Molly Pitcher
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Molly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman who may have fought in the American Revolutionary War. Historians differ on the real identity of Molly Pitcher, or even if she existed. Since the various Molly Pitcher tales grew in the telling, historians now often regard Molly Pitcher as folklore, rather than history. However, Molly Pitcher may be a composite image inspired by the actions of a number of real women. The name itself may have originated as a nickname given to women who carried water to men on the battlefield during the war. This water was not for drinking, as is popularly believed, but for swabbing the cannons.
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[edit] The Legend & The Evidence
Molly Pitcher is generally identified as Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, wife of William Hays,[1]. Molly was a frequent nickname for women named Mary.[2] Biographical information about her, including her actual name and year of birth (1754 is suggested as an approximate birth year) is sparse. According to one version of the story, she was born to a German family in Pennsylvania. Regardless, solid records first appear in 1778. She was working in her house with her best friend who's husband was also in the war. She knew her husband was going to Monmoth and she heard from German soldiers about the British . She went to her husband in New Jersey from Carlisle. She then helped the soldiers on the American side by giving them water and took her husband's place at his cannon. She got the name Molly Pitcher when the soldiers said,"Molly, Pitcher". After the battle, General George Washington issued her a warrant as a noncommissioned officer, and she was thereafter known by the nickname "Sergeant Molly". However, some of these details may have been borrowed from the actions of a leading candidate for another Molly Pitcher, Margaret Corbin.
Mary and William had a son named John L.Hays. Her husband, William Hays, died in 1787 when their son was five years old. Mary married again to one John McCauly (some sources believe his name may have been George McCauley); he died in 1813. Afterwards, she became a nurse and housekeeper.
On February 21, 1822, the state of Pennsylvania awarded her an annual pension of $40 for her heroism. She died January 22, 1832, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the age of 78.[2]
[edit] Honors
In 1928, "Molly Pitcher" was honored with an overprint reading "MOLLY / PITCHER" on a U.S. postage stamp. In 1928, festivities were being planned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Monmouth. Stamp collectors petitioned the U.S. Post Office Department for a commemorative stamp to mark the anniversary. After recieving several rejections New Jersey congressman Ernest Ackerman, a stamp collector himself, enlisted the assistance of the majority leader of the House, John Q. Tilson.[3] Postmaster General Harry New stedfastly refused to issue a commemorative stamp specifically acknowledging the battle or Molly Pitcher. In a telegram to Tilson, Postmaster New explained "Finally, however, I have agreed to put a surcharged title on ten million of the regular issue Washington 2¢ stamps bearing the name 'Molly Pitcher.'"[3]
"Molly" was further honored in World War II with the naming of the Liberty ship SS Molly Pitcher, launched, and subsequently torpedoed, in 1943.
There is a hotel in Red Bank, New Jersey, not far from the site of the Battle of Monmouth called the Molly Pitcher Inn. There is also a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike named for Molly Pitcher at southbound mile 71.7. The stretch of US Route 11 between Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania-Maryland state line is known as the Molly Pitcher Highway. The American Legion Post in Englishtown is named "Molly Pitcher Post 04". In the 1940s, a 78 rpm record album for children dramatized the Molly Pitcher story with musical accompaniment.
There is a statue of her in Old Cemetery, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There is also a restaurant called the Molly Pitcher Waffle House in Chambersburg, PA.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Will the Real Molly Pitcher Please Stand Up!
- ^ a b "Pitcher, Molly." Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 February 2007.
- ^ a b Hotchner, John M. (2008-08-25). "The scandal surrounding the Molly Pitcher overprint stamp of 1928", Linn's Stamp News, Amos Press Inc., pp. 6.
- Bohrer, Melissa Lukeman. Glory, Passion, and Principle: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution. New York: Atria Books, 2003. ISBN 0-7434-5330-1.
- Raphael, Ray. Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past. New York: New Press, 2004. ISBN 1-56584-921-3. Raphael regards "Molly Pitcher" as a myth which serves to obscure the actual (though less dramatic) contributions of women to the war effort.
- Goodyear, Robert C. The Real Pennsylvania Dutch American, "Molly Pitcher."
[edit] External links
- Find-A-Grave profile for "Molly Pitcher", identified there as Mary (Molly) Ludwig Hays (also spelled Hayes) McCauley (also spelled McCalley)
- Molly Pitcher Overprint on 2c Postage Stamp
- Tugster Blog of Molly Pitcher Rest Area on the New Jersey Turnpike
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