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chained_bear commented on the word continental army
"CAMBRIDGE, 21st August, 1775.
WANTED for the CONTINENTAL ARMY.
One Million of Bricks.
Three Thousand Cords of Fire Wood.
Two Hundred Thousand Feet of Pine Boards and Scantling.
Five Hundred Bushels of Charcoal.
One Hundred and Fifty Tons of English Hay.
Twelve Hundred Bushels of Indian Corn.
Twelve Hundred Bushels of Oats.
Three Hundred Shovels.
Three Hundred Spades.
Fifty Pick Axes.
One Hundred and Fifty Hand-Saws.
Five Thousand Bushels of Lime.
One Hundred and Fifty Tons of Rye Straw.
Those Persons who are willing to supply the Army with the Articles above-mentioned, may apply to the Quarter-Master-General, in Cambridge Massachusetts."
—Watertown, Mass.?: Printed by Benjamin Edes?, 1775
January 29, 2009
reesetee commented on the word continental army
Wow. That's some wish list. Did they get everything they wanted?
January 29, 2009
john commented on the word continental army
a million bricks?
January 29, 2009
ecbrenner commented on the word continental army
Now that's a laundry list!
January 29, 2009
reesetee commented on the word continental army
They had a lot to build.
January 29, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word continental army
At the time, the Continental army (which had only just been formed) was besieging the British at Boston, and the siege lasted all summer, autumn, and winter (into March 1776), so yeah, they needed some serious sh%t. They almost certainly built ovens for making bread for the troops, and quite possibly used some bricks for the foundations of winter-encampment tents (in which it's lumber or preferably brick at the bottom and tent walls and roof).
But I'm just speculating.
It was grammatical for several decades to say "million of ___." I find it endearing. Later it was grammatical to say "ten millions of ___" instead of how we'd phrase it, "ten million ___."
January 29, 2009