Because her wounds disabled her, the Continental Congress awarded Margaret half the pay of a soldier and a complete outfit of clothing, or its value in cash eventually she also received an annual clothing allowance. His wife moved into his battle station and fought bravely, sustaining three gunshot wounds, until the British captured the post. Margaret Corbin’s husband, John, was killed firing artillery from Fort Washington, New York. But it’s pretty clear that a woman was working a cannon at Monmouth and was later granted a pension by Pennsylvania ‘for her services in the Revolutionary War.’Īnother account of a woman warrior is considerably clearer. There’s a good bit of historical debate about who this woman might have been, and whether ‘Molly Pitcher’ became a generic term for the female water carriers on the battlefield. According to the famous story, a woman called Molly was bringing water to thirsty soldiers (that’s where the ‘Pitcher’ comes from) during the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey, when she saw her husband shot, then took his place firing a cannon. The most well-known of these women, Molly Pitcher, may not have ever existed.

Their stories are told in romantic song and story and in dust-dry pension records of the U.S.

In addition to the legions of women taking over for their husbands at home, often under perilous circumstances, there were genuine Revolutionary War heroines-women who served as soldiers and spies, women who tricked the enemy, women who were tricked by the enemy. And in this first war as a nation, as in every war since, women played a significant but unsung role. ExcerptĪmerica was now a country, but a country in name only, required to fight for its life. In this excerpt, Roberts describes the battlefield actions of a handful of women-representatives of many others whose stories have been lost to history. In her book, Founding Mothers, Cokie Roberts offers a comprehensive look at the many roles women played in the war, including soldiers, spies, nurses, and cooks. While countless stories recount the heroics of men who fought for American independence, far fewer chronicle the equally heroic actions of the women who served during the Revolutionary War.

Founding mothers book