Women

1. Women and The Revolutionary War

2. When we studyThe Revolutionary War, we often don’t discussthe roles that women played in it.

3. Here are just a few notable women from The RevolutionaryWar…

4. Phillis Wheatley • Phillis Wheatley was born in Africa and brought to Boston in 1761. • The Wheatleys (the family that owned her), allowed Phillis time to study and write. As early as 1765, she was writing poetry. • Her last known poem was written for George Washington. It praised the general for his appointment to be Commander of the Continental Army.

5. Betsy Ross • Many people say that Betsy Ross made the first flag of the United States of America from a sketch that George Washington made. (Although no one knows for sure if this is true.) • It is true that she was a seamstress and made many flags during the Revolutionary War. • The flag that she is said to have sewn was officially adopted by Congress on June 14, 1777. It had 13 stripes and 13 stars.

6. Deborah Sampson • Read a copy of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and decided to make herself some men’s clothing and disguise herself as a man to fight in the Revolutionary War. • It was discovered that she was a woman when she was sick with Yellow Fever in Philadelphia. • She expected to be punished, but instead she received an honorable discharge.

7. Nancy Morgan Hart • She was not educated, but was excellent at handling a gun. • She is famous for shooting a gun at British Loyalists who broke into her home. • She tricked them by making a turkey for them and giving them alcohol. Once they started drinking she shot one of the soldiers and her daughter shot the other.

8. Molly Pitcher • At the age of 16 she followed her husband into battle. • She cooked and washed clothes for the soldiers in their camps. She was called Molly “Pitcher,” because she would bring pitchers of water to the soldiers when they needed it. • Her husband got sick from fighting in the war and she took his place at his cannon and kept the gun firing for the rest of the battle.

9. Abigail Adams • She was John Adams wife. • She wanted the colonies to separate from Great Britain and believed that women should have rights. • She would tell these ideas to her husband, who eventually became the second president.