Supplying an Army

Supplying an Army. The King's Highway. , Few armies in the 1700s had dedicated soldiers whose sole job was for moving supplies, ammunition, equipment, and personal belongings on any scale. Wagon drivers, teamsters, and other personnel involved were typically contractors hired for a specific operation. In the case of the American-Franco army passing through Prince William County in September 1781, many had been hired in New Jersey., For the movement towards the siege at Yorktown, two major columns were required for baggage and supplies: one for the French Army and one for the Continental Army. Together they had about 270 wagons pulled by about 1,000 oxen, broken into 6 ox teams. About 160 of those wagons carried official materials for the army, while the remaining 110 carried the personal belongings of officers., After crossing the Occoquan River at several fords and the Colchester Ferry on September 27, 1781, the French wagon train camped on Marumsco Creek that night and came south along this road the next day. It had been proceeded on the 21st by the American wagon train that crossed at the ferry and continued to Dumfries., [Captions:] , Chatham Ovens, New Jersey , French army bakeries in camp and in the field supplied fresh bread to thousands of troops. , Courtesy of David R. Wagner, Crossing of Rock Creek , Lauzun's Hussars and the French wagon train cross Rock Creek in what's now Washington, DC. , Courtesy of David R. Wagner