Women in the War

Women in the War

Many of the heroines of the American Revolution were daughters, wives and mothers who offered bravery, encouragement, and strength to the Patriots of the Continental army. Some of these women were spies, and risked their lives for their country, still others fought on the front lines (one even dressed like a soldier and was believed to be a man until she was wounded on the front lines and hospitalized). Another great heroine was Mary Lindley Murray, who betrayed her own husband and used her wit and ingenuity while playing a major part in the the American Revolution when she invited British General William Howe and his troops in her home. Mary and her daughters purposely detained the general's army for an entire day, while General Putnam and the Continental Army slowly got away to the north up the Hudson River to join forces with George Washington. Mary's husband, Robert Murray was a wealthy New York merchant who had a country home in the Murray Hill section of New York. Robert was a loyal supporter of England, but Mary and their two daughters were steadfast American patriots. Another woman, Susan Livingston, who was the eldest of three daughters of William Livingston, the first elected governor of New Jersey found a way to redirect the British soldiers by using her quick thinking. She not only managed to keep safe and important documents and correspondence out of their hands when they ransaked the governor's library, but she also found a way to have a British soldier stand guard and protect those papers from the British enemy!

Hannah Hunter Hendee personally saved nine young boys from the clutches of Indian raiders who were kidnapped under British Command in Royalton, Vermont. One of those boys was her own young son, seven year old Michael, who was kidnapped away from his mother, Hannah, as she and her children set out through the woods to escape while following her husbands instructions. After her son was kidnapped she followed the Indian raiders and rescued her son and nine other frightened young boys who were about to be forced into the service of the British army. Emily Geiger rode fifty miles to carry a message from American general Nathanael Greene to General Thomas Sumter. She was captured and found a way to eat the message after she had memorized it. When the British soldiers searched her and found nothing she was freed to continue her journey and successfully delivered the message to a very grateful general. These are just a few of the many stories of the heroines of the American Revolution.

Margaret Corbin fought in one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution. On November 16, 1776 in what is now the section known as Washington Heights, in the Bronx, New York, soldier John Corbin was killed in battle. It was his wife Margeret who continued to fire his gun and helped to hold back the British for many hours in battle. She became the first woman to receive a pension from the government in return for her bravery.