LETTER RECEIVED FROM MY SON
Encampment, Virginia, 1781
Dearest Mother,
Quite a journey this war has been
Battling, marching, camping miles upon miles
From Long Island to Trenton.
Outfoxing the British with the Master of Wiles
Advancing…holding…retreating…
Supplies and food low for our men,
Memorable days of mustering, marching, drilling,
At Valley Forge with General von Steuben.
Now riding to Virginia with General Lafayette,
because of that turncoat, we’ll catch him yet.
Through each hazard, adventure, opportunity and gloom
I fear my expiring breeches have finally met their doom,
It began with sunlight showing through threads
It ended with a rip and a tear.
I’ve tried my best to mend them, to patch them,
each night by the campfire, with all my might.
Yet each day new patches of sunlight became new rips.
A touch of your hand, dear mother, would set all things right.
Your most humble and obedient,
Son
Receiving this distressing letter from my son, I recalled the following remembrances:
LETTER FROM GENERAL WASHINGTON
To Governor George Clinton
Head Quarters, Valley Forge, February 16, 1778
Dear Sir: It is with great reluctance, I trouble you on a subject, which does not fall within your province; but it is a subject that occasions me more distress, than I have felt, since the commencement of the war; and which loudly demands the most zealous exertions of every person of weight and authority, who is interested in the success of our affairs. I mean the present dreadful situation of the army for want of provisions, and the miserable prospects before us, with respect to futurity. It is more alarming than you will probably conceive, for, to form a just idea, it were necessary to be on the spot. For some days past, there has been little less, than a famine in camp. A part of the army has been a week, without any kind of flesh, and the rest for three or four days. Naked and starving as they are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery, that they have not been ere this excited by their sufferings, to a general mutiny or dispersion. Strong symptoms, however, discontent have appeared in particular instances; and nothing but the most active efforts everywhere can long avert so shocking a catastrophe. -General Washington
LETTER FROM GENERAL LAFAYETTE
Our circumstances are peculiar- our clothing more ragged than usual.-attributed to General Lafayette, April 1781 (Source: Daughters of the American Revolution)
LETTER TO MY SON
Home, Virginia, 1781
My dear Son,
Your news brings glad tidings that fill my heart,
Filling the void in our home while from us you are apart.
For months I’ve gathered provisions from where I could,
for our supplies too are dwindling,
in town, in the country, I gathered all I could.
Glady I’ve cut linen fabric to fit your frame,
Found buttons to shine on the same,
Soberly I’ve put needle and thread to fabric day by day,
Weaving my prayers through each stitch for your way.
Your humble and obedient
Mother
21ST CENTURY TRANSLATION
In essence, the fictional letters between my son and I hold much truth, because last October my son’s breeches RIPPED at the opening of Colonial Williamsburg’s Prelude to Victory programming.
Hastening to a nearby bench, I pulled out needle and thread to try to repair the rip above his knee.
Each successive visit to CW last November and December brought new rips, requiring nightly patching in the hotel.
Awaiting arrival for the wool to sew a set of winter breeches, I attended a Burnley and Trowbridge breeches workshop with the Colonial Williamsburg tailors.
Learning many new details, I’ve enjoyed employing them while sewing the new woolen breeches last December, and now into a new linen pair for summer.
This time I even pounded out the buttonholes with my new reproduction 18th century buttonhole chisels.
Throughout the ordeal, I often teased my son, much to his chagrin, that his breeches looked like they had been through the American Revolution.
As I stitched the new pair, these silly poems formed in my head.
Today we can have fun with it.
During the American Revolution, the soldiers were dependent on those willing to take up needle and thread to hand sew and donate new shirts and breeches for the men.
Since Congress did not have power to tax the independent states to pay and provide the men with supplies, food and clothing, they could only request the states to support their units.
Patriotically, some women dedicated their time to sew clothing to send to the soldiers, yet supply could not keep up with demand.
Our soldiers suffered much so we could have much.
