American Revolutionary Heroines;

Eleven score and fourteen years ago our forefathers brought
forth to this continent a new nation; but, without the
assistance of many women it may never have became a new
nation. Thank You Ladies for your service of, by, and for
the people

Molly Pitcher;

Molly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman said to have
fought in the American Revolutionary War. Since various
Molly Pitcher tales grew in the telling, many historians
regard Molly Pitcher as folklore, rather than history,
or suggest that Molly Pitcher may be a composite image
inspired by the actions of a number of real women. The
name itself may have originated as a nickname given to
women who carried water to men on the battlefield during
the war.

The deeds in the story of Molly Pitcher are generally
attributed to Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, wife of John
Hays. Molly was a common nickname for women named Mary
in the Revolutionary time period. Biographical information
about her has been gathered by descendent-historians,
including her cultural heritage, given name, probable
year of birth, marriages, progeny, census and tax records,
etc., suggesting a reasonably reliable account of her life.

It is said that she was born to a German family in
Pennsylvania. Around 1778, Mary was working in a house with
her best friend whose husband was also in the war. She knew
her husband was going to Monmouth and she heard from German
soldiers about the British. She went to her husband in New
Jersey from Carlisle. At the Battle of Monmouth she attended
to the Revolutionary soldiers by giving them water. She got
the name Molly Pitcher when the soldiers said, "Molly, Pitcher".
Hays took her husband's place at his cannon when he fell wounded.
After the battle, General George Washington issued her a warrant
as a non commissioned officer, and she was thereafter known by
the nickname "Sergeant Molly". The similarity of the story of
the cannon to that of another Revolutionary wife has suggested
to some that these details may have been borrowed from the actions
of a leading candidate for another Molly Pitcher, Margaret Corbin;
it is also possible that both accounts could be historically correct.

Mary's husband, John Hays, was killed in front of her at the battle
of Monmouth in June of 1778.

On February 21, 1822, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania awarded her
an annual pension of $40 for her heroism. She died January 22, 1832,
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the age of 87.
(Wikipedia)

Mammy Kate:

Mammy Kate was a house slave who belonged to future Governor
Stephen Heard (1740–1815) of Georgia. She lived in what was
then Wilkes County, Georgia, now Elbert County, Georgia.

In an 1820 letter she was said to be the "biggest and tallest"
black woman the writer had ever seen and had "proven
to be a strong, a kindly, a never failing friend to Colonel
Heard and his family." Of pure African descent.

Heard suffered a great deal at the hands of the Tories. They
forced his wife out into a snow storm, and she and their young,
adopted daughter died from exposure. Then he was captured by the
British and sentenced to death.

Ostensibly to care for his needs, Kate followed him to his prison.
One morning she presented herself with a large covered basket on
her head. She told the sentry on duty that she was there to pick up
Colonel Heard's soiled linen and was admitted to his cell. There
she put Heard, who was a small man, in the basket and calmly
sauntered pass the guard with him in the basket balanced on her head.

The previous night she had secreted two of Heard's fine Arabian
horses--Lightfoot and Silverheels--on the outskirts of Augusta,
where he was imprisoned. She carried Heard to where she had hidden
the horses, and she and Heard rode away. It is said that on the
ride he offered to set her free, but she responded by telling
him that he could set her free, but she was never going to set
him free.

He gave her freedom and a deed to a small tract of land and a
four-roomed house, but she continued to serve the Heard family
turning over on her death bed her children to his family.
(Wikipedia)


Laodicea Langston, also known as Dicey Langston, was born a
patriot and grew up on a farm in South Carolina that was
concentrated with loyalists. A lot of these loyalists were
her friends and family. She acted as a spy for the patriots
at the time of the American Revolution with all her friends
and family being loyalists, it was really easy for her to find
out what the loyalists were planning to do next. One time she
overheard her loyalist neighbors planning an attack on a couple
of patriots, she was able to get in contact with those people
and warn them about them being attacked.

When Dicey got older she married Thomas Springfield after the war
and together they had a total of 22 kids. Dicey and Thomas moved
into the Greenville district of South Carolina. Dicey lived there
for the rest of her life and died near Enoree Church.

Dicey stood for freedom and what she did really helped the Patriots.
Whenever she found out information about what the loyalists were
going to do she'd ride her horse to wherever she needed to go
warn the people that were to be affected. She died after the war,
at age 71, in her home in South Carolina.
(Wikipedia)


Margaret Corbin:

Margaret Corbin (November 12, 1751 – January 16, 1800) was a
woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War. On
November 16, 1776 she and her husband, John Corbin, both from
Philadelphia, along with some 600 American soldiers, were
defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 4,000
attacking Hessian troops under British command. John and
Margaret crewed one of two cannons the defenders possessed.
After her husband was killed, Margaret took over firing his
cannon until she was seriously wounded. Three years later,
she became the first woman in the United States to receive
a pension from Congress.

Margaret Corbin was born in West Pennsylvania on November 12,
1751 in what is now Franklin County. Her father was Robert
Cochran, a Scottish-Irish pioneer. In 1756, when she was
five years old, Margaret’s parents were attacked by Native
Americans. Her mother was kidnapped and her father was killed.
At the time, Margaret and her brother John were not at home,
and so escaped the raid. Margaret lived with her uncle for
the rest of her childhood.

In 1772, at the age of 21, Margaret married a Virginia farmer
named John Corbin.

When the war began, John enlisted in the First Company of
Pennsylvania Artillery as a matross, someone who worked with
loading and firing the cannons. As was common at the time for
wives of soldiers, Margaret became a camp follower, accompanying
John during his enlistment. She joined many other women in
cooking, washing, and caring for the wounded soldiers.

On November 16, 1776, Fort Washington, where John's company
was stationed, was attacked by the British. John, an
artilleryman, was in charge of firing a small cannon atop
a ridge, today known as Fort Tryon. During an assault by
the Hessians, John was killed, leaving his cannon unmanned.
Margaret had been with her husband on the battlefield the
entire time, and, after witnessing his death, she immediately
took his place at the cannon. She fired away until her arm,
chest, and jaw were hit by enemy fire. The British ultimately
won the Battle of Fort Washington, resulting in the surrender
of Margaret and her comrades. As the equivalent of a wounded
soldier, Margaret was released by the British on parole.

After the battle, Margaret went to Philadelphia, completely
disabled from her wound, and would never fully heal. Life was
difficult for her because of her injury, and in 1779 she
received aid from the government. On June 29, the Executive
Council of Pennsylvania granted her $30 to cover her present
needs, and passed her case on to Congress’s Board of War. On
July 6, 1779, the Board, sympathetic to Margaret’s injuries
and impressed with her service and bravery, granted her half
the monthly pay of a soldier in the Continental Army and a new
set of clothes or its equivalent in cash. With this act,
Congress made Margaret the first woman in the United States
to receive a pension from Congress.

After Congress’s decision, Margaret was included on military
rolls until the end of the war. She was enrolled in the Corps
of Invalids, created by Congress for wounded soldiers. In 1781,
the Corps of Invalids became part of the garrison at West Point,
New York. She was discharged from the Continental Army in 1783.
(Wikipedia)