New Jersey Historical Commission. Independence Hall Association. Photograph : Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth. June Copy of engraving by J. Armytage after Alonzo Chappel. How to Cite this page. Additional Resources. Burstyn, Joan N. Related Biographies. Lydia Darragh was a Patriot spy during the American Revolution.
Nancy Hart made it her mission to rid the Georgia territory of British Loyalists. Mercy Otis Warren was a published poet, political playwright and satirist during the age of the American Revolution.
Related Background. Lesson Plan. Born in Pennsylvania in or possibly , Mary may have worked as a servant before marrying William Hays, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. During the war, Hays served as a gunner in the 4th Artillery of the Continental Army while Mary became part of the group of women, later referred to as camp followers, who traveled with the army and took on such duties as cooking, washing and caring for sick and wounded soldiers.
Mary brought water to the parched American troops until her husband collapsed, either from the heat or after being wounded, after which she supposedly took his place and helped operate cannon for the rest of the battle.
The longest single day of fighting of the American Revolution , the Battle of Monmouth ended in a tactical draw. Following the war, Mary and her husband returned to Carlisle, where he died several years later. Although there has been ample research done mostly by her descendants, independent review of the documents has led some historians to conclude that Pitcher cannot be definitely identified. Most sources identify her birth name as Mary Ludwig, daughter of Maria Margaretha and Johann George Ludwig, and identify her first husband as William Hays also sometimes referred to as John Hays , who was in the artillery and fought at the Battle of Monmouth.
Pitcher was born circa October 13, , near Trenton, New Jersey. In , she moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she met Hays, a local barber. They married on July 24, As it was common at the time for wives to be near their husbands in battle and help as needed, Pitcher followed Hays back to New Jersey during the war's Philadelphia Campaign His wife was present as well, and she made countless trips to a nearby spring to fill pitchers of cold water for soldiers to drink and to pour over their cannons to cool them down.
As legend has it, the soldiers nicknamed her Molly Pitcher for her tireless efforts. But the legend only began with her new name. According to accounts, Pitcher witnessed her husband collapse at his cannon, unable to continue with the fight. She immediately dropped her water pitcher and took his place at the cannon, manning the weapon throughout the remainder of the battle until the colonists achieved victory. According to the National Archives , a witness documented her heroic acts, reporting that a cannon passed through her legs on the battlefield, leaving her unscathed:.
She observed that it was lucky it did not pass a little higher. With her actions on that day, Pitcher became one of the most popular and enduring symbols of the women who contributed to the American Revolution.
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