Following the Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment by Nancy K. Loane

Nancy K. Loane has written a wonderfully readable account of that cold, winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in 1777–1778 from the point of view of the women who shared it with the soldiers. Beginning with Martha Washington herself, Loane uses period documents, letters and records to bring the story to life.

Also examines the circumstances of other prominent women who joined their husbands or fathers at Valley Forge, including Catherine Greene, Lucy Knox, Rebekah Biddle, Lady Stirling and Alice Shippen. Loane also introduces the reader to the women in Washington’s “family.” These women included Hannah Till, a slave woman who purchased her freedom during the war with her wages as a cook, and Margaret Thomas, a free black woman who washed, mended and cared for George’s and Martha’s clothing, as well as the bed and table linens. Housekeepers Mrs. Mary Smith and Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson are mentioned, as well as the women attached to Washington’s personal guard.

Even lower down the rung were the women of the common sort who worked and traveled with the soldiers themselves. Approximately 400 of these women, not to mention their children, traveled with Washington’s army into Valley Forge that winter. These women were cooks, washerwomen and sometimes nurses. They were wives and daughters, and certainly some of them were prostitutes, even though those were prohibited by Washington from traveling with the army. And during battle many took up arms and became soldiers. Some even received a pension for their service.

Looking at the war through the eyes of the women who "followed the drum" helps the reader understand the reality of 18th century life and warfare and the impact it had on the entire society of 18th century America.