We all know Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. All of these men played an important role in the American Revolution, and the building of our country.
But, you may not know that there were Patriots wearing petticoats ;) We are going to share with you the accomplishments and things done by many women back in that time.
Writers
Mercy Otis Warren was one of many women who used her writing skills to support the revolution. She wrote angry letters to the newspapers. She did not sign her name because the British would have hanged her for treason. She also wrote comedy plays. The plays were performed in her home and published as pamphlets. One of her plays made fun of the British, and their loyalist friends. A Model Celebration was another play where Mercy had mermaids and other sea creatures enjoying the tea thrown into the Boston harbor at the Boston Tea Party.
Needle Workers
According to legend Betsy Ross sewed the first stars and stripes. There's no proof or way to tell for sure it this is true. But we know that she sewed a lot of flags for the new nation.
Nurses
Polly Cooper is an example of how women worked as nurses during the war. She was of the Native American tribe Oneida. Polly cooked wholesome soup for the sick soldiers and made special medicine for the wounded ones. She took water to the thirsty soldiers during battles, and she even cooked hearty meals for General Washington and his crew.
Daring Defenders
Mammy Kate was a slave woman who lived in Georgia. Her master was captured during battle, and she decided to try and rescue him. She went to the place he was being held and offered to do the laundry, including her master's. The soldiers told her they were going to hang him soon. When delivering laundry one day, she whispered her plan to her master. She told him to climb into the basket, she covered him with shirts and carried him out of the fort (she was over 6 feet tall and very strong). She had horses hidden and they escaped on horseback. Her master granted her her freedom, gave her land and a small home of her own, and the two remained friendly all of their lives.
Spies and Messengers
Lydia Darragh is known as the brave Quaker who saved the Revolution. You may not remember, but earlier we shared that Quakers were against all violence, even war. The British General demanded to use Lydia and her husband's parlor for his staff meetings. The men ordered the Darraghs to go to bed early and not disturb them, but Lydia couldn't sleep. She listened to their meeting and learned that the British troops in Philadelphia were planning an attack on Washington's army at white where her son Charles was an officer, he had gone against the family wishes and joined the army. Lydia knew what she had to do, so the next morning she walked many long miles in the snow to deliver her secret message. She told the British patrol that she was going to buy flour. She walked miles passed the flour mill and delivered the news to one of General Washington's officers. Lydia begged the officer not to tell who had brought the warning out of fear for her family.
Schoolgirl Rebels
Elizabeth Zane was only a teenager during the Revolutionary War. Her family went to Fort Henry with other settlers in West Virginia for safety when the British soldiers and Delaware and Shawnee allies. The settlers were nearly out of gunpowder and Elizabeth reminded her brother that there was plenty of gunpowder back at their cabin and volunteered to go get it. She was able to get out because the British soldiers ignored her, thinking she was just a teenager, and what harm could she do. When she went back to the fort they did shoot at her, guessing that she carried supplies. She made it safely back, and the settlers cheered, putting up such a fight that the British left in the early morning.
Women on the Battlefield
Margaret Corbin, called Molly, followed her husband to the battlefield and carried water to the men firing cannons. They nicknamed her "Molly Pitcher" which became a popular name. Her husband died in battle, and she took over his cannon and didn't stop firing until she was shot in the shoulder. That injury prevented her from using that arm again. She was captured by the British, but after the war was over, the new American government awarded her a wounded soldier's pension.