Revolutionary War officers were instructed to "appear in all respects as decent and soldierlike as circumstances' will permit." Their attire was to be orderly, their faces clean-shaven, and their hair to be set and powdered. Although many officers wore wigs out of convenience, George Washington preferred to have his own hair dressed. Benjamin Graves, body servant to Washington's aide-de-camp David Humphreys, claimed he used this powder bag and puff when dressing Washington's hair during the Revolutionary War.