Joining the rebel cause during the Revolution was risky business. After all, the British Army was comprised of well-trained professionals with a lot of experience. The Patriots were at best a ragtag bunch often lacking weapons and even clothing.
One applicant for a pension, Thomas Craige noted that he "once went on parade in his bare feet when the snow was four or five inches deep, not because he hadn't shoes, but to show the men it wasn't so great a hardship as they complained of."
James Hawkins and Elijah Morehouse were barefoot at the Battle of New York and requested time off to get shoes. That request went all the way up to General Washington himself who told them: "My brave fellows, you see the condition in which I am placed. Yonder upon the East River is the enemy. Should they advance, and we expect them every moment, I shall need every man of you. My soldiers are my life. Should they retire, call again, and you shall have your furlough."
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