Before presenting the brief story of a working soldier, let's take a moment to address a question related to our previous post on army widows. We have data that proves that some widows did not remarry immediately, but remained with their regiments and remarried a year or more later. Several people asked what these women did in the mean time that allowed them to remain affiliated with the army. I don't have an answer based on knowledge of any specific woman's career, but a likely answer can be deduced from information in my article on army women. Soldiers' wives were entitled to receive rations from the army, but not all wives were dependent upon those rations. We have direct information that some nurses drew rations through army hospitals, for example. It is also clear that women 'earned their bread' by working as sutlers and laundresses for the army, or by finding work outside of the army. Presumably, then, if a woman was in an established position and earning her own subsistence when her husband died there was no reason for the army to oust her just because she was a widow.
Soldiers, as we know, were also often employed by the army for duties other than the usual routine of carrying a musket. One such man was John Hopwood of the 54th Regiment of Foot. The native of Hutton, Yorkshire was born in 1743; he was discharged from the army in 1792 after 21 years of service, but we do not know whether this service was continuous; we do know that he joined the 54th Regiment before 1775 and served in it for the remainder of his career. If his entire career was in the 54th Regiment and was continuous, then he joined the army at the age of 28 - older than usual, but by no means unprecedented.
In an era where employment often began very young but military service did not usually begin until a young man had finished growing, some time in the late teens, most men had worked at some trade or another before becoming soldiers. John Hopwood was a butcher by profession. A statement on his discharge reveals that he worked in this capacity for the army and also reveals one of the many hazards that a career soldier faced. Hopwood had
lost the use of the two first fingers of his right hand occasioned by an accident when killing cattle for the use of the army in Septr 1778
This accident most likely occurred a few years later than the date written on the discharge. The muster rolls of the 54th Regiment show that James Hopwood was in the light infantry company of the regiment in 1778. The regiment was in Rhode Island from December 1776 through the middle of 1779, and unlike most regiments the light infantry and grenadier companies of the 54th remained with their regiment and were also in Rhode Island (operationally they were detached from the 54th, but they remained part of the Rhode Island garrison). Nothing in the muster rolls suggests that Hopwood was away from his company during this time.
The regiment served in the New York area for the remainder of the war, participating in the storming of Fort Griswold in Connecticut in September 1781, before removing to Canada in late 1783. Hopwood may have lost his fingers at any time during this garrison period. He was transferred from the light infantry into a battalion company in 1782, a common practice when a man was no longer in suitable physical condition to serve in a flank company; perhaps this transfer was the result of his accident. It is also possible that the discharge has the incorrect place, rather than date, of the accident.
John Hopwood put an X mark on his discharge rather than signing his own name. About 60% of the soldiers whos discharges survive signed their names, in spite of the conjecture that most soldiers were illiterate. In Hopwood's case, we don't know if was unable to write because of a lack of education or the loss of his fingers.
Soldiers, as we know, were also often employed by the army for duties other than the usual routine of carrying a musket. One such man was John Hopwood of the 54th Regiment of Foot. The native of Hutton, Yorkshire was born in 1743; he was discharged from the army in 1792 after 21 years of service, but we do not know whether this service was continuous; we do know that he joined the 54th Regiment before 1775 and served in it for the remainder of his career. If his entire career was in the 54th Regiment and was continuous, then he joined the army at the age of 28 - older than usual, but by no means unprecedented.
In an era where employment often began very young but military service did not usually begin until a young man had finished growing, some time in the late teens, most men had worked at some trade or another before becoming soldiers. John Hopwood was a butcher by profession. A statement on his discharge reveals that he worked in this capacity for the army and also reveals one of the many hazards that a career soldier faced. Hopwood had
lost the use of the two first fingers of his right hand occasioned by an accident when killing cattle for the use of the army in Septr 1778
This accident most likely occurred a few years later than the date written on the discharge. The muster rolls of the 54th Regiment show that James Hopwood was in the light infantry company of the regiment in 1778. The regiment was in Rhode Island from December 1776 through the middle of 1779, and unlike most regiments the light infantry and grenadier companies of the 54th remained with their regiment and were also in Rhode Island (operationally they were detached from the 54th, but they remained part of the Rhode Island garrison). Nothing in the muster rolls suggests that Hopwood was away from his company during this time.
The regiment served in the New York area for the remainder of the war, participating in the storming of Fort Griswold in Connecticut in September 1781, before removing to Canada in late 1783. Hopwood may have lost his fingers at any time during this garrison period. He was transferred from the light infantry into a battalion company in 1782, a common practice when a man was no longer in suitable physical condition to serve in a flank company; perhaps this transfer was the result of his accident. It is also possible that the discharge has the incorrect place, rather than date, of the accident.
John Hopwood put an X mark on his discharge rather than signing his own name. About 60% of the soldiers whos discharges survive signed their names, in spite of the conjecture that most soldiers were illiterate. In Hopwood's case, we don't know if was unable to write because of a lack of education or the loss of his fingers.
Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteAs the army was able to employ soldiers in tasks beyond the average sentry duty and what have you, what motivation did soldiers have for seeking employment outside the army, as they did in Boston during their occupation of 1768-1770?
The main reason for soldiers seeking employment in Boston 1768-1770 was a mix of boredom and financial need. There were no road-building or other projects for them, such as back home in Britain, so they sought low-paid work in Boston to augment their wages (eight pence a day before deductions for food, uniforms, etc.), often at a fraction of the local prevailing wages, something which did not endear them to the numerous jobseekers in economically depressed Boston.
ReplyDeleteYou state that the 54th regiment of foot were based in Rhode Island in 1776 to 1779.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know how a James Clarkson of this regiment came to be in Pennsylvania in 1777.
Disgusted by the war against the colonists who at that period were, to James, just like his own people back home, it is recorded that one night while on picket duty he walked over to the American lines as a deserter. At their HQ at Rawlings Mills he was give a safe pass to proceed unharmed to Reading where he could take up his trade as 'weaver'.
We have a copy of the pass stating these facts in our possession.
So, how did a soldier of the 54th foot who had arrived at Cape Fear, N.Carolina in May 1776, end up camped in Pennsylvania in 1777?
While cannot tell you how James Clarkson came to be in Pennsylvania, I can tell you about his desertion. According to the muster rolls of the 54th Regiment of Foot, he deserted from Rhode Island on 18 July 1777. A British officer even made note of it in his diary: "18th [July 1777]... A Soldier of the 54th deserted last night. The Rebels send over some people to the Necks almost every evening about Sunset. They do this principally to induce our men to desert, by shewing them how easy it is for them to get off." If you look at a map of Rhode Island, focusing on the largest island in Narragansett Bay, you'll see that the northern end of the island is very close to the mainland - these are "the Necks" that this officer refers to.
DeleteI would like to know more about your information on Clarkson. Is there a date on the pass that you have that allowed him to go from Rawlings Mills to Reading? Is the pass signed by anyone? what other details do you have that indicate he was a deserter from the 54th? Also, do you know his age, or where he came from originally?
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