Colonial and American Revolution Forum

[Christoph]

“Our wants of the common conveniences were sometimes curiously supplied ...”
A Revolutionary Soldier’s Wooden Bowl
by John U. Rees
Dedicated to the late Sally Paxson Davis for her kindness and generosity in sharing a family treasure.
Artifacts connected to an individual Revolutionary War common soldier are rare, especially personal items like the mess bowl recently donated to Solebury Township Historical Society. That receptacle, belonging to an anonymous soldier, was left in the hands of a Solebury Township family, and passed from generation to generation down to the present–day. Having learned of its existence several years ago, in 2007 I was fortunate enough to learn the bowl’s whereabouts and arrange to examine it in person.
At the time of the War for American Independence the village of Aquetong , also known as Paxson’s Corner, was on the York Road, nearly midway between Lahaska and the Great (Ingham’s) Spring (Solebury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania., present–day Route 202/York Road and Aquetong Road, about 4 miles west of New Hope/Coryell’s Ferry). “Rolling Green” the “fine Colonial mansion,” still to be seen on the north side of York Road, was owned by Benjamin Paxson at the time of the War for Inde- pendence. Paxson family history notes that, “a soldier, who was taken ill and died there after the army had moved on, was buried on the Paxson property.” In 1926 Henry D. Paxson told of ‘a relic preserved by the Paxson family ... a wooden bowl left by a Continental soldier from a southern State, who had been taken ill with a fever and was nursed by the family [until his death].” The incident may have occurred during the Monmouth campaign, Henry Paxson claiming that Maj. Gen. Charles Lee’s Division of New England (not southern) troops camped near the Paxson residence in 1778. In actuality Lee’s advance force, consisting of his own troops plus three Pennsylvania brigades, marched from New Britain, Pa., on 20 June 1778 and, after a halt at present–day Holicong, about 3 miles southwest of Rolling Green, continued past the Paxson residence to Coryell’s Ferry. They possibly left behind a sick comrade, but the anonymous soldier, too, may have belonged to one of Gen. George Washington’s other three divisions following Lee. While the date of the soldier’s stay and his home state cannot be corroborated, the incident could have occurred during the march to Monmouth, though large elements of the Continental Army passed numerous times along York Road from late 1776 through mid–June 1778.1
Until January 1st 2009 the bowl was owned by the family of the late Sally Paxson Davis. I met with Mrs. Davis in November 2007 at the home of her cousin Franca C. Warden, to study and measure the artifact. While most Continental soldiers’ mess bowls were likely carved or turned from a single piece of wood, the Paxson bowl is of stave construction, with three crude wooden bands surrounding the outside (one at the base), and a solid wood bottom. The wood bottom is slightly oval and dish–shaped, with the base curved and the top (inside of the bowl) flat. The edge of the wooden bottom (trapped between the outer staves, but loose enough to remove and examine) comes almost to a point. At first, given its construction and style, it seemed likely the bowl had been formed from a cut–down canteen. Subsequent
To the left: Paxson family soldier’s bowl.
Invincible Bowl: Wooden bowl from the wreck of the HMS Invincible, sunk in 1758. A total of 11 wood bowls (ranging from 9 inches to 13.4 inches in diameter), the fragments of 13 other wood bowls, plus 1 pewter bowl, 1 gourd bowl, and the remains of a “green glazed stoneware” bowl were recovered from the Invincible.
Image courtesy of John Broomhead, director Invincible Conservations Ltd. (http:// www.invincible1758.co.uk/)
information shows that the Paxson bowl was instead a purposely made food receptacle, not an ad hoc field conversion.2
Bowl dimensions are as follows: The base is oval, 4 3/8 X 3 7/8 inches; top of bowl (outside measurements), 5 1/8 inches; bottom of bowl (outside measurements), 4 3/4 inches at the widest; side staves are 3/16 inch thick at top and 1/8 inch at bottom; staves are 2 3/4 inches high; side bands are crude, reminiscent of the bands on twig furniture. The top band is from 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch, the lower bands seem more uniform being about 1/2 inch wide. Sally Davis had noted in an initial phone interview that the bowl was somewhat fragile, but during my examination I learned that the side staves and bands binding them are still tight and rather sturdy.
Although we now know the bowl was not a converted canteen, it is interesting to note that not every Continental soldier had his own mess bowl, many having to share or else provide a substitute. Two men told of makeshift utensils used during the war. Park Holland, first ensign, then lieutenant in the 5th Massachusetts Regiment, wrote in his memoirs,
To show our need for the common necessaries of life, I mention that orders came with invitations for each [officer] bidden [to dine], to bring his plate, knife and fork, all of whichCaroline Davis Claytor (right) presents the Soldier’s bowl to Franca Warden (center) and Rhoda Renschler.
articles were very scarce. I have known our foreign friends who were accustomed to dine from silver, for months together eat from a clean chip [of wood?], instead of a plate ... Our wants of the common conveniences were sometimes curiously supplied by our soldiers, in the manufacture of wooden spoons, bowls, plates, etc.3
John Howland (Col. Henry Babcock’s Rhode Island State Regiment in 1776 and 1777) noted of the march to reinforce Washington’s forces in December 1776,
Our condition ... was bad enough. Our day’s ration which we drew in the morning, was a pint of flour per man. Some of us had canteens with only one head. This was fortunate for the possessor, as he could receive his flour in it, and with water mix it into dough to be baked on the embers. Some received their flour on a flat stone, if they could find one ...4
Even British soldiers experienced shortages. “Jonas,” a soldier in the British 68th Regiment, told of a meal while camped on the Isle of Wight in 1758:
I found my comrades all placed on the grass ... in a circle, and I had orders to fix the kettle in the center. Some had knives, while others had none; as to spoons and forks, we were all in one case, destitute, and no porringers or bowls, but to supply the want of the last, we took the kettle lid ...5
Military artist Don Troiani notes that soldiers’ eating receptacles during the period “must have been mostly wood as I have never dug any parts of pewter or tin ones after decades of digging on Rev[olutionary War] sites.” Given that wood was likely the rule, just how widespread staved mess bowls were among Continental troops cannot be known. Bowls made from a single piece of wood, such as the Royal Navy one pictured below, were likely more common, as turned and carved bowls were familiar household items in 18th century America. Several examples, discovered in the wreck of the HMS Invincible sunk off the Isle of Wight 20 February 1758, also place them in a British military context.6
In any event, the Paxson family soldier’s bowl, probably, along with its original owner, a veteran of Valley Forge and perhaps the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign, left the army in 1778 and found a new home in Solebury. It has now found its way back.
(This article was first published in Military Collector & Historian, vol. 61, no. 3 (Fall 2009), 210-214.)
Acknowledgements
I first heard of the soldier’s bowl about 15 years ago from a booklet written by Henry Paxson in the 1920’s. I thought at the time that some Paxson family descendant possibly still had the bowl, but soon forgot about it. In 2006 Les Isbrandt asked me to write an article for the New Hope Historical Society newsletter. Writing about the Continental Army crossing at Coryell’s Ferry during the 1778 Monmouth Campaign, recalling Henry Paxson’s story I included a small note asking if anyone had information on the whereabouts of the Paxson family soldier’s bowl. Receiving no leads, I eventually sent a letter to Edwin “Ned” Harrington, who called one day and told me, “I’ve seen that bowl. My cousin Sally has it.” That set the ball rolling, so that in November 2007 after several phone conversations with Sally, we met at Franca Warden’s house, where, in addition to a really pleasant visit, I was able to examine and photograph the bowl. And that, with Ned’s determination to see the bowl back in Solebury, the kindness of Franca Warden, and the generosity of Sally and Robert Davis and Caroline Davis Claytor, brings us to today, 231 years after the soldier was left behind in Solebury.
In addition to Sally Davis, Franca Warden, and Edwin Harrington, thanks also to John Broomhead, Don N. Hagist, Bernard Kazwick, Steve Rayner, Robert Selig, Don Troiani, Thaddeus Weaver, and Mathew White for providing invaluable information and advice for this work.
For additional information on Revolutionary soldiers’ food, see:
John U. Rees, “‘The foundation of an army is the belly.’ North American Soldiers’ Food, 1756-1945,” ALHFAM: Proceedings of the 1998 Conference and Annual Meeting, vol. XXI (The Assoc. for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums, Bloomfield, Ohio, 1999), 49-64. Part I. “‘I live on raw salt pork ... hard bread and sugar.’: The Evolution of Soldiers’ Rations,” and, Part II. “Salt Beef to C Rations: A Compendium of North American Soldiers’ Rations, 1756-1945" (For Verger, see endnote #34) (World Wide Web, www.revwar75.com/library/rees/ belly.htm).
Rees, “’To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.’: Soldiers’ Food and Cooking in the War for Independence” (To be published in Military Collector & Historian, 2010)
Subheadings:
“The manner of messing and living together”: Continental Army Mess Groups
“Who shall have this?”: Food Distribution
“A hard game ...”: Continental Army Cooks
“On with Kittle, to make some hasty Pudding ...”: How a
“Continental Devil” Broke His Fast
1. The Army Ration and Cooking Methods. 2. Eating Utensils.
3. The Morning Meal.
4. Other Likely Breakfast Fare.
Anyone wishing a copy of the sources for this article, contact John Rees at ju_rees@msn.com

aus: http://soleburyhistory.org/pdf/newsletterwinter2010.pdf