However, some women did indeed fight alongside the men in the battlefield. The most famous example would be the “Molly Pitcher” women, women who delivered water to soldiers in the war (Timmons). One of them was a woman named Margaret Cochran Corbin, who took over her husband’s cannon in battle after her husband was killed and after the war, received half a soldier’s pension for her services (Timmons). Another example would be Deborah Sampson, a woman who disguised herself as a man named Robert Shurtlieff to fight as a soldier in the war. She fought in many battles, marched with the regiment through perilous weather, and was injured many times, often having to treat herself to avoid being detected as a female (Keiter). Despite this, she was…
They took on all the odd jobs of wartime, filling in the positions that were left vacant to keep society from falling apart at the seams, contributed to the war effort through patriotic acts, and even participated in the conflict directly by aiding the army. The colonial women were not damsels in distress, waiting for knights in shining armor to whisk them away from their perilous situation. They were bold and assertive, supporting their fellow countrymen in the cause of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness despite being labeled as traitors; they were resilient and strong against all adversity that came with wartime whether it was isolation or death; they were the support and guidance that our founding fathers needed to win this revolution. However, above all, these women were truly brave individuals who nurtured this nation from its infancy to the powerful nation it is today. As Roberts dubs them, they are the founding mothers of the United States of…
Spinning bees were meetings where women would gather to spinning cloth together while discussing politics and gossiping (Roberts 39).
2. As an educated woman with a family of patriots who kept correspondence with many prominent figures of the American Revolution such as John Adams and George Washington, Mercy Otis Warren had always been informed in politics (Roberts 46). It may seem strange that a woman would be as outspoken about politics as Warren is in this era. Initially, she only wrote in the place of her brother (James Otis Warren, an outspoken proponent of independence) when his mental health began to decline but the support of her friends and family encouraged her to keep writing (Roberts 47, 52).
3. While overseas, Benjamin Franklin enjoyed the luxuries of the upper class and had the company of many women. He did not write home very often and spent the majority of his married life overseas despite Deborah urging him to come home, only returning to the colonies upon her death to manage the affairs she had been overseeing for him as of then (Roberts 29-30, 31, 36).
4. Esther DeBerdt Reed was actually an Englishwoman who emigrated to the colonies after marriage but was a strong supporter of the patriotic movement (Roberts…
