Molly Pitcher
The Woman at the Cannon
On June 28, 1778, the American army fought the British at Monmouth, New Jersey. It was a very hot day. A soldier named Joseph Plumb Martin stood near the American cannons. He saw a woman at one of the guns. Her husband was on the gun crew. She stayed with him and handed him the gunpowder. A British cannonball flew between her legs. It tore off the bottom of her skirt. She said it was lucky the ball did not fly higher. Then she went back to work.
Women With the Army
Thousands of women followed the American army. Many were soldiers' wives. They were called camp followers. Camp followers cooked, washed clothes, and cared for the sick. They also carried water. No record from the battle says who carried water at Monmouth that day.
The Story of Molly Pitcher
Years after the war, people told a story about a woman at Monmouth. They called her Molly Pitcher. In the story, she carried pitchers of water to the soldiers. Then her husband fell at his cannon. She took his place and kept firing.
No record from the war names a Molly Pitcher. The name first showed up in print about 60 years after the battle. Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend. A legend is a story passed down for years that cannot be proven.
What the Records Show
Martin wrote about the battle in 1830. He is the only person who saw a woman at a cannon at Monmouth and wrote it down. He did not give her name. He did not say she carried water. He did not say her husband fell.
One woman did take her husband's place at a cannon. Her name was Margaret Corbin. It happened at Fort Washington, New York, in 1776. Her husband was killed at his gun. She stepped in and fired it. She was badly hurt. In 1779 Congress gave her half of a soldier's pay for life.
Mary Ludwig Hays
Most people say Molly Pitcher was Mary Ludwig Hays. She was born around 1754. Her husband William was on a gun crew at Monmouth. Mary followed the army with him. After the war they lived in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1822 the state gave her $40 a year for her service in the war. She died in Carlisle on January 22, 1832.
Key facts to use in your script
For your Hook
- At Monmouth in 1778, a soldier saw a woman at a cannon.
- A cannonball flew between her legs, and she kept working.
- Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend.
For your Story
- Thousands of women followed the army as camp followers.
- The story says Molly Pitcher carried water, then fired her husband's cannon.
- Martin did not give the woman's name or say she carried water.
- Margaret Corbin really did take her husband's place at a cannon in 1776.
For your Wrap
- Historians think most of the story is legend.
- Mary Ludwig Hays is the woman most people name as Molly Pitcher.
- In 1822 Pennsylvania gave her $40 a year for her war service.
Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time
Joseph Plumb Martin — the eyewitness at Monmouth The battle: June 28, 1778; published 1830
Joseph Plumb Martin was a soldier in the American army. He fought at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. In 1830, long after the war, he wrote a book about his years as a soldier. This part is from that book. He wrote it to tell what he saw and lived through in the war.
Simplified version, not the source. These are not the writer’s words, so do not quote them. To quote, use the original words below.
One little thing happened during the heavy cannon fire. I saw it myself, and I think I must tell it. A woman's husband was in the artillery. He was working a cannon in the fight. She stayed with him at the gun the whole time. She was reaching for a cartridge of gunpowder, with one foot as far in front of the other as she could step. An enemy cannon shot passed right between her legs. It only tore away the lower part of her petticoat, or skirt. She looked at it as if she did not care. She said it was lucky it did not go a little higher, or it might have carried away something else. Then she went on with her work.
Read the original (the real words you can quote)
One little incident happened, during the heat of the (heavy cannon fire), which I was eye-witness to, and which I think would be unpardonable not to mention. A woman whose husband belonged to the Artillery, and who was then attached to a (a cannon) in the engagement, attended with her husband at the piece the whole time; while in the act of reaching a (a bundle of gunpowder for one shot) and having one of her feet as far before the other as she could step, a cannon shot from the enemy passed directly between her legs without doing any other damage than carrying away all the lower part of her petticoat, — looking at it with apparent unconcern, she observed, that it was lucky it did not pass a little higher, for in that case it might have carried away something else, and continued her occupation.
Make it yours: List what the Molly Pitcher story adds that Martin does not say. Then plan how your Host will show which parts a witness saw and which parts are only the story.
Joseph Plumb Martin, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (1830), ch. IV — the Battle of Monmouth · See the source
On June 28, 1778, the Continental Army fought the British at Monmouth, New Jersey. The temperature neared 100 degrees. A soldier named Joseph Plumb Martin stood near the American cannons and watched a woman at one of the guns. Her husband was on the gun crew, and she stayed beside him the whole battle, handing up the gunpowder. A British cannonball passed between her legs and tore away the bottom of her skirt. Martin wrote that she looked down, said it was lucky the shot had not passed higher, and went back to work.
Women With the Army
Thousands of women followed the Continental Army. Many were soldiers' wives. They were called camp followers, people who traveled with an army and did its daily work. They cooked, washed clothes, nursed the sick and carried water. Gun crews needed water too, to cool the cannon barrel between shots. No record from the battle says who carried water at Monmouth that day.
The Story of Molly Pitcher
Years after the war, people told a story about a woman at Monmouth they called Molly Pitcher. In the story, she carried pitchers of water to the soldiers in the heat. When her husband fell at his cannon, she took his place and kept firing. "Molly" was a common nickname for Mary, and "Pitcher" fit the water she carried.
No record from the war names a Molly Pitcher. The name first appeared in print in the late 1830s, about 60 years after the battle. In 1848 a printer sold a picture called "Molly Pitcher, the Heroine of Monmouth," and the name stuck. Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend, a story passed down for years that cannot be proven.
What the Records Show
Martin published his account in 1830. It is the only account by someone who saw a woman at a cannon at Monmouth. He gave no name, said nothing about water, and did not say her husband fell.
One woman at a cannon is well documented, at a different battle. On November 16, 1776, at Fort Washington in New York, Margaret Corbin's husband John was killed at his gun. She took his place and kept firing until she was badly wounded. She lost the use of her left arm. In 1779 Congress granted her half a soldier's pay for life. She was the first American woman to receive a military pension, money paid regularly for past service.
Mary Ludwig Hays
The woman most often named as Molly Pitcher is Mary Ludwig Hays, born around 1754. Her husband William Hays served in the 4th Pennsylvania Artillery, and army records place him at Monmouth. Mary followed the army, as many wives did. After the war the couple lived in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. William died in 1786, and Mary later married a man named McCauley. She asked Pennsylvania for a pension as a soldier's widow. In 1822 the state instead gave her $40 a year "for services rendered" in the war. She died in Carlisle on January 22, 1832.
Key facts to use in your script
For your Hook
- At Monmouth on June 28, 1778, Joseph Plumb Martin saw a woman at a cannon.
- A cannonball tore her skirt, and she went back to work.
- Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend.
For your Story
- Camp followers cooked, washed, nursed and carried water for the army.
- The story says she carried pitchers of water and took over her husband's cannon.
- Martin gave no name, said nothing about water, and did not say her husband fell.
- Margaret Corbin took her dead husband's place at a cannon at Fort Washington in 1776.
For your Wrap
- Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend.
- Mary Ludwig Hays, born around 1754, followed the army with her husband William, a gunner at Monmouth.
- In 1822 Pennsylvania gave her $40 a year "for services rendered" in the war.
Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time
Joseph Plumb Martin — the eyewitness at Monmouth The battle: June 28, 1778; published 1830
Joseph Plumb Martin was a private in the Continental Army and fought at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. In 1830, fifty-two years later, he published a memoir, a book about his own life as a soldier. He wrote it to tell what common soldiers saw and suffered in the war. This passage is his account of the battle.
Simplified version, not the source. These are not the writer’s words, so do not quote them. To quote, use the original words below.
One little incident happened during the heat of the cannon fire. I saw it with my own eyes, and I think it would be wrong not to mention it. A woman whose husband belonged to the artillery was with him at his cannon in the battle. She stayed with her husband at the gun the whole time. While she was reaching for a cartridge, a bundle of gunpowder, she had one foot as far in front of the other as she could step. At that moment a cannon shot from the enemy passed directly between her legs. It did no other damage than carrying away all the lower part of her petticoat. She looked at it with no sign of concern. She remarked that it was lucky the shot did not pass a little higher, because then it might have carried away something else. Then she went on with her work.
Read the original (the real words you can quote)
One little incident happened, during the heat of the (heavy cannon fire), which I was eye-witness to, and which I think would be unpardonable not to mention. A woman whose husband belonged to the Artillery, and who was then attached to a (a cannon) in the engagement, attended with her husband at the piece the whole time; while in the act of reaching a (a bundle of gunpowder for one shot) and having one of her feet as far before the other as she could step, a cannon shot from the enemy passed directly between her legs without doing any other damage than carrying away all the lower part of her petticoat, — looking at it with apparent unconcern, she observed, that it was lucky it did not pass a little higher, for in that case it might have carried away something else, and continued her occupation.
Make it yours: List what the famous legend adds that this eyewitness never says. Then decide what belongs in your script, and how your Host will show which parts a witness saw and which parts are only the story.
Joseph Plumb Martin, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (1830), ch. IV — the Battle of Monmouth · See the source
On June 28, 1778, the Continental Army fought the British at Monmouth, New Jersey, on a day when the temperature neared 100 degrees. A private named Joseph Plumb Martin stood near the American cannons during the heaviest firing. He watched a woman whose husband served one of the guns. She stayed at the gun with him through the whole battle, handing up cartridges. As she reached for one, a British cannonball passed between her legs and tore away the lower part of her petticoat. Martin wrote that she looked at the damage, remarked that it was lucky the shot had not passed higher, and went on with her work.
Women With the Army
The woman Martin saw was one of thousands who followed the Continental Army. Most were soldiers' wives. The army called them camp followers, civilians who traveled with an army and did its daily work. They cooked, washed clothes, nursed the sick and carried water. Gun crews needed water too, to swab out the hot barrel of a cannon between shots. No record from the battle says who carried water at Monmouth that day.
The Story of Molly Pitcher
Years after the war, people told a story about a woman at Monmouth they called Molly Pitcher. In the story, she carried pitchers of water to soldiers collapsing in the heat. When her husband fell at his cannon, she took his place and kept firing until the battle ended. "Molly" was a common nickname for Mary, and "Pitcher" fit the water she carried.
No record from the war names a Molly Pitcher. The name first appeared in print in the late 1830s, about 60 years after the battle. In 1848 the printer Nathaniel Currier sold a picture titled "Molly Pitcher, the Heroine of Monmouth," and the name stuck. Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend, a story passed down for years that cannot be proven, and that it blends the deeds of more than one woman.
What the Records Show
Martin published his memoir in 1830. It is the only account of a woman at a cannon at Monmouth written by someone who was there. He gave no name, said nothing about water, and did not say her husband fell. Every other part of the story was added later.
One woman at a cannon is well documented, at a different battle. On November 16, 1776, at Fort Washington in New York, Margaret Corbin's husband John was killed at his gun. She took his place and kept firing until she was badly wounded. She lost the use of her left arm. On July 6, 1779, Congress granted her half a soldier's pay for life, the first military pension, money paid regularly for past service, that the United States gave to a woman.
Mary Ludwig Hays
The woman most often named as Molly Pitcher is Mary Ludwig Hays, born around 1754. Her husband William Hays served as a gunner in the 4th Pennsylvania Artillery, and army records place him at Monmouth. Mary followed the army, as many wives did. After the war the couple settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. William died in 1786, and Mary later married John McCauley. She asked the state of Pennsylvania for a pension as a soldier's widow. On February 21, 1822, the legislature instead granted her $40 a year "for services rendered" in the Revolutionary War. She died in Carlisle on January 22, 1832, and was buried there under the name Mary McCauley.
Key facts to use in your script
For your Hook
- At Monmouth on June 28, 1778, Private Joseph Plumb Martin watched a woman hand cartridges at a cannon as a cannonball tore her petticoat.
- No record from the war names a Molly Pitcher; the name first appeared in print in the late 1830s.
- Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend, blended from more than one woman.
For your Story
- Thousands of camp followers cooked, washed, nursed and carried water, and gun crews used water to swab the barrel between shots.
- No record from the battle says who carried water at Monmouth that day.
- Martin's eyewitness account gives no name, no water and no fallen husband.
- Margaret Corbin took her husband's place at a cannon at Fort Washington on November 16, 1776, and lost the use of her left arm.
For your Wrap
- Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend, built from the deeds of more than one woman.
- Margaret Corbin received the first U.S. military pension given to a woman, in 1779.
- On February 21, 1822, Pennsylvania granted Mary Hays McCauley $40 a year "for services rendered."
- She died in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on January 22, 1832.
Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time
Joseph Plumb Martin — the eyewitness at Monmouth The battle: June 28, 1778; published 1830
Martin fought at Monmouth and published his memoir in 1830. This is the only eyewitness account of a woman serving a cannon in that battle — the seed at the center of the "Molly Pitcher" story. Read it beside the famous legend and notice everything Martin does NOT say: no name, no fallen husband, no taking his place at the gun.
One little incident happened, during the heat of the (heavy cannon fire), which I was eye-witness to, and which I think would be unpardonable not to mention. A woman whose husband belonged to the Artillery, and who was then attached to a (a cannon) in the engagement, attended with her husband at the piece the whole time; while in the act of reaching a (a bundle of gunpowder for one shot) and having one of her feet as far before the other as she could step, a cannon shot from the enemy passed directly between her legs without doing any other damage than carrying away all the lower part of her petticoat, — looking at it with apparent unconcern, she observed, that it was lucky it did not pass a little higher, for in that case it might have carried away something else, and continued her occupation.
Make it yours: List what the famous legend adds that this eyewitness never says. Then decide what you can responsibly put in your script — and how your Host will signal the difference between "an eyewitness saw" and "the story goes."
Joseph Plumb Martin, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (1830), ch. IV — the Battle of Monmouth · See the source
On June 28, 1778, the Continental Army fought the British at Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, on a day when the temperature neared 100 degrees and men on both sides collapsed from the heat. A Connecticut private named Joseph Plumb Martin stood near the American cannons during the heaviest firing. He watched a woman whose husband served one of the guns. She stayed at the gun with him through the whole battle, handing up cartridges, the paper-wrapped charges of gunpowder that fed the cannon. As she reached for one, a British cannonball passed between her legs and tore away the lower part of her petticoat. Martin wrote that she looked at the damage "with apparent unconcern," remarked that it was lucky the shot had not passed higher, "and continued her occupation."
Women With the Army
The woman Martin saw was one of thousands who followed the Continental Army. Most were soldiers' wives, and many had no other way to live once their husbands enlisted. The army called them camp followers, civilians who traveled with an army and did its daily work. They cooked, washed clothes, nursed the sick and carried water, and the army counted them on its ration rolls. Gun crews needed water too, to swab out the hot barrel of a cannon between shots so that sparks would not set off the next charge. No record from the battle says who carried water at Monmouth that day.
The Story of Molly Pitcher
Years after the war, people told a story about a woman at Monmouth they called Molly Pitcher. In the story, she carried pitchers of water to soldiers collapsing in the heat. When her husband fell at his cannon, she took his place and kept firing until the battle ended. "Molly" was a common nickname for Mary, and "Pitcher" fit the water she carried. No record from the war names a Molly Pitcher. The name first appeared in print in the late 1830s, about 60 years after the battle. In 1848 the printer Nathaniel Currier sold a picture titled "Molly Pitcher, the Heroine of Monmouth," and prints like it fixed the story in the public mind.
Historians think most of the Molly Pitcher story is legend, a story passed down for years that cannot be proven. Many describe the figure as a composite, a single character built from the deeds of several real women. They disagree on how much is real. Some accept that Mary Hays was the woman at the gun. The historian Ray Raphael argues that the Monmouth story cannot be traced to any record from the war and was attached to her only in the 1800s.
What the Records Show
Martin published his memoir in 1830 under the title A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier. It is the only account of a woman at a cannon at Monmouth written by someone who was there. He gave no name, said nothing about water, and did not say her husband fell. The only other early account, from an army surgeon named Albigence Waldo, was secondhand and survives only in a quotation printed in 1927. Every other detail of the story was added later, in the 1800s.
One woman at a cannon is well documented, at a different battle. On November 16, 1776, at Fort Washington in New York, Margaret Corbin's husband John was killed at his gun. She took his place and kept firing until grapeshot tore her arm and chest. She lost the use of her left arm. On July 6, 1779, Congress granted her half a soldier's pay for life, the first military pension, money paid regularly for past service, that the United States gave to a woman.
Mary Ludwig Hays
The woman most often named as Molly Pitcher is Mary Ludwig Hays. Most sources give her birth date as October 13, 1754, though some dispute it. Her husband William Hays, a barber, served as a gunner in the 4th Pennsylvania Artillery, and army records place him at Monmouth. Mary followed the army, as many wives did. After the war the couple settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. William died in 1786, and Mary later married John McCauley. She asked the state of Pennsylvania for a pension as a soldier's widow. On February 21, 1822, the legislature instead granted her $40 a year "for services rendered" in the Revolutionary War. The act did not say what those services were. She died in Carlisle on January 22, 1832, and was buried there under the name Mary McCauley.
Key facts to use in your script
For your Hook
- Martin's 1830 memoir is the only eyewitness account of a woman at a cannon at Monmouth, and it gives no name.
- The name Molly Pitcher first appeared in print in the late 1830s and was fixed by prints like Currier's 1848 "Heroine of Monmouth."
- Historians treat Molly Pitcher as a legend and a composite of several women.
For your Story
- Martin wrote that the woman looked at her torn petticoat "with apparent unconcern" and "continued her occupation."
- The only other early account, by surgeon Albigence Waldo, was secondhand and survives only in a 1927 quotation.
- Ray Raphael argues the Monmouth story was attached to Mary Hays only in the 1800s; other historians accept her as the woman at the gun.
- Margaret Corbin, wounded at a cannon at Fort Washington in 1776, received half a soldier's pay for life on July 6, 1779.
For your Wrap
- Historians treat Molly Pitcher as a legend and a composite, and they still disagree on whether Mary Hays served the gun.
- Mary Hays asked for a widow's pension; in 1822 Pennsylvania instead paid her $40 a year "for services rendered" and did not say what they were.
- Corbin's 1779 pension and Hays's 1822 pension are the two records that tie real women to the story.
- Mary Hays McCauley died in Carlisle on January 22, 1832.
Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time
Joseph Plumb Martin — the eyewitness at Monmouth The battle: June 28, 1778; published 1830
Martin fought at Monmouth and published his memoir in 1830. This is the only eyewitness account of a woman serving a cannon in that battle — the seed at the center of the "Molly Pitcher" story. Read it beside the famous legend and notice everything Martin does NOT say: no name, no fallen husband, no taking his place at the gun.
One little incident happened, during the heat of the (heavy cannon fire), which I was eye-witness to, and which I think would be unpardonable not to mention. A woman whose husband belonged to the Artillery, and who was then attached to a (a cannon) in the engagement, attended with her husband at the piece the whole time; while in the act of reaching a (a bundle of gunpowder for one shot) and having one of her feet as far before the other as she could step, a cannon shot from the enemy passed directly between her legs without doing any other damage than carrying away all the lower part of her petticoat, — looking at it with apparent unconcern, she observed, that it was lucky it did not pass a little higher, for in that case it might have carried away something else, and continued her occupation.
Make it yours: List what the famous legend adds that this eyewitness never says. Then decide what you can responsibly put in your script — and how your Host will signal the difference between "an eyewitness saw" and "the story goes."
Joseph Plumb Martin, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (1830), ch. IV — the Battle of Monmouth · See the source