Women of the French and Indian War

The French and Indian War took place in North America from 1754-1763. It was part of the larger Seven Years’ War, a global conflict that pitted the British Empire against the French Empire. In North America, most of the fighting took place along the borders of the French and British colonies. Both sides sent in professional armies but also called upon colonists to take up arms to defend their lands and homes. 

Women were not allowed to join the army in the 1700s, but many women became camp followers. Camp followers were often women who had no way to support themselves when their husbands joined the military. They would travel with them and perform domestic tasks like cooking, laundry, and nursing for the troops. Life for camp followers was very difficult. Military life exhausting and dangerous and military officials considered camp followers a burden and a distraction. Sometimes women were forced to undergo invasive body exams to prove they were not sex workers. But the labor of camp followers was critical to keeping the troops healthy and fed, so their presence continued for the duration of the war.

The painting shows camp followers doing laundry and sewing in a war camp. Women also cooked meals and provided nursing care. The Army paid and fed camp followers for their service because they helped the camp operate more efficiently. A single company might have as many as ten camp followers supporting it. Most women became camp followers when their husbands joined the army. But if a woman’s husband died, she could continue to work in the camp if she wanted.

The three excerpts come from the journal of Charlotte Browne, which is the most extensive account of the French and Indian War written by a woman. Charlotte was an unusual camp follower because she came from a middle-class background. Her brother was a master apothecary for the British Army, and she served as a nurse in at least one conflict before the outbreak of the French and Indian War. Charlotte married a civilian staff member of the British Army, and together they had a few children. She was a widow by the time the French and Indian War began in 1754. She chose to travel with the British Army to North America, leaving her children with relatives in England. When she arrived in 1755 Charlotte was appointed the matron of the general hospital for the British Army. In this role she travelled through Virginia, Maryland, Philadelphia, and New York to oversee the care of the sick and wounded. She continued to serve even after her brother died from dysentery. Charlotte ended her journal in August 1757, noting that she was simply too busy with her hospital duties to write. Her entries offer insight into what life was like for women who served during the French and Indian War.

The final resource is a petition filed by a soldier’s wife named Martha May. Martha was arrested for objecting to an order her husband received. Her petition not only mentions the kinds of services she performed as a British Army camp follower, it also reminds us that camp followers’ lives were governed by the officers of the troops they supported.

• camp followers: Civilians, usually women, who travel with an army and provide essential services like cooking, laundry, and nursing.
• dysentery: An infection that causes severe diarrhea.
• Fort Ligonier: A British Army fort in Western Pennsylvania.
• French and Indian War: A colonial war that was fought from 1754 to 1763 between the British and the French. Indigenous communities sided with the colonial power they expected would best protect their sovereignty. The Spanish were allies of the British. Part of the larger global conflict known as the Seven Years’ War. The British triumphed and greatly expanded their territory in North America.
• matron: Head woman.
• petition: A formal written request sent to an authority figure.
• Seven Years’ War: A global war between the British and French empires that took place from 1756-1763. The French and Indian War in North America was a part of this larger global conflict.