| Birth: | Oct. 13, 1744 | | Death: | Jan. 22, 1832 | 
Revolutionary War Heroine. Born Mary Ludwig near Trenton, New Jersey, she was sent to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at a young age to become a servant in the home of Colonel William Irvine. In 1769, she married John Casper Hays, a young barber who lived in the village. In 1775, her husband enlisted in the First Pennsylvania Artillery as a gunner. He spent the winter of 1777 and 1778 at Valley Forge. As with many other soldier wives, Molly joined her husband in the camp, and helped by cooking, washing, sewing, and doing other work around the camp. On Sunday, June 28, 1778, the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey began during one of the hottest days of that summer. To help the soldiers, Molly carried water from a nearby spring to the thirsty soldiers, soon gaining the name Molly Pitcher. During the battle, her husband fell from heat stroke while firing his cannon, and Molly promptly took his place, loading and firing the gun for her fallen husband. After the war, she and her husband returned to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they continued to live happily together until her husband’s death in 1789. After that, she married George McCauley, who had also been a soldier in the Revolutionary War and a friend of her husband. In 1822, the Pennsylvania legislature awarded Molly a yearly pension of $40. There is also a Molly Pitcher rest area along the New Jersey Turnpike, named in her honor for her service to her country. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)
Family links:
Spouses:
John Casper Hays (1750 - 1789)*
John McCauley (____ - 1813)*
*Calculated relationship
Search Amazon for Molly Pitcher | | | Burial:
Old Graveyard
Carlisle
Cumberland County
Pennsylvania, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Jan 01, 2001
Find A Grave Memorial# 820 |
|
|
|
|
(4.4 after 83 votes)
