Books by Joseph Lee Boyle

Among the many forgotten heroes of the American Revolution are the commissaries¿the hundreds of men who worked to supply the fighting men with arms, clothing and food. Consider the difficulties in supplying an army of more than 17,000 men in an era when transportation and communication could only be conducted by horseback or wagon, and preservative techniques were completely unknown. One of the most persevering commissaries in feeding the Continental Army was Ephraim Blaine of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The letterbook which bears his name is a revealing record of the material resources and manpower necessary for supplying the soldiers encamped at Valley Forge and Wilmington, Delaware. The original letterbook contains 315 documents, all of which are included. The majority were actually written by Blaine's assistant, John Chaloner. The preface to the text provides a brief history of the Commissary Department describing its creation and its many internal problems. A full-name index adds to the value of this work.

Hundreds of letters and documents written at Valley Forge have been published in collections that represent the best-remembered men of the Revolution. There are also documents of uncounted numbers by lesser officers and staff functionaries that have never been published, or have been printed long ago and are no longer readily available. The intent of this effort is to present a selection of these, in the seventh of such volumes, to allow greater understanding and appreciation of the Valley Forge Encampment. The six month encampment of the Continental Army at Valley Forge has long since entered the realm of American myths. Some of the stories that have become legendary are reinforced in the letters herein. There are a number of references to the lack of shoes, blankets and clothing. Food was in desperately short supply. Efforts to rectify these difficulties are represented in these pages. Documents are arranged chronologically, and the original spelling and punctuation has been retained. A descriptive note at the foot of each entry gives the source location of each document, and identifies the writer and recipient the first time each individual appears. The author scoured the National Archives and more than twenty other state archives, university libraries, and historical societies in his search for these rare papers. An index to full-names, places and subjects adds to the value of this work.

Hundreds of letters and documents written at Valley Forge have been published in collections that represent the best-remembered men of the Revolution. There are also documents of uncounted numbers by lesser officers and staff functionaries that have never