It does take a special kind of woman to be a military wife. She
must be a patriot, and a helpmate, lover, comforter, and confidant
to her husband. As one reads the early diaries or hears the stories
of women who have experienced the roller-coaster ups and downs
of military life, it becomes clear that a military wife must be
courageous and resilient, and have a sense of humor. Her
husband and his job will always come first; to be a good military
wife, she must cheerfully yield satisfaction of her needs and
desires to the needs of the military. It is neither an easy life nor
one to which all wives can adapt, but those who do are part of a
heritage rich in sacrifice, adventure, and fulfillment.

There are many volumes filled with the exploits of military
men, but the heritage and lifestyle of the military wife is relatively
unknown. The pages of Campfollowing are filled with the lives
of these special women, whose two-hundred-year story is told for
the first time.

Because published records contain only casual and incomplete
information on early military wives, extensive library research
was needed to glean evidence of the contributions made by these
women as they supported American military men. Unpublished
diaries and letters add personal insights into the experiences Army
couples shared in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Interviews with wives from all services, all ranks, and all
ages -- from those whose husbands served in World War I to those
whose spouses are presently on active duty -- bring their story to
the brink of the twenty-first century.

None of these women had special training for this job. Each
was (and still is) the girl next door who married a soldier or whose
husband was suddenly a draftee. She would experience pangs of
separation and loneliness, excitement at travel and experiencing
new cultures, and all too often, grief over the injury to or loss of
her spouse. The authors each have the personal insight of over
twenty years "campfollowing," which gives added depth to the
interviews.

This book is dedicated to all those women -- from 1776 to the
present -- who shared and survived the military adventure with

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