Esther de Berdt Reed, Civic Leader and Organizer

 

Women on the Page

Deborah Sampson, Revolutionary War Soldier

  

• Margaret Corbin, Deborah Sampson, Mary Ludwig Hays (Molly Pitcher), Revolutionary War soldiers

  

• Esther de Berdt Reed 
• Anna Smith Strong
•  Lorenda Holmes
• Mercy Otis Warren 
• Betsy Ross 
• Catherine Littlefield Greene
• Martha Washington 
• Abigail Adams 
• Daughters of Liberty
• Nurses and Camp Followers 

 

  Additional Material at Revolutionary Era Leaders

 

 

Roles of Women and the Revolutionary War

 

Soldiers/Military   Margaret Corbin  Deborah Sampson Mary Ludwig Hays (Molly Pitcher)   CROSS-LINK: Sybil Ludington, Betsy Dowdy and Susanna Bolling,   Revolutionary War Riders	Spies & Espionage  Anna Smith Strong  Lorenda Holmes	Nurses & Medicine  Nurses and Camp Followers
Workers and Owners  Martha Washington	Political Activists  Esther de Berdt Reed  The Edenton Tea Party Abigail Adams  Daughters of Liberty  Sarah Bradlee Fulton  Phillis Wheatley  Mercy Otis Warren	Science/Tech Pathfinders  Catherine Littlefield Greene

 

 

Check out these 10 facts about women during the Revolutionary War

 

 Learn about the All-Women's Tea Party - The Edenton Tea Party 1774 North Carolina

 

 

See also Revolutionary War Women

 

NPR interview with Cokie Roberts about her children and young adult book, Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies. 

 

 

9 Women Who Helped Win the American Revolution

 

Women in the U.S. Army discusses the roles of women during the American Revolution.

 

 

 

Margaret Corbin

 

Margaret “Molly” Corbin dressed as a man and fought alongside her husband in an artillery regiment during the American Revolution. In recognition of her service, Congress awarded Corbin a pension and rations for life.  

 

Gravesite historical marker, U. S. Military Academy Cemetery.

 

Margaret Cochran Corbin was the first woman to receive a military pension and recognized as a veteran in the United States.

 

Life Story: Margaret Corbin (1751 -1800) from New York Historical Society and Museum

 

 Video of Margaret Corbin's story made part of history in a painting.

  

 

Statue of Deborah Sampson in front of the Sharon Public Library in Sharon, Massachusetts.

This is where Deb Sampson died in 1827. 

 

Deborah Sampson

 

During the Revolutionary War, Deborah Sampson enlisted in the army as man under the name Robert Shurtliff.

 

• She served for 18 months before she was injured on the battlefield and had to take time off. 

 

• When she returned to the army, she notified her commander of her true gender and instead of being punished, she was honorably discharged from the army.

 

• For more information about her life, go to Biography of Deborah Sampson

          or to a description in George Washington's Mount Vernon

 

Massachusetts History includes the story of Deborah Sampson.

 

  Roots - Deborah Sampson, Video animation telling her story

 

The Deborah Sampson Act (2019)

• Provides health care services to veteran women soldiers and address disparities of coverage between men and women

 

 

 

Molly Pitcher the Heroine of Monmouth, Currier & Ives Print 

 

Mary Ludwig Hays (Molly Pitcher)

 

 Was Molly Pitcher a Real Person or a Fictional Creation?

 

Consult Mary Ludwig Hays from National Women's History Museum

 

  Click here for a YouTube video explaining Molly Pitcher  

 

 

Esther de Berdt Reed

Esther de Berdt Reed led the Ladies of Philadelphia organization that raised $300,000 to support the colonial cause.

 

The broadside Sentiments of an American Woman was reportedly written by Esther Reed.

 

 Link to the text of Sentiments of an American Woman

 

• For more, learn about the Ladies Association of Philadelphia from the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia

 

 

 

Women Spies during the Revolution

 

Revolutionary Spies, from the National Women's History Museum.

 

 

This Day in History: Agent 355 and the Culper Spy Ring

 

Anna Strong and the Revolutionary War Culper Spy Ring

 

 

Lorenda Holmes, Loyalist Spy

 

 

1952 American Stamp 

 

Betsy Ross

 

The Truth about Betsy Ross from Colonial Williamsburg reveals that there is little historical evidence to indicate who actually created the first flag.

 

Five Myths about the American Flag

 

More information on women involved in the Revolutionary war efforts. Including Abigail Adams and Betsy Ross.

 

 

Catherine Littlefield Greene

Information on Catharine Littlefield Greene, wife of General Nathanael Greene and collaborator with Eli Whitney in the invention of the cotton gin.

 

 

Martha Washington

 

Key Facts about Martha Washington

 

 

Overview of Martha Washington's Life

 

From George Washington to Martha Washington, 18 June 1775

 

 

 

 

Daughters of Liberty

 

Who Were They and What Did They Do?

 

Sarah Bradlee Fulton from Boston, who has since been called the “Mother of the Boston Tea Party.”

 

• According to the Boston Tea Party Museum website, she is credited with the idea of disguising the men as Mohawk Indians, painting their faces, and donning Native American clothing.

 

The Boston Coffee Party 

 

• In opposition to the tax on tea, women refused to serve it to family and friends, substituting coffee instead which was imported without taxation.

 

 

Female Food Riots of the American Revolution 

 

• Between 1776 and 1779, food shortages caused more than 30 food riots in the American colonies. Angry men and women accosted merchants who hoarded, overcharged or monopolized coffee, tea, sugar or flour.

 

 

Nurses and Camp Followers

 

Nurses in the American Revolutionary War

 

Click here to read about how the revolutionary war contributed to the norm of women being nurses 

 

The History of Wartime Nurses

On July 27, 1775, a resolution was signed allotting payment of two dollars per month to women who worked as nurses.

• Women who supervised the nurses and acted as go-betweens to the surgeons received four dollars.
• Pay per nurse was raised to four dollars in 1776.
• The signing of this resolution was significant because it created the first organized system for the assignment and payment of nurses for the American military.