Supply Challenges

Part Two of a five-part series about the footwear worn during the Valley Forge winter encampment.

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Have you ever hiked with poorly fit or worn shoes? Did you get blisters?

Throughout 1777, General George Washington had more concerns over his army’s supply of shoes than with any other single article. The thirteen colonies had depended upon Great Britain for most finished goods, including shoes, and Patriots had difficulty scaling up production for the war effort.

Tired feet after a long day of marching.

NPS Photo

While France had not yet officially entered the war, they secretly aided the Patriots. Yet, the quality of French supplies varied. On July 18, Washington informed clothier general James Mease regarding a shipment of footwear:

Few of the 5000 pair that came on to Peekskill [New York] will reach this Army, and even those that will, I am informed are in a manner good for nothing, they are thin French pumps that tear to pieces when ever they get wet. I therefore beg you will forward on, the second parcel […], for a number of our Soldiers are barefooted.

In the same letter, Washington complained about “the size of the shoes, which are generally too small.”¹

While marching into Valley Forge, hundreds of troops might have worn these French “pumps,” which consisted of cheaply made, light, low-heeled shoes of thin leather. Soldiers really needed shoes made of robust cowhide.

So, what options did they have? Skilled artisans known as artificers would have replaced soldiers’ half soles or full soles when necessary—if they had the opportunity to do so before the shoes wore out. Shoe heels lasted longer with hobnails or heel plates, when available. But as the leather heels wore away from constant fatigues and marches, hobnails could have potentially poked through and injured the wearer.

Source

1. “From George Washington to James Mease, 18 July 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-10-02-0320. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 10, 11 June 1777 – 18 August 1777, ed. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, p. 322.]