At our July 31 general meeting, CVGS Member Karen Yarger presented a collection of stirring, and occasionally humorous stories, of our feminine American patriot forebears.
We discovered things about well-known colonial women that we didn't know, like Martha Washington following her husband George to each of his winter encampments, including Valley Forge.
We also heard inspiring stories of Sybil Ludington, "the female Paul Revere', who was only 16 when she rode 40 miles (twice as far as Revere) to rouse the militia. Or the 64-year old widow who rode horseback from Virginia to North Carolina to care for her son, wounded in battle.
We learned about Margaret Corbin, who was on the battlefield with her husband, and took his place at the cannon when he was killed. She was severely wounded, and was the first woman to receive a soldier's pension. She is currently the only soldier of the Revolutionary War buried at West Point.
Other stories of spies, camp followers and mothers defending their homes were inspiring additions to our knowledge of America’s War for Independence.
If you are interested in learning more about these early American heroines, Karen suggests these websites:
http://www.americanrevolution.org/women/women.html (See particularly Martha Washington, Mercy Otis Warren & Nancy Morgan Hart) http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nwa/heroine.html (See Margaret Corbin, Mammy Kate & Deborah Sampson)
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