fortunes for the four New
Jersey regiments. At the year’s beginning the men's clothing was, on the whole, worn out and the
prospect of obtaining replacements somewhat dismal. Contrast this with the state of clothing at
the end of December 1778, when all four regiments were clad in coats, waistcoats and breeches
imported from France, one of the few periods during which the soldiers of the New Jersey
brigade were (except for hats) uniformly attired. No information has been found for the spring,
summer, and fall of the year indicating the existence of a large number of regimental coats, and
much evidence that only light clothing was issued and worn (probably including hunting shirts)
until early December when the imported French clothing reached the brigade.
One of the earliest 1778 mentions of soldiers’ wearing apparel, and the only one mentioning
coats prior to December, is a February 28 roster of clothing and cloth received by the 2nd New
Jersey Regiment. Among the listed items are thirty-one coats and various quantities of material,
including twenty-six and one-quarter yards of brown narrow cloth and twenty-seven and one-half
yards of brown light coating, possibly for making wool coats.25 Another source of enlisted men’s
clothing was mentioned in a March 17 1778 newspaper article:

The following donations were lately received at the hospital in Princeton, viz.; From the Rev. Mr.
Hardenburg's congregation at Raritan, 180 pairs stockings, 62 good shirts, 43 [shirts] in part
worn, 20 pair linen trousers, 5 [pair of linen] breeches, 2 [linen] jackets, 11 shirts, 50 wollen
jackets, 25 pair of [wool] breeches, 17 coats, 4 blankets, 5 pair of shoes ... And from the
Reverend Mr. Chapman's congregation in Newark Mountains, 10 blankets, 19 sheets, 45 shirts, 9
coats, 40 vests, 27 pair breeches, 105 pair of stockings, 2 pair of shoes, 3 surtouts, 3 watchcoats,
15 pair of trousers... [in addition to a variety of cloth and bedclothes.]
The donors of the above, and those who before contributed, and [those] who may contribute in
the same way, are hereby informed, that a proper assortment of all kinds of clothing will be kept
in the hospital [for the] sick and wounded soldiers in general of the Continental army, who shall
be sent to the hospital, and the residue will be distributed to them who are fit for service, paying a
particular attention to the regiments of this state [New Jersey], whether in hospital or camp.26

It is also fair to assume that at least a small proportion of this clothing eventually made its way
to the soldiers of the New Jersey brigade.
In January 1778 Colonel Israel Shreve and Lieutenant Colonel David Brearley (of the 4th
Regiment) left the brigade at Valley Forge and embarked on a special errand. On January 19
Shreve wrote his wife that "tomorrow morning I shall set out for Jersey once more on a
Command for Cloathing for our Brigade ..." The two officers were also to present a memorial to
the Legislature of New Jersey concerning "the want of proper Cloathing, [by which many men]
are rendered unfit for duty." The previously mentioned coats and material probably resulted from
this mission. The two men also purchased material for the New Jersey officers which shed light
on preferred uniform coat colors. A listing of cloth "taken at Salem [New Jersey] for the use of
the four Jersey Regts," contains a note by Israel Shreve stating that "2 1/4 yds Scarlet Broad
cloath" and "3 1/2 yds blue" broad cloth was "kept for My Self and Lt. [John] Shreves," his son.
This material was likely used to make a blue regimental coat with red facings, perhaps the same
one the colonel alluded to when he noted the disbursement of monies in late January for
"Makeing a uneform Coat."27

This 1782 image of a Continental officer shows the clothing aspired to by the officers of the New
Jersey brigade in 1778. In actuality, officers’ clothing even within a single regiment was often a
hodge-podge, with the previous year’s regimental clothing being worn on campaign and for
workaday duties. General Washington was moved to write in November 1780, “It has a very odd
appearance … to see the same corps of officers each differing from the other in fashion of the
facings sleeves and pockets of their coats.” “Encampment of the Revolutionary Army on the
Hudson River” (painting of West Point and dependencies, August 1782), detail of part of a group of
Continental soldiers, Pierre Charles L'Enfant (artist), Library of Congress (Prints and
Photographs Division Washington, D.C.), DRWG 1 - L'Enfant, no. 1,
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004678934/.
 Another more comprehensive document lists "Clothing purchased by Colo. I Shreve and D.
Brialy [Brearly] for the New Jersey Brigade." Among the assorted wools and linens of various
colors and quality are twenty-five and three-quarters yards of blue nap (possibly of coat material
quality), two and one-quarter yards of blue serge, twelve yards of blue broadcloth, and two and
one-quarter yards of blue coating. In addition, there is listed one and one-quarter yards of scarlet
serge, four and one-quarter yards of scarlet broadcloth, four and five-eighths yards of scarlet
coating and fourteen and one-quarter yards of red nap. Various other shades of red (claret and
blossom colored) as well as some gray and brown wool are included in minor quantities. This is
a relatively small quantity of cloth and may have been intended for the making regimental
officers’ uniform coats.28 Another interesting document denotes materials issued to specific 2nd
New Jersey officers; this list seems to indicate clothing colors preferred by the surgeon and
paymaster, as well as showing the miscellaneous colors and varying shades the other officers
received. Appended is "An Account [of] Cloth Trimmings etc. Delivered out of the Cloths etc.
purchased at Salem for the use of the Jersey Brigade February 1778:"

To Colo. Shreve & Lt. Shreve

2 1/4 yds Scarlet Broad Cloth
3 1/2 yds Blue Do.
4 yds Blue Shalloon
7 yds Brown Durant
to Doctor Lewis Howell
3 1/2 yds Black Broad Cloth
4 3/4 yds Black lining
to John Peck Pay Master
2 1/2 yds Dark Brown Broad Cloth
1 1/2 yds Brown Lining
to Benajah Osmun, Q Master
2 1/2 yds Scarlet Coating
1/2 yd & 1/2 Quarter black Broad Cloth
3 yds Shalloon
1 1/2 yd White Flannel
Capt. Bowen
2 yds black B. Cloth
1/4 Scarlet Do.
3 yds Black Lining
to Lt. Derrick Lane
1 3/4 yard Blue Broad Cloth
1 1/2 yds Claret Do.
1 1/2 yds Red Shalloon
2 yd Brown Durant
1/4 yd Scarlet Cloth
1/4 yd Black Broad Cloth 29

Besides mentioning the surgeon being issued black cloth and brown cloth for the paymaster,
an attempt seems to have been afoot to clothe the field and company grade officers in coats of
blue cloth with red facings (or several shades thereof). Brigadier General Maxwell himself was
described in September 1778 as wearing "an old thread-bare blue coat, and a still shabbier hat. In
England, one would take him for an invalided corporal of Artillery." At this time a corporal of
the Royal Artillery would have worn a "dark blue coat which had a scarlet collar, cuffs and
lapels, all of them edged with gold lace." Other details included red cloth lining, plain brass
buttons, gold shoulder epaulettes, and, to top it all, a cocked hat with yellow bindings.30 Since
they had to purchase their own clothing, the officers’ uniforms were problematical at best. Even
continuing into the war’s latter years, there was still no standardization of officers’ apparel
within regiments. A November 1780 army order stated:

As nothing adds more to the beauty and appearance of a Corps than exact uniformity of dress; the
General [Washington] recommends it thus early to the Field officers newly arranged to fix upon a
fashion for the regimental clothing of the officers of their respective corps (if it is not already
done) confining themselves to the ground, facings, linings and buttons already assigned to the
states to which they belong: The General sees with concern the difficulties which the officers
labor under in procuring clothes; it is not therefore his wish that those who are already furnished
should run themselves to the expence of new uniforms if their old are not exactly conformable,
but that they should in future comply strictly with the regimental fashion, and if possible get their
old clothes altered to it. It has a very odd appearance especially to Foreigners to see the same
corps of officers each differing from the other in fashion of the facings sleeves and pockets of
their coats.31

“The following Articles of Cloathing …”

1778 Nine Months Levies’ Apparel

Beginning in May 1778, New Jersey Continental regiments began receiving nine-months men
drafted from the militia; the addition of these men also had an effect on the appearance of the
brigade. The act authorizing these short-term soldiers was passed by the New Jersey General
Assembly on April 3 1778. The success of this program was such that the strength of the four
Jersey regiments was raised considerably, though reaching the optimum complement for the
brigade (2,932 officers and men according the 1778 table of organization) still remained elusive.
As close as can be determined, out of 1,690 non-commissioned officers and rank and file, 670
were nine-months levies, amounting to almost forty percent of the whole. The result of this
success was that the Jersey Brigade that summer, and through year’s end, comprised a large
number of more or less inexperienced soldiers, many of whom needed to be supplied with
clothing and accoutrements.32
The legislation enacting the nine-month draft included measures to clothe the new men. The
provisions were as follows:

... for the Encouragement of fit, able and effective Persons to enter voluntarily into the Service of
their Country ... every such Person ... shall receive, on his being mustered and approved ... Forty
Dollars, together with the following Articles of Cloathing, that is to say, a Blanket, a Hunting
Frock, a Pair of Cloth [likely wool] Breeches, a Hat, a Shirt, a Pair of Stockings and a Pair of
Shoes ... if any Person, enlisted or detached ... shall supply himself with the Clothes herein
allowed, or any Part of them, he shall he entitled to the current Price of each Article so found ...33

Extant returns, receipts, and other documents verify the manufacture and purchase of the
above-listed items. Included are numbers of hunting shirts and wool breeches, as well as the
wool and linen needed to make such apparel. There are also several items of clothing not listed in
the state-stipulated allotment, but which were still manufactured and issued to the new levies. At
least a small number of trousers were made up and twenty-four yards of "Coating" and "four
Blankett[s] for Lining and facing" were purchased, despite the fact the short-term men were to be
issued with hunting shirts, not coats.34
In addition to state-issued clothing, some levies chose to supply their own and "Rec[eive]d the
value of their Summer Cloathing" in currency. Most men who used their own apparel received
the full value of the clothing allotment (the cost of which ranged from a high of fifteen pounds to
a low of approximately fourteen pounds, depending on the county). A few levies were given
smaller amounts, an indication that a portion of the clothing they wore while serving was issued
to them. A series of listings of Jersey brigade nine-months men who received the "Value of
[their] Clothing," shows that twenty-one men were given fifteen pounds, twenty received
fourteen pounds, ten shillings and six pence, one man received thirteen pounds, thirteen shillings
and nine pence, three men were given nine pounds, and one man was given six pounds, sixteen
shillings and nine pence. These documents also show that at least ninety of the short-term men,
from four counties, wore their own clothing during their nine-months enlistment, amounting to
13.45 percent of the total number of levies serving in the four New Jersey regiments. Since
available records give an incomplete picture of clothing bounties paid the new men, this
percentage must have been higher; at a reasonable estimate, perhaps as much as twenty-five
percent of the total number of levies who volunteered or were drafted (approximately 170 men)
wore their own clothing into service.35

Numbers of Levies Known to Have Received a Clothing Bounty

Men Known to
Men Who
Have Served
Received a Bounty
County of Origin From the County

Salem 44 25 (57%)
Hunterdon 86 25 (29%)
Sussex 30 15 (30%)
Middlesex 61 25 (41%)
(The counties of origin are known for 450 levies.)

Levies Known to
Estimate of the
Have
Total Number
Received a
of Levies Who
Total Number of Clothing
Received the Bounty
Levies Who Served Bounty

670 90 (13.45%) 25% (168 men)

At least ninety nine-months levies are known to have worn their own clothing and equipment
during their 1778 term of service. If civilian coats were accepted for use by the new levies, then at
least some serving with Maxwell's Brigade wore clothing similar to that illustrated here.
Illustration by Donna Neary, from Marko Zlatich, New England Soldiers of the American
Revolution (Santa Barbara, CA, 1993). Reprinted courtesy of Bellerophon Books.

The specific kinds of personally supplied clothing some new men wore is open to conjecture.
Although the 1778 draft legislation stipulated that any new levy could "supply himself with the
Clothes herein allowed, or any Part of them" (including a hunting shirt and breeches), the
availability and widespread use of hunting shirts by large numbers of New Jersey militia is not
certainly known. The only mention of the state’s militia wearing that garment concerned only
that portion designated to serve as "minute-men" in 1775. In August of that year, approximately
one-quarter of the militia were to be embodied in this capacity; a resolution dated August 31
directed that "for the sake of distinction and convenience [these men are] to adopt as their
uniform hunting frocks, as near as may be similar to those of the riflemen now in the continental
service." Whether this directive was ever effected is not known, but all other militia legislation
and regulations during the war’s first four years only specified the proper equipment, leaving
these civilian-soldiers to acquire both the clothing and proper accoutrements on their own. The
lack of militia uniformity resulting from the absence of a central source of supply was probably
carried over to some degree during the nine-month levy’s Continental service. Because of the
need to arm, equip, and clothe the new men as quickly as possible, it is probable that coats other
than hunting shirts was accepted for use. Alternatives would have included any serviceable coats
of civilian manufacture (such as linen common frocks or over shirts, line or wool sleeved jackets,
and other coats of varying patterns) typical of those worn by most militia soldiers during the
war.36

“Only a few light things in the Spring."

Clothing the Jersey Brigade’s Long-Term Soldiers, 1778

In stark contrast to the New Jersey levies’ clothing, information concerning coats and other
apparel worn by the long-term soldiers during the same period is sorely lacking. As previously
noted, extant records show that only thirty-one coats can be verified to have been issued to the
New Jersey regiments during the first half of 1778. A note written in late May or early June by
Captain Jonathan Phillips of the 2nd Regiment, states that "I have got 200 Vests and as many
Breeches the C[l]oather has Linning for twenty Shirts & as Soon as they Can be maid [they]
Shall Be Sent by the first oppurtinity." This gives an idea of the wearing apparel issued in at least
one of the New Jersey regiments. In addition to this clothing, small quantities of wool and linen
were purchased, though a proportion of these materials were intended for officers’ clothing
rather than enlisted men. Even the brigade’s officers were not exempt from using well-worn
clothing, as evidenced by Colonel Shreve's request to his wife on January 15 to "hurry the taylor
about my Coat as I want it much."37 In view of this statement, and taking into account the rigors
of the 1777 campaign, the common soldiers’ 1777 regimental coats issued, some of which may
have been received as early as February that year, could hardly have survived into the spring and
summer of 1778. With these factors in mind, along with others examined below, it is probable
the New Jersey long-term soldiers, as with numbers of new levies, were issued hunting shirts.
The likelihood of large numbers of hunting shirts in the Jersey brigade during the Monmouth
Campaign is further supported by the nature of the garment itself, as well as by a known warm-
weather preference for that apparel. When compared with regimental coats of wool dyed in the
proper colors, line for hunting shirts was less expensive and more easily obtained, and their loose
fit required a minimum of tailoring, ensuring faster delivery. Because of these attributes, they
were struck upon as an alternative to wool coats as early as 1775. Writing on July 10 of that year,
General Washington noted,

I find the Army in general and particularly the Troops raised in Massachusetts Bay very diffident
in necessary Clothing: Upon Inquiry it appears there is no Probability of Obtaining any supplies
in this Quarter; upon the best consideration of this matter... I am of [the] Opinion that a number of
hunting Shirts, not less than 10,000, would in a great Degree remove the difficulty in the cheapest
and quickest manner.38

A month later, he described hunting shirts made of "Tow Cloth... as a Species of Uniform both
cheap and convenient," and informed the army that he had "hopes of prevailing with the
Continental Congress, to give each Man a hunting shirt." While the commander in chief was
disappointed in his hopes of clothing the army with that garment in 1775, in May 1776 he again
recommended that "those Corps which are not already supplied with Uniforms ... provide
hunting Shirts for their men."39 That summer of 1776 Washington reiterated his reasons for
issuing hunting shirts and emphasized the attributes of the garment as he saw them:
 The General being sensible of the difficulty, and expence of providing Cloaths, of almost every
kind, for the Troops, feels an unwillingness to recommend, much more to order, any kind of
Uniform, but as it is absolutely necessary that men should have Cloaths and appear decent and
tight, he earnestly encourages the use of Hunting Shirts, with long breeches, made of the same
Cloth, Gaiter fashion about the Legs [overalls, also known as gaitered trousers], to all those yet
unprovided. No Dress can be made cheaper, nor more convenient, as the Wearer may be cool in
warm weather, and warm in cool weather by putting on under Cloaths which will not change the
outward dress, Winter or Summer — Besides which it is a dress justly supposed to carry no small
terror to the enemy, who think every such person a complete Marksman.40

Other missives speak of hunting shirts suitability as warm weather wear. In June 1777,
General Washington noted that, "Hunting Shirts and over alls will... be more comfortable at this
Season than Uniform..."41 A preference for that garment in the warm months was emphasized in
the latter half of 1778 and again in 1779. After his regiment received its portion of a shipment of
imported French clothing, Colonel Moses Hazen wrote in December 1778:

...as I wish to Take every Measure and all Possible care in preserving the uniform Cloathing, I
would beg to propose a linen Coat, or hunting shirt, and some overalls for the Spring - That the
uniform Cloathing may be Pack'd up and Laid by During the hot weather in Summer and for this
purpose I would beg your Excellency will please to order a sufficient Quantity of Coarse Linen
from [the] Public Store at Boston to be made up by our own Taylors in Camp During the winter.42

In the spring and summer of 1779 preparations were being made for an expedition under
Major General John Sullivan against the Iroquois in Pennsylvania and New York, and sufficient
suitable clothing had to be found for approximately 3,500 soldiers. Referred to in some letters
and returns as "Summer Cloathing" or "Light Cloathing," the preferred apparel consisted chiefly
of hunting shirts and overalls. Although it seems a full supply of such clothing did not reach the
troops, according to the Board of War at least 2,000 hunting shirts were forwarded to the army
under General Sullivan in time for the campaign. Thus, Brigadier General Maxwell's statement
that the New Jersey Brigade had been given "only a few light things in the Spring [of 1778],"
could have been a reference to hunting shirts being issued to the troops.43
A hunting-shirt-clad common soldier of the New Jersey Brigade in 1778. Clothing was not
standardized during much of the year and this image could portray a soldier enlisted for the war or
a nine-months levy. Maxwell's Brigade was part of Major General Charles Lee's advance force at
the Battle of Monmouth (28 June 1778). Lee later ascribed the difficulties he had in handling his
forces during the battle to the fact that "the regiments had no uniforms or distinguishing colours
[i.e., flags] ..." (Photograph courtesy of Matthew Skic.)
 It seems the nine-months men were in general better clothed than those soldiers enlisted for
three years or the war. Colonel Israel Shreve’s repeated requests for new shirts for his regiment
support this contention.44 On May 29 1778 letter Shreve wrote Washington,

I am very sorry to trouble your Excy with matters the State of Jersey Ought to atend to. The Great
Neglect in provideing Cloathing for our Brigade has been such that our troops suffer Greatly on
this Account. I have not been Able to Draw one Shirt for my Regt. since I have been in Jersey
[Shreve's regiment had been posted in New Jersey since the latter half of March 1778]. A Number
of my men has none at all. To see Good men in this situation Distresses me Greatly. The Counties
are provideing for the New Rais'd Leavys while the old soldiers Inlisted for the war Are Quite
Neglected. If any such things are in the Cloathier Gen. store, it would Oblige us to Obtain an
order from your Excy. for at least one apeice which will be about 600 for both Regts. [i.e., the 1st
and 2nd New Jersey] or a Less Number if so many Can't be had.45

The question as to whether the good colonel's account of neglect extended to the number, type,
and quality of the other clothing is food for thought. Another letter reiterates the contention that
the New Jersey troops were ill supplied. On July 3 1778, New Jersey Governor William
Livingston wrote the New Jersey delegation in Congress,

The distressed Condition of our Brigade for want of Clothing induces us to desire you will use
your utmost endeavours on this Occasion. We have been informed that General Arnoldv... has
collected a very considerable quantity of Cloths & Linnen in the City of Philadelphia. This being
doubtless the common supply of the Troops from the several States ... What we wish is, that the
Quantity which will be our Proportion, might be sent us in the Materials, as we can have them
immediately made up, & forwarded to the Brigade much sooner in all probability than the
Clothier General ... There are Persons now in the Employ of the State, who will forthwith set to
work in making up the Cloths.46

It is doubtful this request saw fruition, as on October 27, three-and-half months later, General
Maxwell noted the New Jersey soldiers still "have had nothing this summer only a few light
things in the Spring." On November 25, Governor Livingston was still obliged able to write that
"The New Jersey Troops ... are in a deplorable Condition respecting their Cloathing."47
A final series of references provides an inkling of the general appearance of at least a part of
Washington's army in summer 1778. At his July 1778 court martial, Major General Charles Lee
offered various reasons for his difficulty controlling and maneuvering the units under his
command, the chief of which was that "the regiments have no uniforms or distinguishing colours
[i.e. flags] ..." There are two other accounts that seem to point out the singularity of a unit with
uniform regimental coats. While Colonel Henry Jackson's Regiment was in the process of
retreating from a position exposed to enemy artillery fire, "General Lee rode up to the regiment
and spoke in these words: This blue regiment must form behind this fence ..." A short time later
at Jackson’s court of inquiry, another officer gave his version of the same incident: "I found we
[Jackson's Regiment] were retiring — Then I look'd round & saw Genl. Lee on Horseback and
Col. Jackson at a considerable distance ... Genl. Lee immediately halloo's where is that damned
blue Regiment going ..." These tandem remarks may indicate that Jackson’s was one of the few
units with a standardized regimental coat, and in sufficient numbers to clothe most of the men.
On the other hand, it may also mean that other uniformed regiments present wore coats of brown
(the other color predominant at the time), or another hue, and that Jackson's Regiment was the
only one wearing blue coats during this part of the action. Of course, the troops of some corps
took of their coats due to the hot weather, giving a third possible basis for the remark.48
Barring the possible issuance of small numbers of apparel such as waistcoats, breeches, and
perhaps overalls and trousers, the New Jersey brigade’s clothing supply did not improve until
early December 1778. A return evidently made sometime that fall gave the "State of the Clothing
for the New Jersey Brigade" and showed that, as regards coats, there were only 244 "Made up,
and now on hand" and 240 for which the "Materials for making up [are] paid for." This left 916
coats "Still wanted supposing there to be 600, old, and 800, 9 Months Troops."49

A State of the Clothing for the New Jersey Brigade Sundry Articles of
Clothing
[This document is undated, but probably was made in the autumn of
1778, as evidenced by the reference to nine-months levies and the
expected need for new and warmer clothing with the onset of cold
weather.]
Made up, Still wanted supposing
and Materials for there to be 600,
now on making up paid old, and 800, 9 Months
hand for Troops

Coats 244 240 916

Vests 863
Breec[hes] 388 350
Shirts 220 535 1245
Hose 926 1074
Shoes 90 1310
Hats 218 540
[Additional notes stated the cost for the needed items. Under this
category the making of 540 hats is mentioned but no mention made of
bindings for the hats. Also listed is the costs for "Facings, Thread &c
for 916 Coats" and "Thread and Buttons for 1832 Shirts." A postscript
notes that "Blankets [are wanted] for the Whole ..."]

By the end of the year, the New Jersey brigade’s fortunes took an upturn. In September 1778,
a shipment of about 20,000 French-made uniforms arrived in Boston and, shortly thereafter,
General Washington was informed "the Cloathing is of fine Quality, quite fresh and in good
Order free from Moth or damage the Coats consists of only two sorts blue turned up with red and
brown turned up with red the Waistcoats and Breeches are all white." Given coats in two color
schemes, a lottery was held to determine which coat colors each state’s Continental contingent
would receive. As a result, the New Jersey regiments were issued French coats of blue coats with
red facings. Although a detachment of Jersey troops was sent on 27 October, "for the Cloathing
belonging to the New Jersey Brigade," it was not until after the December 1st that the new
supplies were received. The change must have been striking, as Colonel Shreve wrote on the 4th
of the month that "General Washington ... Last Evening Reviewed our Brigade, who made a
Good appearance being all Compleatly Cloathed in uniform." This, despite that the men’s hats
were old and likely battered, and footwear may have been lacking, or at the very least in varying
stages of decrepitude. Unfortunately, contrary to the legislation passed in April authorizing the
nine-month draft, most of the levies did not receive the new, warmer clothing which had been
promised, although they would continue to serve until late February or March 1779. The law had
stipulated that the recruits would receive "on the first Day of October next [1778], if not sooner
discharged, a regimental Coat, a Shirt, a Pair of Stockings and a Pair of Shoes." Disregarding
this, General Washington himself wrote on 27 October that "the drafts are not intitled to the new
cloathing," leaving these men lacking in proper wearing apparel for the remainder of their term
of enlistment unless they were lucky enough to be issued any coats made up prior to the arrival
of the imported clothing.50
On the whole, the specific type of any uniform clothing worn by the New Jersey regiments for
the greater part of 1778 is open to some speculation. Though the number of regimental coats
issued to the common soldiers during the first eleven months of the year would have been few at
best, it does seem that a uniform coat color had gained some acceptance in the brigade. This
assertion is borne out by the fact that at least two Jersey officers wore blue and red coats during
1778 and a number of others had obtained cloth suitable for coats of a similar color. It is also
known that significant numbers of nine-month levies (who made up forty percent of the brigade)
were issued hunting shirts to wear which would have given them a more or less uniform
appearance. Unknown numbers of these recruits wore their own clothing into service; these may
have consisted of a mix of hunting shirts, common frocks and various types of other serviceable
coats of civilian manufacture. Finally, while an unknown number of regimental coats, and
possibly sleeved waistcoats, may have been made for the brigade’s long-term soldiers from
materials purchased for that purpose, the number could not have been great. It is more likely that
those men enlisted for the war who served during 1778 were issued hunting shirts and continued
to wear them until they received the imported French clothing that December.
______________

The illustrations contained in this piece were reproduced with the permission of Peter F.
Copeland, George C. Neumann, and Bellerophon Books of Santa Barbara, California. There
are a number of people whose encouragement and assistance contributed greatly to the
writing of this article. Fellow James Kochan, as always, is an invaluable source of
information as well as a good friend. Peter Copeland has been supportive of my various efforts
and was kind enough to supply an unpublished drawing for use with this work. Ronald
Beifuss and Larry Schmidt brought to my attention important documents pertaining to the
early war clothing of the Jersey troops. Donald Londahl-Smidt assisted me greatly with a
careful reading of the narrative, and in bringing my system of notations into the latter half of
the 20th century. And, finally, my thanks to Garry W. Stone of Monmouth Battlefield State
Park for providing the interest and impetus I needed to transform a mass of material on
clothing into the present, hopefully coherent, format.
 Appendix

(Research File)
“Short skirted, according to the dress of our soldiery.”
An Overview of Continental Army Early-War Regimental Coat Design
(With contributions by Henry M. Cooke IV and Matthew Keagle)
(Note: Input is very much welcome from anyone with research on this subject they wish to share.)

The term “Continental Army uniform coats” may be considered an oxymoron considering the
general non-uniformity of clothing for the period 1775 to 1779 and, indeed, only sporadic
uniformity attained in the years after. Still, a look at what we do know is in order, as there does
seem to be certain general guidelines and perhaps some state proclivities.
New England, 1775. From the inception of the 1775 Massachusetts Grand Army/proto-
Continental Army, European-style wool regimental coats were the hoped-for garment. Gen.
George Washington first suggested hunting shirts as a practical alternative but supplies of
suitable linen were insufficient.
_________

George Washington to Continental Congress, July 10, 1775

Camp at Cambridge, July 10, 1775.
… I find the Army in general and particularly the Troops raised in Massachusetts Bay very
difficient in necessary Clothing: Upon Inquiry it appears there is no Probability of Obtaining any
supplies in this Quarter; upon the best consideration of this matter, I am able to form, I am of
Opinion that a number of hunting Shirts, not less than 10,000, would in a great Degree remove
the difficulty in the cheapest and quickest manner. I know nothing so trivial in a speculative
View, that in Practice would have a happy Tendency to unite the men and abolish those
Provincial distinctions which lead to Jealousy and Dissatisfaction. …

George Washington to Continental Congress, September 21, 1775

The Season advances so fast, that I have given Orders to pre pare Barracks and other
Accomodations for the Winter. The great Scarcity of Tow Cloth in this Country, I fear, will
totally disappoint us in our expectations of procuring Hunting Shirts. Govr. Cooke informs me,
few or none to be had in Rhode Island, and Govt. Trumbull gives me little Encouragement to
expect many from Connecticut.
_________

At the same time, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress had already set in train the
production of what came to known as “Bounty Coats.” These were short straight-buttoned coats
meant to provide sturdy, warm, uniform clothing for the 1775 Massachusetts troops. All these
coats were of a single color, based on master wool swatches that was sent to each town in
Massachusetts and the Maine District. Historian and tailor Henry Cooke examined one extant
swatch and described the color as between Fawn (Pantone #16-1510) and Tobacco Brown
(Pantone #17-1327).

(For more detailed information see, Henry M. Cooke IV, “The Massachusetts Bounty Coat of
1775,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVIII, no. 3 (Autumn 1998), 2-10.
https://www.academia.edu/36402048/Henry_M._Cooke_IV_The_Massachusetts_Bounty_C
oat_of_1775_The_Brigade_Dispatch_vol._XXVIII_no._3_Autumn_1998_2-10
Based on the design of a linen workman’s jacket, circa 1780, in the Collections of the Connecticut
Historical Society. Drawing by Henry M. Cooke IV.; Mr. Cooke includes a drawing of the original
workman’s coat in his article, “The Massachusetts Bounty Coat of 1775,” The Brigade Dispatch,
vol. XXVIII, no. 3 (Autumn 1998), 2-10.
https://www.academia.edu/36402048/Henry_M._Cooke_IV_The_Massachusetts_Bounty_Coat_of_1
775_The_Brigade_Dispatch_vol._XXVIII_no._3_Autumn_1998_2-10
 Pantone #16-1510
Fawn
Pantone #17-1327
Tobacco Brown
______________________________________

Clothier General James Mease to General George Washington:

“Philadelphia July 22 1777 … with respect to the clothing I am sure there is little if any
complaint. I have directed them to be made of three different sizes but in general so little
pain is taken by the officers to fit the Men that I have often seen a large hanging like a sack
on a little fellow, whilst you see at [the] same time a lusty fellow squezed into a small one.
When ever the Clothes are distributed with proper attention the men are unexceptionally
fitted.” (George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence)

The von Germann Drawings and Regimental Coats, 1777. We start this section with Matthew
Keagle’s discussion of 1777-1778 Connecticut uniform coats, and general attributes of
regimental coats of that period. (Matthew Keagle, “The Regimental Coat of the 4th Connecticut
Regiment, 1777-1778” https://www.scribd.com/doc/270642133/Matt-Keagle-The-Regimental-Coat-
of-the-4th-Connecticut-Regiment-Guidelines?secret_password=GLx66vu3DQvljLCwPaC6 )

The basic cut of the coat was probably very much like that of a contemporary British regimental,
with full lapels, collar, etc. The length of the coat, though, may have varied. Congress’
instructions to commissioners to France to obtain uniforms urged that they get ones similar to
those in use already. One feature they desired was that the coats be, “short skirted, according to
the dress of our soldiery.” Thus this reconstruction will feature short skirts.
Short skirts are also apparent on the uniform depicted on an American soldier drawn by a
German participant in the Burgoyne expedition in 1777. While the soldier may represent an
enlisted man of the 7th or 12th Massachusetts regiments, it nevertheless depicts a New England
soldier in 1777 or 1778. Massachusetts and Connecticut had considerable ties in the period with
both states purchasing cloth and clothing from one another. Many of the details then for the 4th
Connecticut uniform are taken from this image of a Massachusetts’ soldier.
Among these features is the short length, mentioned earlier. Another interesting feature is the
pointed cuff. While this seems unusual it is interesting to note that a similar cuff appears on a
 coat worn by a Connecticut militia general in 1778. Jabez Huntington was painted by John
Trumbull in 1778 and appears wearing a pseudo-military uniform. He has on a pair of leather
breeches, high boots, and a short white belted waistcoat, very similar to that depicted on the
soldier by von Germann, and also those worn by American soldiers drawn by a French officer at
Yorktown in 1781. His coat extends perhaps to the middle of thigh, and is presumably made of a
grey wool, lined with a white material. While his coat is not faced like a military coat, and its
buttons have a floral pattern, the cuffs are nevertheless pointed like those depicted on both the
officer and soldier in Von Germann’s illustrations. This leads us to adopt the pointed cuff for this
regimental coat as well. Additionally other portraits of Continental officers depict a pointed cuff
as well.
The uniforms provided to the men in 1778 were described by both Brigadier General Jedediah
Huntington and Washington being of poor quality and made of, “very ordinary unsuitable Cloath
& almost all without Lining...” There is little to suggest that the clothing of 1777 was of
exemplary make and we have chosen to half line the coats. They will be lined solely in the skirts
and faced along the front in red serge or bays]. The coats worn in the Von Germann images both
have linings made to match the facings rather than a different colour, such as white, worn by the
British, and later Continentals.
The spirit of economy is represented in these coats and therefore the lapels and cuffs are sewn
down and non-functional. The collar is functional although it will be made of a single layer of
cloth, as was done on a surviving British coat from the period. The buttons will be plain white
metal. The first instance of buttons with some kind of design are USA buttons in November of
1778, on the clothing from Bigelow. Before that no designs are known to have been issued, and
few, if any, regimental buttons are known to exist from Connecticut at all.

Capt. Friedrich von Germann of the Hesse-Hanau Regiment Erbprinz served with Lt. Gen.
John Burgoyne’s forces in the 1777 Saratoga campaign. At some point in his ensuing captivity
(perhaps 1778) von Germann executed a series of drawings portraying soldiers of various
regiments involved in the northern campaign, two of which pictured an enlisted man and officer
of Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates’ army. These are some of the very few contemporary images (in this
case, copies of the originals which no longer exist) of Continental common soldiers and
company officers, and, as such, deserve further study.
“An American Soldier”; Artist: Friedrich Konstantin von Germann; Year: circa 1778.
Collection: Braunschweig Municipal Archives, Lower Saxony
 The image above shows a Continental common soldier, likely a private. He wears a regimental
coat of gray with yellow facings, a straight-cut (possibly belted) gray waistcoat, and brown
breeches, with blue or blue-gray stockings. The brim of his round hat is turned up on the left
side, and is topped with a pine-sprig, feather or perhaps a squirrel’s tail. He carries a smoothbore
firelock, likely made for military use judging from the bayonet hanging at his right hip.
The soldier’s coat is interesting as much for the style and length as for the body and facing
colors. The coat is cut relatively short, and agrees with directions from Congress to their
Commissioners in France, dated 17 February 1777, that if they procure any clothing for import
the coats should be, “short skirted, according to the dress of our soldiery.” The pointed cuffs and
small turnbacks in the forepart of the skirt are also of interest. Though hidden this image, interior
pockets seem to have been another known attribute of many, perhaps most, Continental Army
coats of the period. A May 1777 advertisement for a runaway apprentice described his “blue
broadcloth coat lined with white shalloon … not lappelled, but otherwise made in the fashion of
the Continental army, the pockets inside the skirts …”

The Pennsylvania Evening Post, 10 May 1777, vol. I, issue 350 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
“An American Officer”; Artist: Friedrich Konstantin von Germann; Year: circa 1778.
Collection: Braunschweig Municipal Archives, Lower Saxony
 Here is Henry Cooke’s take on the coats depicted in the von Germann drawings. (Source:
Henry M. Cooke IV, “’A View from Afar’: American Soldiers as seen by Foreign Observers”
“Symposium on Revolutionary America, presented by the Northwest Territory Alliance,” Glen Ellyn,
Illinois, 27 April 2002)

Perhaps two of the best known images of American soldiers from German sources are the two
watercolor or gouache depictions copied from the original drawings by Lt. Friederich von
Germann, a Hessian officer serving in Gen. Burgoyne’s army in the 1777 campaign whose
campaign images of British and Hessian soldiers have been an invaluable tool for those seeking
to know more about their appearance. The New York Public Library versions of these images are
similar to another set found a number of years ago in Germany, and authorities seem to believe
that neither set is the original, but were rendered a number of years later by one “Kail” whose
name appears below some of the drawings. Some of the drawings bear the date “1778”. After his
capture at Saratoga Von Germann would have gone to Boston as part of the Convention Army,
and it is possible that these drawings were done during his time in captivity. The drawings are
rendered in a style common to depictions of military dress in Europe, and was part of the
European officer’s training for gathering intelligence.
The clothing shown in the two drawings is a mixture of civilian smallclothes worn with
military coats. The officer wears a red and white striped waistcoat with skirts and buff or leather
breeches, and is topped off with a white wig or powdered hair and a military cocked hat. The
soldier wears a white square-cut single-breasted waistcoat, brown breeches, and what appears to
be a round hat with a sprig or feather. He wears his own hair relatively short and unpowdered.
Both wear white or light gray stockings with low quarter shoes. Their dress is compatible with
what we know of the clothing of the New England troops that garrisoned Ft. Ticonderoga and Mt.
Independence in 1777, which was a mixture of issue clothing and garments brought from home.
The coats are particularly interesting. They are both short coats, with English style lapels and
collars, vertical pocket flaps and pointed, so-called polish cuffs that seem to been very popular
from 1776 to 1778, especially among officers. The skirts of the foreparts of their coats are cut at
an acute angle to permit them to be hooked back. The officer’s coat is deep brown, faced and
lined with red, with a gold epaulette on the left shoulder. A number of Massachusetts Continental
officers drew gold lace from the supplies of the Massachusetts Board of War in 1777 and 1778.
The coat of the soldier is light gray or drab, faced and lined with yellow. His cuffs consist of a
triangular piece of cloth, similar to the cuffs of British drummers coats in the 1750’s. These coats
are very similar in appearance to the jacket or habite-veste specified by the French Army’s
Reglement of 1776. According to Philip Katcher, French-made contract coats were delivered to
Portsmouth, NH on March 17, 1777 (Philip Katcher, Uniforms of the Continental Army, (York,
Pa.: George Shumway, 1981),19). While we have no description of these coats, we do know that
many of the Massachusetts Continental troops supplied with clothing from Boston in the spring
of 1777 were issued jackets and overalls instead of coats, waistcoats and breeches, which appear
to have been issued to sergeants (Henry Cooke, “The Dress and Equipment of Col. Thomas
Marshall’s Regiment in 1777,” unpublished Ms., 2002; In the spring of 1777 the state clothier
issued 26 coats, waistcoats, and breeches, and 266 jackets and overalls to Marshall’s regiment).
The officer is equipped with a musket and bayonet as well as a bone or ivory hilted hanger on a
white belt, typical of the equipment carried by company officers from Massachusetts at that time.
The soldier carries a musket and a cartridge pouch and bayonet frog suspended on blackened
leather straps. This soldier may have been one of the lucky few who had bayonets to their
muskets, as there seems to have been a chronic shortage in the Northern Department throughout
the 1777 campaign. Both appear to be carrying either a Brown Bess or Committee of Safety
musket. Given the shortage of arms that was partially relieved by the arrival of French muskets in
May of 1777, there was a mixture of arms even within a single regiment.
Maj. Joseph Bloomfield, 3d New Jersey Regiment. Painted by Charles Willson Peale in April 1777, this
is the only early-war New Jersey officer image known to the author. Bloomfield still wears the coat of
the 3d New Jersey Battalion of 1776, with a drab wool body and dark blue facings. The cuffs look to be
sewn on, while cape and lapels are likely not.
Serving as a captain during 1776 in the Mohawk Valley and at Fort Ticonderoga, Joseph Bloomfield
was made a field officer in early 1777, missing the Short Hills battle, but seeing action at Staten Island,
Brandywine (where he was wounded), and during the 1778 Monmouth campaign. He retired from the
service in mid-September 1778. Mark E. Lender and James Kirby Martin, eds., Citizen Soldier; The
Revolutionary Journal of Joseph Bloomfield (Newark: New Jersey Historical Society, 1982), 1 (facing
page), 19.
 Below we have a 1777-78 style regimental coat (working collar/cape, non-working cuffs and
lapels) recreated for Capt. Andrew Fitch’s company, 4th Connecticut Regiment, in this instance
worn for the 2014 special event, “Incomparable Patience and Fidelity: Encamping at Valley
Forge.” (Documentation of the coat was done by Matthew Keagle, and presented in his monograph, “The
Regimental Coat of the 4th Connecticut Regiment, 1777-
1778”https://www.scribd.com/doc/270642133/Matt-Keagle-The-Regimental-Coat-of-the-4th-
Connecticut-Regiment-Guidelines?secret_password=GLx66vu3DQvljLCwPaC6 )
Coats Without Lapels. Deserter advertisements/descriptions show that some regimental coats
were made with no lapels; six descriptions (four from 1777 and two from 1778) tell of coats with
only cape (i.e., collar) and cuffs, while an April 1777 ad describes a coat one with cuffs only, and
a coat worn by a soldier in May 1777 had only a cape. (See below.)

Cape and cuffs only

(Joseph Lee Boyle, 'He loves a good deal of rum ...': Military Desertions during the
American Revolution, 1775-1783 (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2009),
vol. 1 (1775-June 30, 1777), 262, 263-264, 267, 309; vol. 2 (June 30, 1777-1783), 143,
146.)

DESERTED from my company, in the Pennsylvania Eleventh regiment, commanded by

Colonel Richard Humpton, a certain DENNIS CLANCEY … He had on and carried with
him, a new suit of regimentals, consisting of a light infantry cap, blue coat with scarlet
cape and cuffs, white woolen waistcoat, and new buckskin breeches … JOHN
COATS, Capt. (The Pennsylvania Evening Post, April 22, 177; The Pennsylvania
Gazette, April 23, 1777; The Pennsylvania Journal; and the Weekly Advertiser, May 7,
1777; May 21, 1777.)

THIRTY DOLLARS Reward.

DESERTED, this morning … belonging to Captain Bartholomew’s company, of the 5th
Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by Col. Francis Johnston. William Murphey, or
sometimes calls himself M’Murtey, an Irishman … had on when he deserted, his
regimental clothes, viz. a blue coat with white cape and cuffs, white woolen waistcoat,
drilling breeches, and fashionable wool hat … John M’Curdy … had on the above
uniforms, but commonly wears a hunting shirt. …
April 17, 1777. GEORGE NORTH, Lieut. 5th P.R.
(The Pennsylvania Gazette, April 23, 1777; May 7, 1777.)

Princeton, April 23, 1777.DESERTED from my company of the seventh Maryland

regiment, commanded by Col. Henry Shyrock, the following men, viz. …
PATRICK STAUNTON … He had on, when he went away, a blue regimental coat with
white cuffs and collar, white jacket, drilling breeches, Germantown stockings, and new
shoes. WILLIAM MORECRAFT … He had on the same uniform as Staunton.
ROGER SWANY … He had on the same uniform as the two latter. …
ANDREW HYNES, Capt. (The Pennsylvania Evening Post, April 26, 1777.)
 SIXTEEN DOLLARS Reward.
DESERTED the 17th instant, from Capt. James Henry’s company, of the 5th Maryland
regiment, commanded by Col. William Richardson, the following persons, viz.
THOMAS COUCHMORE … Had on, a blue knap coat, with white cuffs and cape, with
flat white buttons, blue jacket, leather breeches, and a large cocked hat bound with white
tape, and has s small white button. ROBERT NIXON … Had on a blue cloth cat, with
scarlet facings, and yellow buttons, white kersey jacket, and buckskin breeches. …
JAMES HENRY, Captain. (The Pennsylvania Journal; and the Weekly
Advertiser, May 28, 1777; June 11, 1777; June 25, 1777.)

DESERTED From the Ninth Pennsylvania Regiment … FELIX TAYLOR, alia

SNYDER … had on and took with him, a brown uniform coat with red cuffs and cape …
August 12. [1778] … (The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser, August 18,
1778; August 25, 1778; September 3, 1778.)

DESERTED the 24th inst. (August) THOMAS WILLIAMS … had on and took with
him, a blue regimental coat with red cuffs and cape … (The Pennsylvania Packet or the
General Advertiser, August 29, 1778; September 5, 1778.)

Cuffs only
(Joseph Lee Boyle, 'He loves a good deal of rum ...': Military Desertions during the
American Revolution, 1775-1783 (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2009),
vol. 1 (1775-June 30, 1777), 250.)

Philadelphia, April 10, 1777 … DESERTED from the Congress’s own regiment,
commanded by Moses Hazen, Esq; Colonel Commandant … JOHN DURBIN … had on
a London brown regimental coat turned up at the sleeves with white, and trimmed with
small metal buttons …JAMES CUNNINGHAM … his dress the same as Durbin’s …
(Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet or, the General Advertiser, April 15, 1777; April 29,
1777.)

Cape only
(Joseph Lee Boyle, 'He loves a good deal of rum ...': Military Desertions during the
American Revolution, 1775-1783 (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2009),
vol. 1 (1775-June 30, 1777), 291.)

MAY 1, 1777 … DESERTED, this morning, from the Barracks of Philadelphia, JAMES
GAINOR, a Soldier, in Colonel HARTLEY’S regiment of Foot Guards … had on, when
he went away, a blue regimental coat, with a white collar …” (The Pennsylvania Gazette,
May 14, 1777; May 24, 1777.)

The 1782 painting “Battle of Paoli,” rendered by Italian artist Xavier della Gatta, with the
direction of Richard St. George Mansergh St. George, who participated in the 1777 action, shows
a Pennsylvania Continental wearing a regimental coat with only cape and cuffs, no lapels. (See
below.)
Detail from “The Battle of Paoli” by Xavier della Gatta. This and della Gatta’s “The Battle of
Germantown,” from various details known only to an eyewitness, was executed at the direction of
Richard St. George Mansergh St. George, a British officer present at both actions. The
Pennsylvania soldier’s coat pictured here seems to show pointed cuffs, and is cut short with small
turnbacks as in the von Germann rendering. It is notable that the coat above has only capes and
cuffs, no lapels.
____________________

Coat Construction Revisions, 1778 and 1779. Early in 1778 General Washington mentioned a
new standardized regimental coat pattern. His first reference is a January 20 letter to Clothier
General James Mease,
Dear Sir: I this day received yours of the 18th. by Lieutt. [Robert] Gamble, 12th Virginia
Regiment] who has brought down 463 Coats ready cut out. I could have wished that had not been
done, as I intended to have had them made up in a new fashion which I think will save Cloth, be
made up quicker and cheaper and yet be more warm and convenient to the Soldier. I desire that
all the remainder of the Virginia Goods may be immediately sent on in the State which you
receive them, as soon as they arrive at Lancaster. I will send you a Coat of the new fashion as
 soon as one can be made up, and I think it will bedeemed most convenient and useful to dress the
whole Army in the same manner. The Officer who had the charge of the Convoy of Cloathing
from Boston left them at Fishkill, contrary to Genl. Heath’s express order, he makes some trifling
excuse, that the Waggons would not come any farther. I have sent up an Express with orders to
have it brought immediately forward. I shall give directions to have some agreement made with
the Taylors for their extra pay when working at their trade. Now we are fixed, I am of opinion
that we can have any quantity of Cloathing made up in the Regiments provided all the materials
are sent with them ... P. S. Lieutt. Gamble returns to bring down the remainder of the Goods. He
informs me that he desired you not to cut up the Cloth, as it was intended to be made up different
from the usual method, I cannot therefore tell why it was done. (George Washington to James
Mease, 21 January 1778, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the
Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, vol. 10 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office,
1933), 330-331.)

Four days later the commander-in-chief described the new pattern in some detail to
Connecticut governor Jonathan Trumbull:
Head Quarters, Valley Forge, January 24, 1778.
Sir: I am honoured with yours of the 14th instant and am much obliged for your promised
attention to the compleating of your Regiments, and I hope your exertions will be attended with
the desired success. I am also to thank you for your care in providing Cloathing for your Troops.
If the Coats should not be cut out before this reaches you, instead of the usual Regimental Coat, I
would recommend a garment of the pattern of the Sailors Sea Jacket, this sets close to the body
and by buttoning double over the breast, adds much to the Warmth of the Soldier. There may be a
small cape and cuff of a different colour to distinguish the Corps. I have consulted most of the
Officers of the Army and they all seem to think that this kind of Coat will be much the best, at
least till we can fall upon means of procuring full supplies of compleat Uniforms. As the Overall
is much preferable to Breeches,I would recommend as many of them as possible. We cannot
spare Taylors to go from hence, therefore if you cannot get all the Clothes readily made up, I
think you had better send part of the Cloth here with all kinds of necessary trimmings and the
Regimental Taylors will soon make them up under the inspection of their Officers. (George
Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, 24 January 1778, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of
George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, vol. 10 (Washington, DC:
Government Printing Office, 1933), 344-345.)

The new coat’s touted attributes may point to some of the shortfalls in many of the previously-
made regimental uniforms, which likely were not close-fitting, and had sewn on lapels rather
than working ones that could folded over and buttoned across the chest.
Finally, we have a June 1779 “Estimate of Articles to be imported in the Department of the Board
of War & Defence.” This document also may shed light on several characteristics of American-made
coats (that is, old coat construction details that needed to be rectified, such as non-working lapels).
Cloathing for Ninety Eight thousand and forty Eight Men of Substantial Cloth of the same quality
with the present uniform of the French established Army –
The Suits to consist of one Coat, one waistcoat and one pair of breeches, sized as the French
Uniforms, except that the skirts of the coat are not to reach farther than half way down the thigh.
The cloaths to be completely [finished?], but with a proper quantity of Cloth laid in at the seams
that they may be altered, if too small for particular soldiers, to be cut in such fashion, and so full
about the Arms, that the soldier may have the free use of his limbs. The greatest proportion to be
of the largest Sizes. The coats to be made to button as low as the waistband, the lapells … to
button over & the coats not sloped away so as to be incapable of covering the belly in cold or
 rainy weather, let the fashion of Europe be what it may. To have a piece of Cloth neatly sewed on
each elbow & cross pockets opening on the inside. The white buttons to be of Block tin or other
white strong Metal the yellow ones of Brass, and cast solid with a Strong eye or Shank And USA
in Roman letters on each button. The Serjeants Cloaths to be of a better kind of Cloth as in
Europe. …
All the buttons to be well fixed with strong leather thongs -
The capes [i.e., collars] of the coats to button down with the facings, but made so as to be taken
up [if needed?] with hooks & eyes snug about the neck in Cold & Rainy Weather –
The skirts of the Coats to have hooks & eyes to fasten them together –
The Cloth of all the Coats to be soaked I clean water before made up to prevent their shrinking
afterwards – (“Estimate of Articles to be imported in the Department of the Board of War &
Defence,” June 1779, The Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, National Archives
Microfilm Publications M247 (Washington, DC, 1958), reel 158, pp. 425-426, 429.)
_________________________

Conclusion. After the inception of the 1775 New England army bounty coat, American-made regimental
coats were not standardized, but various attributes included:

1. Sewn-on facings on many, if not most, coats.

2. Sewn on skirts.
3. Pockets on the inside the coats at the top of the skirts.
4. Short skirts.
5. Lapels “sloped away” at the waist so as to preclude buttoning over of working lapels.
6. Some numbers made without lapels, usually with only cape (collar) and cuffs as facings,
occasionally having only a cape or cuffs.
7. Some, perhaps many, were poorly-made, poorly-fitted, and not easily retailored to the
individual wearer.
8. Pointed (Polish) cuffs seem to have been popular.
9. Vertical pocket flaps used on some, perhaps many, coats.
_________________________

Suggested reading:

Henry M. Cooke IV, “’A View from Afar’: American Soldiers as seen by Foreign Observers”
“Symposium on Revolutionary America, presented by the Northwest Territory Alliance,” Glen
Ellyn, Illinois, 27 April 2002.
Henry M. Cooke IV, “The Massachusetts Bounty Coat of 1775,” The Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVIII,
no. 3 (Autumn 1998), 2-10.
https://www.academia.edu/36402048/Henry_M._Cooke_IV_The_Massachusetts_Bounty_Coat_of_1
775_The_Brigade_Dispatch_vol._XXVIII_no._3_Autumn_1998_2-10
Matthew Keagle, “The Regimental Coat of the 4th Connecticut Regiment, 1777-1778”
https://www.scribd.com/doc/270642133/Matt-Keagle-The-Regimental-Coat-of-the-4th-Connecticut-
Regiment-Guidelines?secret_password=GLx66vu3DQvljLCwPaC6
James L. Kochan, “The French-nade “Lottery” Uniforms of the Continental Army, 1777-1779:
Their Procurement, Distribution, Cut and Construction”
https://www.scribd.com/doc/272894004/James-L-Kochan-The-French-nade-Lottery-Uniforms-of-
the-Continental-Army-1777-1779-Their-Procurement-Distribution-Cut-and-
Construction?secret_password=ncfzkaywDy7jwyPYpnZ5
 Related Articles by the Author on the New Jersey Brigade and the 1777-1778 Campaigns

"’We ... wheeled to the Right to form the Line of Battle’: Colonel Israel Shreve's Journal, 23 November 1776 to 14
August 1777 (Including Accounts of the Action at the Short Hills)”
Contents
1. “The Enemy Came out fired several Cannon At our Pickets”: Journal Entries, 23 November 1776 to 25
June 1777
2. Composition of Maj. Gen. William Alexander, Lord Stirling's Division, Summer 1777
3. “Our Canister shot Did Great Execution.”: The Battle of the Short Hills: Journal Entries 26 to 28 June
1777
4. “There was a steady fire on us from out of the bushes …”: A German Officer’s View of Operations in
New Jersey, 24 to 28 June 1777
5. “A smart engagement ensued …”: A British Private’s View of the Short Hills Battle
6. "I propose leaving Colo. Daytons and Ogden's Regts. at Elizabeth Town … for the present ...”:
Movements of the 1st and 3d New Jersey Regiments, July and August 1777
7. “Crossed Delaware [River], halted At Doctor Enhams …”: Final Journal Entries, 29 July to 14 August
1777
Addenda
1. Listing of Field Officers, Commissioned Officers, and Staff of the 2d New Jersey Regiment December
1776 to December 1777
2. Company Strengths and Dispositions, Colonel Israel Shreve's 2d New Jersey Regiment December
1776 to December 1777
3. 2d New Jersey Regiment, Monthly Strength as Taken From the Muster Rolls, December 1776 to
December 1777
4. 2d New Jersey Regiment, Company Lineage, 1777 to 1779
5. “The Troops of this Army … Appear to Manoeuvre upon false principles …”: The State of
Continental Army Field Formations and Combat Maneuver, 1777
6. Composition of British Columns at the Short Hills Action, 26 June 1777; Organization of British Light
Infantry and Grenadier Battalions, Spring and Summer 1777
7. “I have sent down Lord Stirling's Division, to reinforce Genl. Maxwell …”: Summer Campaign
Letters, Gen. George Washington and Virginia Captain John Chilton, plus the role of “late
Ottendorff’s Corps,” 22 to 29 June 1777
8. “At sunrise the fire began …”: New Jersey Brigade Accounts of the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign
9. "Without Covering but the H[eaven's].C[anop].y and boughs of Trees …": 4th New Jersey Officer's
Diary, 21 June 1777 to 18 February 1778 (plus Journal of Ensign George Ewing, 3d New Jersey, 1777-1778)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/153790118/%E2%80%99We-wheeled-to-the-Right-to-form-the-Line-of-
Battle%E2%80%99-Colonel-Israel-Shreve-s-Journal-23-November-1776-to-14-August-1777-Including-
Accounts-of

"`The Action was renew.d with a very warm Canonade’: A New Jersey Officer’s Diary, June 1777 to August 1778”
Contents
1. Identity of the Diary Author
2. Composition of Maj. Gen. William Alexander, Lord Stirling's Division, 1777.
3. New Jersey Field Officers.
4. New Jersey Brigade Strength returns, November and December 1777, and June 1778
5. Diary Transcription
Appendices
A. “About an hour before day we dashed through the river again …”
The October 1777 Schuylkill Expedition
B. First-Person Accounts of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth
C. Additional Articles on the New Jersey Brigade
and the Campaigns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 1777-1778
https://www.scribd.com/doc/216378254/The-Action-was-renew-d-with-a-very-warm-Canonade-New-Jersey-
Officer-s-Diary-21-June-1777-to-31-August-1778
 ______________________

Notes

24. William Gifford to Benjamin Holme, 12 January 1778, Revolutionary War Documents,
New Jersey Historical Society.
25. Listing of clothing and cloth received by Colonel Shreve's 2nd New Jersey Regiment, 28
February 1778, ISP Rutgers.
26. William Stryker, ed., "Extracts from American Newspapers, vol. II. 1778," Documents
Relating to the Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey, Second Series (Trenton, NJ:
1903), pp. 116-117.
27. Shreve to Mary Shreve, 19 January 1778, Israel Shreve Papers, Buxton Collection,
Prescott Memorial Library, Louisiana Tech University, (henceforth cited as ISP Buxton).
Memorial of Israel Shreve and David Brearley to the Governor and Legislature of New
Jersey, 29 January 1778, PWL, reel 6, pp. 845-847. "An Account of Cloth kept for My Self
[i.e., Israel Shreve] and Lt. Shreves," undated, ISP Rutgers. Receipt for tailoring for
Colonel Shreve by William McHenney, 28 January 1778, as follows: "To Makeing a
uneform Coat," two pounds, fifteen shillings; "To Ripping and Cleaning," seven shillings,
six pence; "To Silk Mohare & thread," one pound, five shillings. Ibid.
28. "A List of Clothing purchased by Colo. I Shreve and D. Brialy [Brearly] for the New
Jersey Brigade," 2 February to 14 February 1778, 1SP Rutgers. Richard M. Lederer, Jr.,
Colonial American English: A Glossary (Essex, CT, 1985), shalloon—woolen stuff used
mainly for linings; durant (or durance)—glazed woolen stuff called by some "everlasting";
broadcloth — fine, plain-woven woolen cloth used mainly for men's clothing.
29. "An Account Cloth Trimmings etc. Delivered out of the Cloths etc. purchased at Salem
for the use of the Jersey Brigade February 1778," NJSA Rev. War, no. 9963.
30. "Dr. [John] Berkenhout's Journal, 1778," entry for September 1778, Pennsylvania
Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 65 (1941), p. 89. The Royal Artillery uniform in
1768 consisted of a "dark blue coat [which] had a scarlet collar, cuffs and lapels, all of them
edged with gold lace." The linings were of red cloth. As of July 1773, the corporal's coat
was to have gold epaulets. See also Plate 45 for a rendering of an officer of the artillery,
1781. Hew Strachan, British Military Uniforms 1768-96 (London, 1975), pp. 275, 282. The
artillery uniform coats were blue faced with red with plain yellow lace and plain brass
buttons with yellow bindings on the hats. Philip R.N. Katcher, Encyclopedia of British,
Provincial, and German Army Units 1775-1783 (Harrisburg, PA: 1973), p. 24. For an
illustration of an officer of the Royal Regiment of Artillery see Philip Katcher, Armies of
the American Wars 1753-1815 (New York, 1975), p. 62.
31. General Orders, 15 November 1780, WGW, vol. 20(1937), pp. 349-350.
32. "An Act for the speedy and effectual recruiting of the four New-Jersey Regiments in the
Service of the United States," 3 April 1778, "Acts of the General Assembly of the State of
New-Jersey... begun at Trenton on the 28th Day of October 1777 ... second Sitting ... second
Session," (Burlington, NJ: 1778), pp. 64-71, State Records, B.2, reel 4, 1776- 1788. Rees,
"The new Leveys are coming in dayly,..." contains numerical data from a detailed study of
the nine-month draft in New Jersey during 1778.
33. "An Act for the speedy and effectual recruiting of the four New-Jersey Regiments...," 3
April 1778, Acts of the General Assembly of the State of New-Jersey... begun at Trenton on
the 28th Day of October 1777 ... second Sitting ... second Session," (Burlington: NJ, 1778),
pp. 66, 68, State Records, B.2, reel 4, 1776-1788.
34. "The State of New Jersey to Caspar Shaffer [and] Peter Shaffer for sundry disbursements for
the Nine Months men raised in the County of Sussex." lists fifteen frocks and two pairs of
trousers in addition to other minor items of clothing and some material, NJSA Rev. War, no.
5883. "State of New Jersey 1778 May 20th to Sundry Cloathing for Col. Nielson of 2 Battalion
of Middlesex Militia in 9 Mo. Service"; among other items, this return includes 36 hunting shirts
and 25 pairs of breeches. Twenty-three of the breeches are stated to be made of wool, ibid., no.
5868. "May the... 2:1778 account of Clothing for the 9 months men," Included in this list are 36
pairs of shoes, 15 pairs of stockings, 17 blankets, 18 shirts, 24 yards of "Coating," 45 "Dozen of
Buttons," and "four Blankett for Lining and facing," ibid., no. 5877. A listing of clothing
"Del[ivere]d. to Soldiers in the 9 Months Service ... 1 June 1778" consisting of 6 blankets, 3
ruggs, 5 pairs of stockings and 13 hats, "pr Bill," ibid., no. 5890. "Caspar Shaffer Account of
Clothing," undated, includes 15 frocks and 11 trousers, ibid., no. 5883. A list of clothing
"Received November the 30:1778 of Peter Rt. Shaver six pound & one Shilling for making
fifteen frocks & tow [two] paire trowsers for the Nine months men of Sussix County by me John
Kirkpatrick," ibid., no. 5870.
35. Rees, "The new Leveys are coming in dayly...," miscellaneous data from a detailed study of
the nine-month draft in New Jersey during 1778. The breakdown of the numbers of levies from
each county known to have received the clothing bounty and supplied their own apparel is given
below. The counties of origin are known for only 450 out of a total of 670 levies.
Salem County Drafts: As per "The new Leveys are coming in dayly..." at least 44 men from
Salem County are known to have served as new levies. Twenty-five men from the 1st Regiment
of Salem County supplied their own clothing. "An Accot: of Bounty Value of Clothg Subsistance
& Milage paid the Nine Mo. Recruits in the C[ount]y. of Salem," undated, NJSA Rev. War, no.
3666. "A Descriptive Roll of Volunteers from the first Regiment of Salem County Militia...,"
undated, ibid., no. 3644. "A Descriptive Roll of Volunteers... from the first Regiment of Salem
County Militia...," May 1778, ibid., no. 3646. Documents used for comparison: "A List of
Recruits raisd in 2d Regiment of foot militia Comanded by Coll. Benj Helms in Salem County
State of New Jersey are to serve Nine months from the Day of their joining any of the four Regts.
Raisd by sd. State for Service of the United States. June 2d 1778," ibid., no. 3651. "A List of
recruits in the first Regt of Salem County militia ... June 10th. 78," ibid, no. 3652.
Hunterdon County Drafts: As per "The new Leveys are coming in dayly..." at least 86 men from
Hunterdon County are known to have served as new levies. Twenty-five men from 3rd Battalion
of Hunterdon County supplied their own clothing. "A Pay Roll of the Draughts from Col: David
Chambers [3rd] Battalion of the Hunterdon Millitia for the Nine Months Service," undated,
NJSA Rev. War, no. 3617. Documents used for comparison: "A List of Recruits raised in the
third Regt of foot Militia ... in Hunterdon County New Jersey: Who are to serve Nine Months ...
May 27, 1778,"ibid, no. 3606.
Sussex County Drafts: As per "The new Leveys are coming in dayly..." at least 30 men from
Sussex County are known to have served as new levies. Fifteen men supplied their own clothing.
"The State of New Jersey to Caspar Shaffer [and] Peter Shaffer for sundry disbursements for the
Nine Months men raised in the County of Sussex," undated, NJSA Rev. War, no. 5883.
Middlesex County Drafts: As per "The new Leveys are coming in dayly..." at least 61 men from
Middlesex County are known to have served as new levies. The following levies supplied their
own clothing: 21 men from 1st Battalion of Middlesex; 4 men from 3rd Battalion. First Battalion
Middlesex Militia, 1 May 1778, "Agreeable to an Act of Assembly passed 3d April 1778 for the
speedy recruiting the four New Jersey Riedgments... the ... Gentleman Commissioners met on
the 1st May 1778 and divided the Battalion into 26 Classes...," NJSA Rev. War., no. 3751.
Contained in this document is a list of twenty-five numbered and unnamed substitutes from
twenty-six classes. Only four men "drew Cloaths" from the state while the other twenty-one
substitutes were paid fourteen pounds and three shillings in lieu of a clothing issue. The clothing
issue consisted of the following items:

Pounds Shillings Pence

A Blanket
3 10 0
Valued at
Frock 2 10 0
Pr. of
1 10 0
Breeches
Hat 1 2 6
Shirt 3 10 0
pr.
1 2 6
Stockings
pr. Shoes 18 0
11 62 12
(Total Clothing Cost: 14 pounds, 3
shillings)
Rate of Exchange: 20 shillings = 1 pound;
12 pence = 1 shilling
Dennis L. Krowe, "A Great Mystery Dispell'd!," The Brigade Dispatch, (Journal of the Brigade
of the American Revolution), vol. XIX, no. 1 (Spring 1987), pp. 2-3. This article discusses
monetary values and the rates of exchange. Jonathan Phillips to Israel Shreve, undated, but either
May or June 1778 as Frederick VanLue was a substitute from the 3rd Battalion of Middlesex
County Militia: "I received yours two days ago, (but two Late) as the Greates part of my Recruts
has marched, the bearer Fredrick Van-Lew & three others who are with him are Compleat with
armes and Acqutomets [accouterments]...," ISP Rutgers. "List of Substitutes for 9 Months,
belonging to the third Battalion Middlesex Militia of N. Jersey...," lists 28 substitutes and their
occupations, Frederick VanLue is noted as having enlisted with 3 other men on May 18, 1778,
NJSA Rev. War, no. 3620.
Monmouth County Drafts: "Return of Recruits from Col. Samuel Forman's Regt. of Mon[mou]th
Militia...," return made after June 2, 1778, NJSA Rev. War, no. 3634.
36. The deliberations and legislation concerning the militia of New Jersey (1775-1778) are to be
found in State Records, Session Laws 1776-1788 (B.2) and Addendum 1775-1776 (A.3).
Beginning on 3 June 1775 a number of laws were enacted for the regulation of the militia. In an
examination of all the acts through the end of 1778 there was found only one reference to the
coats to be worn by the men of the militia. This mention concerned only those men serving in the
latter half of 1775 who were to be embodied as minute-men, approximately one-quarter of the
State's militia. It is not known whether these minute companies saw continued service after 1775
or whether the recommended procurement of hunting shirts was successful. Below are the New
Jersey militia laws which were examined: "The draught of a plan for regulating the militia of this
colony,..." 3 June 1775; Resolves of the New Jersey Provincial Congress (16 and 31 August
1775) and the Continental Congress (18 July 1775) regarding embodiment of a regular militia
and the forming of companies of minutemen; "Extracts from the Journal of the Proceedings of
the Provincial Congress of New-Jersey... May, June and August, 1775." (Burlington, NJ, 1775)
pp. 16-19, 28-41, State Records, A.3, reel 1. "Ordinance, for the further regulation of the militia
forces of this colony,..." 28 October 1775, "Journal of the Votes and Proceedings of the
Provincial Congress of New-Jersey ... October 1775." (Burlington, NJ: 1775), pp. 56-59, ibid.
"An Act for the raising of four Battalions" of militia, 27 November 1776; "An Act for the better
regulating the Militia," 15 March 1777; "An Act to explain and amend... An Act for the better
regulating the Militia...," 23 September 1777, "Acts of the General Assembly of the State of
New- Jersey ... begun ... on the 27th Day of August, 1776, and continued ... till the 11th of
October 1777," 3 sessions (Burlington: NJ, 1777), pp. 9-11, 14, 26-35, 98-101, ibid., B.2, reel 4.
"An Act for the Regulating, Training and Arraying of the Militia," 14 April 1778, "Acts of the
General Assembly of the State of New-Jersey ... begun at Trenton on the 28th Day of October
1777 ... second Sitting ... second Session." (Burlington, NJ: 1778), pp. 42-56, ibid.
37. Captain Jonathan Phillips to Shreve at Fostertown, undated, but either May or June of 1778
as mention is made of four "Recruts ... Fredrick Van-Lew & three others." VanLue was a nine-
months man who enlisted on May 18, 1778 (see note 35 under Middlesex County drafts), ISP
Rutgers. Shreve to Polley Shreve, Camp at Valley Forge, 15 January 1778, Soldiers of the
Revolution, vol. IV, The Dreer Collection, Society of Pennsylvania, 52:2, p. 122.
38. Washington to the President of Congress, 10 July 1775, WGW, vol. 3 (1931), p. 325.
39. Washington to Nicholas Cooke, Governor of Rhode Island, 4 August 1775, General Orders,
7 August 1775, Washington to the President of Congress, 21 September 1775, WGW, vol. 3, pp.
387, 404, 511. General Orders, 6 May 1776, ibid., vol. 4 (1931), pp. 20-21.
40. General Orders, 24 July 1776, ibid., p. 336.
41. Washington to James Mease, 13 June 1777, ibid., vol. 8 (1933), p. 237.
42. Moses Hazen to Washington, 24 December 1778, GW Papers, series 4, reel 55.
43. Mark M. Boatner, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (New York, 1966), pp. 1074-
1075. Oliver Spencer to Washington, 31 April 1779, GW Papers, series 4, reel 58. Alexander
McDougall to Washington, 13 May 1779, ibid., series 4, reel 58. Sent along with this letter were
enclosures containing "a Return of the Light Cloathing wanted in this Department..." and several
regimental returns. These returns show a great preference for hunting shirts and overalls which,
according to all the correspondence on the subject, was the clothing issued to many or most of
the troops on the Sullivan Expedition. Washington to John Sullivan, 24 May 1779, Otis G.
Hammond, ed., Letters and Papers of Major-General John Sullivan, vol. III (Concord, NH:
1939), pp. 40-41. Washington to Daniel Kemper, June 14,1779, WGW, vol. 15 (1936), pp. 278-
279. Proceedings of the Continental Congress regarding General John Sullivan's censure of the
Board of War, 12 October 1779, The Sullivan-Clinton Campaign in 1779: Chronology and
Selected Documents (Albany, NY, 1929), pp. 171-172. William Maxwell to Washington, 27
October 1778, GW Papers, series 4, reel 53.
44. Washington to Maxwell, 27 May 1778, WGW, vol. 11 (1934), p. 462.
45. Shreve to Washington, 29 May 1778, GW Papers, series 4, reel 49.
46. William Livingston to the New Jersey Delegates to the Continental Congress, 3 July 1778,
Carl E. Prince and Dennis P. Ryan, eds., The Papers of William Livingston, vol. 2 (Trenton, NJ:
1980), pp. 379-380, (henceforth cited as Livingston Papers).
47. Maxwell to Washington, 27 October 1778, GW Papers, series 4, reel 53. William Livingston
to Henry Laurens, 25 November 1778, Livingston Papers, vol. 2, pp. 485-486.
48. Lieutenant Colonel William Smith’s deposition; Charles Lee’s deposition (Lee’s court
martial); Lieutenant Turner’s deposition (Colonel Henry Jackson’s court of inquiry),
"Proceedings of a General Court Martial... for the Trial of Major General Lee. July 4th, 1778.”
Collections of The New-York Historical Society for the Year 1873, ibid., 84, 186-187, 223.
49. "A State of the Clothing for the New Jersey Brigade", listing "Sundry Articles of Clothing",
"Made up, and now on hand" and "Still wanted.", undated but probably the latter part of 1778,
NJSA Rev. War, no. 5853.
50. Harold L. Peterson, The Book of the Continental Soldier (Harrisburg, PA: 1967), p. 234.
Samuel Fletcher to Washington, 10 October 1778, GW Papers, series 4, reel 52. Washington to
George Measam, 14 October 1778, WGW, vol. 13 (1936), p. 78. Washington to Measam, 28
October 1778, ibid., pp. 172-173. Washington to Measam, 25 November 1778, ibid., vol. 14
(1936), pp. 330-331. Maxwell to Washington, 27 October 1778, GW Papers, series 4, reel 53, At
the time of Maxwell's writing the New Jersey troops had not yet drawn the imported clothing.
Israel Shreve to Mary Shreve, 4 December 1778, ISP Buxton. "An Act for the speedy and
effectual recruiting of the four New-Jersey Regiments...," 3 April 1778, "Acts of the General
Assembly of the State of New-Jersey ... begun at Trenton on the 28th Day of October 1777 ...
second Sitting ... second Session" (Burlington, NJ: 1778), p. 66, State Records, B.2, reel 4, 1776-
1788. Washington to Horatio Gates, 27 October 1778, WGW, vol. 13, p. 164, Referring to the
deficiencies of various articles of clothing in the army Washington wrote: "In deliveries here we
use a proportion which you will also observe. We allow a shirt a pr. of stockings and a pr. Shoes
pr. Man; half the number of blankets deficient in each regiment and 1/4 of the hats wanting. The
insufficiency in the quantity of these last articles forces us to use this disagreeable oeconomy."