History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

1776] REVOLUTION—DEATH OF GEN. POMEROY. 391
Requisitions for As the War progressed, supplies of all kinds
Supplies. became more and more difficult to obtain.
Clothing and blankets, of which there was
always much waste, soon became very scarce. No manu-
factories of such goods were then in existence in the colo-
nies, and the only source of supply was among the people.
These articles were all made at home for home consumption,
and it was only in the private stores of families that they
could be found. The army had no uniforms, and the
troops "presented a motley appearance, dressed in their
every-day homespun clothing, of as many different styles,
fashions and qualities, as there were different states whence
they came. The first requisition by the Third Provincial
Congress for such supplies was made in July, 1775. The
people were "earnestly desired as soon as possible to procure
such a number of the articles of shirts, breeches &
stockings as are affixed to their said towns," "and as many^
good shoes as they can obtain." These articles were to be
paid for in notes or bills of credit of the colony. This
requisition did not apply to Hampshire, but to eight of the
more eastern counties of Massachusetts. The next year a
requisition was made for four thousand blankets, and
£2,600 were appropriated to pay for them. Northampton
was required to furnish seventeen blankets. The work of
collection was assigned to the selectmen or the Committee
of Correspondence. Every house was visited, and one or
more blankets demanded in proportion to the ability of the
party, paid for and taken away. These articles were
usually given ujj with cheerfulness, occasionally blankets
were taken from beds in daily use, ' and were surrendered
without a murmur. The following year, in a requisition
for five thousand blankets, Northampton was required to
furnish twenty-seven. Later requisitions were made for
shirts, shoes, and stockings, and in 1779, this town was
ordered to provide sixty-four pairs of each of these articles.
During the next year Elijah Hunt was appointed
receiver for Hampshire County, and Northampton was
drawn upon for forty-five shirts and an equal number of
pairs of shoes.
1 Holland's History of Western Mass., vol. 1, p. 216.