A shortage of good shoes nearly destroyed the Continental Army at a critical time. New Jersey came to the rescue.
Christopher Longstreet was a cordwainer and tanner on the north side of the Manasquan River in modern Brielle. Cobblers fixed shoes, cordwainers made them new. In 1753, Longstreet took on Jeremiah Jeffery as an apprentice, and as the Revolution started, both shoemakers suddenly found themselves in great demand. Shoes in America were mostly custom-manufactured in homes and small workshops. The softer side of the leather was used for the shoe's interior, and the rougher outer side was dressed with a mixture of soot, lard, bear grease, and beeswax to make it more water-resistant.
Cordwainer’s tools (Crodwainers.org)
After the Declaration of Independence, raising an Army required a ramp-up in logistics. The British blockaded the harbors and shipping lanes, cutting off European supplies.
London had the largest commercial shoe operation in the world, even their own Cordwainer’s district in the city. But once hostilities started, America would have to provide its own shoes.
Map of the Cordwainer’s district in 1700s London
Men of the era wore soft leather shoes, often held tight with a buckle. Cavalry wore leather riding boots, generally unfit for walking. The infantry had to cover 15 miles per day on foot, over rough terrain. Their shoes rapidly broke down under the wear.
By comparison, their adversaries, the Redcoat Army, wore white breeches and, below the knee, white gaiters of stiff canvas, which protected the lower leg and prevented dirt and debris from entering the soldiers’ low-cut leather shoes. Leggings would also be supplied in winter to fit over the calf.
The gaiters protected the British shoes and legs of its soldiers
Richard Stockton and George Clymer, both signers of the Declaration, were on a committee formed to outfit the Army. They were asked to inspect the troops in the North in October of 1776.
Traveling from Princeton to Upstate New York, they were shocked by the conditions they found in Albany, Saratoga, and the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake George. Stockton wrote a desperate letter to Abraham Clark, Elizabeth Sherriff, and a fellow signer, who reported to the state legislature based in Princeton.
“...Col. Dayton’s regiment is ordered from Fort Stanwix to Tyconderoga. The Colonel and Major Barber came here last evening, and the regiment is now within a few miles of this place, marching with cheerfulness, but a great part of the men barefooted and barelegged.
My heart melts with compassion for my brave countrymen who are thus venturing their lives in the publick service, and yet are so distressed. There is not a single shoe or stocking to be had in this part of the world, or I would ride a hundred miles through the woods and purchase them with my own money; for you’ll consider that the weather here must be very different from that in New-Jersey: it is very cold now I assure you.
For God’s sake, my dear sir, upon the receipt of this, collect all the shoes and stockings you can, and send them off for Albany in light wagons; a couple of two-horse wagons will bring a great many, which may be distributed among our several regiments who will be all together at Tyconderoga in a few days. If any breeches and waistcoats be ready, send them along; but do not wait for them if the shoes and stockings are ready and the others not. We have despatches from General Gates this morning, informing that he hourly expects to be attacked by the enemy; but our works are very strong, and a boom thrown across the water from Tyconderoga to Mount Independence, to prevent the enemy’s shipping from getting below us. Therefore, I trust, with the blessing of Almighty God, that we shall disappoint their wicked and sanguinary purposes.
But shall the brave troops from New-Jersey stand in the lines half-leg deep in snow, without shoes or stockings? God forbid! I shall empty my portmanteau of the stockings I have for my own use on this journey, excepting a pair to take me home; but this is a drop of water in the ocean.
In the utmost haste, I am, with much esteem, dear sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
Richard Stockton.
New Jersey delivered on the shoes. Clark followed the instructions of Stockton at a critical time. He quickly requested shoes from every county in the state. The northern army was provided with a large delivery of shoes and stockings before the onset of winter.
These troops would prove decisive in delivering the first American victory at Saratoga in 1777, stopping the Canada-based Northern British Army, which had planned to cut New England and New York from the rest of the colonies.
Colonial Williamsburg shoe manufacturing
In the South, General William Howe had chased George Washington’s army all over New York and New Jersey, and Washington’s troops also suffered a lack of footwear, as they settled in for the brutal winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge while the British rested comfortably in the recently captured city of Philadelphia.
Shortly after writing the letter, Stockton was chased from Morven, his Princeton estate, and hid at the farm of John Covenhoven in Glendola. They were subsequently reported by loyalists and imprisoned in New York.
The supply problem lingered throughout the war. Cordwainers making shoes for the Army utilized a new strategy. Normally, they made lasts or molds for each customer, customized to the foot. For the army, they utilized a single straight last for each pair. There was no right or left shoe. The men were encouraged to switch feet daily so that the shoes would wear more evenly, almost doubling their wear time.
It took almost two more years before French imports and more streamlined domestic production could alleviate the shortages. But without the shoes of Christopher Longstreet and Jeremiah Jeffery and the donations of the residents of New Jersey, we might have lost the war for independence.
Read more about the legacy of Richard Stockton in Sea Girt Soul, the story of his grandson, Robert Field Stockton. Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday!
www.amazon.com/Sea-Girt-Soul-Commodore-Stockton/dp/B0GTD9STXG