Women's Role In The Revolutionary War

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During the Revolutionary War, it was not just the men who went to war against the British soldiers, thousands of women also took an active role in the war. It was common for wives of the officers and soldiers to follow their husbands to military camps to cook, sew, do laundry, and take care of the wounded and sick soldiers. Though the women also had to deal with the extreme weather conditions and died from diseases, they received less pay and less food than the men. Then there were the women who stayed at home, taking care of the farm and children, not knowing if their husbands were still alive. Then there is Molly Pitcher, a nickname for the women who provided water to the soldiers and to cool the cannons down. Two Molly Pitchers, Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley and Margaret Cochran Corbin, participated in battle by manning the cannons. Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley was born in 1754 near Trenton, New Jersey. She married a barber named William Hays in 1769. When the Revolutionary War broke out, he enlisted in Proctor’s 4th Pennsylvania Artillery and Mary followed him to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Mary became a Molly Pitcher, bringing water to the troops. During the…show more content…
Then there were a few women who unexpectedly saw combat, but demonstrated bravery on the battlefield. When Molly Pitcher’s husband was unable to fire the cannon, she took over and continued firing, knowing full well that she was risking her life. The two women became heroes, but their pensions were still less than men even though they saw action. The male soldiers had enlisted themselves in the army and were trained for months for combat, and these women were only there to take care of their husbands and yet, they risked their lives to protect the soldiers. The Molly Pitchers show how women are able to rise up to the occasion when their country needs
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