Revolutionary Mothers, a book by Carol Berkin, offers ground-breaking insight into the conflict that resulted in bloodshed, scarcity, and peril to Americans' lives. The author of this book examines the contributions that women, who are referred to as "camp followers," made to the armed forces and to the freedom of American society. Carol highlights what was expected of women and the responsibilities that they were supposed to carry out in a fascinating historical way. Women who supported the soldiers in the battle to defend the nation were crucial, despite being frequently disregarded and forgotten by society. The book goes into detail about the parts that camp followers performed in colonial American society. Furthermore, Berkin does evoke a penchant for exploring more aspects concerning the forgotten women who had a great historical relevance. The fascinating stories of women having involved in battles give a blueprint of what was experienced in the struggle for the American independence.
Camp Followers
Camp followers were women who followed the armies to battles. The women were either wives of the soldiers or their girlfriends. These army’s women were subject to the military disciplines like the restriction of individual liberty and provision of measures of protection. According to Berkin, the soldier’s wives or girlfriends did follow the regulations and the rules stipulated by the army and due to this, they were part of the units (Berkin 31). Essentially, they were supposed to have the approval of the officer for them to accompany the army unit. These camp followers received payment for the work they did as well as rations. Additionally, they were under martial law that did abide the army soldiers and were under a full responsibility of the husband soldiers. The local commander did set the number of camp followers which was allowed to accompany every army unit.
Roles of the Camp Followers
The list of the role the camp followers played in armies is endless. There existed numerous roles that the camp followers did typically practice that was assigned to them. The armies of the 18th centuries did lack extensive infrastructures like a well-developed logistical support system and medical care. The camp followers, therefore, did fill these roles. The roles of the women ranged from sewing, nursing, cooking, and laundry to safeguarding of luggage and tending the cattle (Berkin 35). They were responsible for ensuring that all the domestic roles are done with exception of cooking. These women did everything rather than cooking for the soldiers. They were expected to fulfill the soldiers sexually and ensure that the wounded in the battle are well nursed. Some of the activities such as sewing and washing were often done within small groups under which the woman’s boyfriend or husband did belong. The groups included the platoon, the squad or the company. These roles performed by the women, therefore, made the camp followers be a significant element to the armies. Besides, women were involved in fights and this is evident from the story of Margaret Corbin who took the place of his husband in the battle and later became crippled for life (Berkin 42).
What People Thought Of Camp Followers
The camp followers were thought to be prostitutes by many people. They were thought to be of “loose moral character,” both by the society and some of the soldiers. The view on prostitution was more rampant when the soldiers were in cities compared to elsewhere in the country. This is because prostitution was highly tolerated in the cities. Notably, the camp followers underwent a thorough inspection in an effort of ensuring that they did not carry any communicable disease. Any “unclean” woman was driven out of the army and strict precautions were taken to prevent an induction of any unclean women. Despite the efforts made, many people still viewed them to be prostitutes even though they were not by any means prostitutes. On the contrary, they were women of social outstanding who took care of their men in the battles. The camp followers were also thought to be only performing sexual needs to the armies. However, this was not the case as they did supply numerous military needs and frequently performed domestic roles. They also served as wagoners, masons and any other necessity service that was expected of them. They were also thought of providing cooking services to the soldiers. On the contrary, the soldiers were divided into tents that consisted six members in which the quartermaster distributed the food every single day.
Problem Caused by Camp Followers
The camp women caused a number of problems. They were a great burden to the army units and were under the full responsibility of their husbands. The men were expected to offer protection to these women and this provided an extra burden to the soldiers which could have affected their work execution. Another problem is associated with the basic requirements which were supposed to be given to these women. They were supposed to be clothed, be given food and also shelter. In the armies, the aspect of finding some of these necessities such as clothing and food became a problem. Also, challenges arose when some of these camp followers became sick or even died. The expenses that were directed at taking care of these women caused a challenge to the armies.
Work Cited
Berkin, Carol. Revolutionary Mothers. 1st ed., New York, 2006,.
