During the Revolutionary War, it was common for women to follow the army

One of the most interesting facts about women during the Revolutionary war is that during the Revolutionary War, it was common for women to follow the army. Some women were financially unable to support their houses while their husbands were away or longed to remain by their side. These women, known as camp followers, accompanied the Continental Army, helping the troops and officers as washerwomen, cooks, nurses, seamstresses, supply scavengers, and, on rare occasions, soldiers and spies. Commanding officers referred to the women who accompanied the army as "necessary nuisances" and "baggage" at times, while they were universally lauded at other times. These women ensured that the army camps ran well.

Some of the top officers' wives paid frequent visits to the camps. In contrast to poorer women in army camps, the importance of these well-to-do ladies to the army was symbolic or spiritual rather than practical. Their presence signaled that everyone was willing to make sacrifices for the military effort.

Specific population figures range from assertions of 20,000 women marching with the army to more modest estimates of 3% of camp populations. Women joined army units for a variety of reasons, including fear of malnutrition, rape, loneliness, and impending poverty. Army units in battle-torn areas or enemy-occupied territory housed more women than those in safe areas, most likely because women in battle-torn areas sought the safety of the Continental Army.