Share This Article

Soap Suds Row: The Bold Lives of Army Laundresses, 1802–1876, by Jennifer J. Lawrence, High Plains Press, Glendo, Wyo., 2016, $18.95

From 1802 through 1876 Army laundresses were the only women paid and recognized by the U.S. government. Even after the official practice ended, some washerwomen received rations until 1883, while others were granted modest housing until 1893.

In this offbeat history author Jennifer Lawrence, who has played a laundress as a historical reenactor, provides details of the women’s duties—no, they were not largely prostitutes—and an overview of their lives. Their pay, which varied from fort to fort, was deducted from the pay of enlisted men before they ever saw a soggy dollar. For their labors the laundresses had to deal with cholera and dysentery, accidents and boredom, fleas and drunken soldiers. One was even brought up on assault charges.

In 1866 one luckless soldier made a disparaging remark to the wrong laundress at Fort Bascom, New Mexico Territory. The woman warned the soldier she’d cut out his tongue if he mouthed off again. He did—and she did, slicing off the tip of his tongue as he slept off a drunken binge—one way to curb his language.

—Johnny D. Boggs