".. acquisitiveness and patriotism, but that mixture was more common among the people of that day.."

Patriotism and Profits
Although some purchasing agents prospered by collecting large commissions, the majority of the personnel employed in the supply departments were paid salaries, which were inadequate and frequently months in arrears. This situation was conducive to abuses because men found fraudulent or illegal ways to supplement their incomes. Not a few salaried supply officers were able to continue in service only by drawing on their family resources. Pleading for adequate pay for his staff, Quartermaster General Timothy Pickering pointed out that a line officer could bear such hardship with more patience because he had "honour and promotion in view" and expected "a continued recompense" as long as he lived. The supply officer gained nothing but abuse and reproach, and his reward lasted no longer than his service. Only medical personnel received the same rewards as line officers.

Although congressional delegates were critical of supply officers, they certainly did not view all of those officers as malefactors who were best dismissed from public service. Despite accusations against Mifflin and the fact that Trumbull refused to serve unless paid a commission, Congress thought well enough of both men to appoint them to the Board of War. Some delegates might grumble that Greene was making a fortune too rapidly, but at Washington’s insistence they appointed him commanding general of the Southern Army. And despite their suspicions of the trade practices of Robert Morris, they were happy to designate him Superintendent of Finance, fully expecting him to perform financial miracles.

The work of a supply officer was arduous. It entailed much traveling and continuous activity not only during campaigns but also when the troops were in winter encampments. Nevertheless, a number of men held a succession of supply positions during the war, sometimes operating as state agents, at other times as supply officers for the Continental supply agencies. In one capacity or another Jeremiah Wadsworth, for example, procured subsistence for the Connecticut troops, the Continental Army, and the French forces in America. The lure of profits was not the only motive of these supply personnel. Motivated by patriotism, Hugh Hughes rejected commissions offered by Greene and served as a salaried deputy under Mifflin and again under Pickering. Ephraim Blaine served throughout the war whether paid a commission or a salary.

Supply personnel - from laborer and artisan to deputy and chief of a supply agency - performed an essential role in the war. Washington’s army could not have been maintained in the field or in winter quarters without the work performed by supply officers. A detailed analysis of the logistical support of the main Continental army reveals a mixture of acquisitiveness and patriotism, but that mixture was more common among the people of that day than has been readily admitted. Supply officers shared with line officers the achievement of winning victory in the American Revolution.