Camp Followers, an Overlooked part of the Military Portrayal.

By: Col. Thomas Connell Date: February 6, 2022 Category: Living History

Introduction

When most people picture a Civil War army camp, they imagine rows of tents filled with soldiers drilling, cleaning weapons, or preparing for battle. But real camps were more complex. Soldiers did not live entirely on their own. Wives, children, laundresses, nurses, merchants, and other civilians were often nearby. These individuals were commonly known as camp followers (Wiley 1952).

If we want to portray Civil War life accurately, we need to understand their role. If we show only armed soldiers, we leave out part of the historical picture.

Who Were Camp Followers?

Camp followers were civilians who traveled with or stayed near an army. They provided services the military did not fully supply. These services included cooking, washing clothes, nursing the sick and wounded, selling small goods, and operating sutler tents.

Historian Bell Irvin Wiley, drawing from hundreds of soldier letters and diaries, shows that both Union and Confederate camps regularly included women and civilian workers who washed clothes, cooked meals, and sold small comforts to the men (Wiley 1952, 107–112; Wiley 1943, 88–94).

Soldiers mentioned these civilians in practical terms.

• One Confederate soldier recalled that “the women washed for us and cooked what little we had,” a reminder that army life depended on more than rifles and drill (Wiley 1943, 90).

• A Union soldier observed that the company laundress “kept us decent when we could not keep ourselves,” highlighting the importance of clean clothing and basic hygiene (Wiley 1952, 108).

• Another Union soldier wrote that the sutler’s tent was “as necessary as the cook fire,” showing how civilian merchants were woven into daily camp life (Wiley 1952, 110).

Camp followers could include:

• Laundresses

• Nurses

• Sutlers and small merchants

• Cooks

• Wives and children of soldiers

• Refugees traveling with or near the army

  
  

Their presence could help a regiment function more smoothly. At the same time, additional people meant more mouths to feed and more wagons to protect.

Camp Followers During the Civil War

During the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate armies had civilian followers. The number present depended on the location, the season, and the attitude of commanding officers.

Military regulations confirm that women were officially recognized in some roles. In the Union Army, laundresses were placed on ration rolls and formally attached to companies (Revised Regulations 1861). Confederate practice was usually less formal, but similar arrangements existed in reality, especially in long encampments (Wiley 1943, 90–91).

Judith Giesberg notes that women’s labor followed the armies in practical ways. Washing, mending, cooking, and nursing were essential tasks that supported soldiers in the field, even when those women were not enlisted or formally part of the command structure (Giesberg 2009, 3–7).

As campaigns intensified, some Union commanders attempted to restrict the presence of women in active field camps when speed and discipline were priorities. Such efforts show that women were present in noticeable numbers and that their presence required management (Wiley 1952, 109).

Even so, women and children continued to appear in camps throughout much of the war, especially in winter quarters or during extended stays in one location.

How Confederate Camps Managed Civilians

In the Confederate Army, oversight of civilian camp followers was usually local and informal.

Command Authority

Regimental and brigade commanders decided who could remain with their units. They could remove civilians if their presence interfered with operations. In other cases, they allowed civilians to stay because their services were useful (Wiley 1943, 89–92).

There was no separate civilian corps. Decisions were made at the regimental level.

Quartermasters and Daily Work

Civilians who helped with washing, cooking, or supply often worked under the informal supervision of the regimental quartermaster. Although they were not enlisted soldiers, their work affected sanitation, morale, and daily life.

Medical and Nursing Roles

Women serving as nurses sometimes worked through local aid societies or the Confederate Medical Department. In hospitals, women such as Phoebe Pember and Sally Tompkins helped organize nursing care. Their leadership roles are well documented in wartime accounts (Faust 1996, 95–101).

Sutlers and Vendors

Sutlers were licensed civilian merchants who sold goods to soldiers. Army manuals show that sutlers operated under military oversight (Kautz 1865). Soldiers depended on them for tobacco, extra food, and small comforts not issued by the army (Wiley 1952, 110–111).

In the Confederacy, shortages and decentralized command sometimes led to informal vendors following regiments. Commanders tolerated them as long as they maintained order.

Families and Refugees

Wives and children, especially in Southern units with strong local ties, sometimes stayed near camps. They were not under military command in the same way soldiers were. However, officers could restrict or relocate them if necessary (Wiley 1943, 91).

The Official Role of the Laundress

One of the clearest examples of officially recognized female presence in camps is the laundress.

The Revised Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1861, authorized up to four laundresses for every one hundred soldiers (Revised Regulations 1861). Laundresses received one ration per day, and their children received half rations. They were required to have certificates of good character.

Camp life of the 31st Pennsylvania Infantry (also known as the 2nd Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment) of the Union Army during the American Civil War. c. 1861 or early 1862. Queen's farm, near Fort Slocum in Washington, D.C. Source: National Park Service

General August Valentine Kautz emphasized their recognized status in his manual when he wrote, “Four laundresses are allowed to each company” (Kautz 1865). This language shows that their presence was built into the army organization, not simply tolerated.

Many laundresses were soldiers’ wives. Others were widows or women seeking steady employment near the army (Wiley 1952, 108; Giesberg 2009, 5–6).

Although Confederate practice was less formally regulated, similar patterns existed. Officers made decisions based on need, discipline, and available resources.

The 6th Virginia Infantry in Context

Direct records of civilian camp followers attached to the 6th Virginia Infantry are limited. However, the regiment served in the Army of Northern Virginia and operated within the same broader customs described above.

During long encampments, it is reasonable to conclude that laundresses, family members, and civilian workers may have been present, subject to regimental oversight. Like other units described by Wiley, commanders would have weighed the practical benefits of these services against the challenges of feeding and moving additional people (Wiley 1943, 90–92).

Why This Matters for Living History

For those of us engaged in living history, this research has practical meaning.

Civil War camps were not made up of soldiers alone. They included civilian workers, merchants, wives, and sometimes children. Regulations made room for laundresses. Officers licensed sutlers. Hospitals relied on women’s labor (Revised Regulations 1861; Kautz 1865; Giesberg 2009).

This does not mean every reenactment should include the same level of civilian presence. Campaign-style events may limit civilians to reflect rapid movement. Winter encampments and public programs may allow a fuller portrayal.

What matters is that our portrayals are grounded in research and shaped by good judgment.

When male civilians portray sutlers, teamsters, or merchants, they reflect documented historical roles. When women portray laundresses or nurses, they reflect roles recognized in both regulation and practice. When children appear in carefully researched family portrayals, they reflect the historical reality that families were sometimes present in or near camps.

Living history is not about adding modern ideas to the past. It is about presenting the past as faithfully as we can. The clearer and more complete the picture we present, the better we honor those who lived it.

References

Faust, Drew Gilpin. 1996. Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Giesberg, Judith. 2009. Army at Home: Women and the Civil War on the Northern Home Front. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Kautz, August Valentine. 1865. Customs of Service for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.

United States War Department. 1861. Revised Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1861. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Wiley, Bell Irvin. 1943. The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.

Wiley, Bell Irvin. 1952. The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.