4-3.6

It Is Essential For Students To Know:

• Students should know the daily life and roles taken by women during the Revolutionary War.
• Women were expected to work the farm or family business. They cared for their children and planted and harvested crops in the absence of their husbands.
• Others served the army more directly, as nurses or cooks. A few even served in battle alongside of their husbands.
• The following women are only some examples. Many other women whose names we do not know also played a part in the American Revolution.
• Martha Washington was the wife of George Washington. Martha supported her husband, the Commander and Chief of the Continental Army, by going to stay with him during the winters at Valley Forge. Her presence boosted the morale of both her husband and his soldiers.
• Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley (Molly Pitcher) served alongside her husband during the Revolutionary War. She cooked, washed clothes, took care of wounded soldiers, and carried pitchers of water to the fighting men. She got her nickname because she responded to their cry of “Molly, pitcher!”. Legend has it that Mary took her husband’s place at his gun when he was wounded during battle.
• Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams. Abigail ran the family farm while her husband served in the Continental Congress. She wrote letters to her husband urging him to “remember the ladies” in the new republic the Congress was creating. She also accompanied her husband to France, the Netherlands and Great Britain when he was the American ambassador.
• African Americans fought on both sides of the war. Many African Americans fought for the British because they were promised their freedom but the promise was usually not fulfilled. The following African Americans are examples of those who fought for the Patriot cause. Many other African Americans whose names we do not know also played a part in the American Revolution.
• Crispus Attucks, a freed slave, was killed during the Boston Massacre.
• Peter Salem, a former African American slave and Minutemen hero was one of a few who was given his freedom in exchange for serving in the American army at Bunker Hill and Saratoga.

It Is Not Essential For Students To Know:

• It is not essential for students to know birth and death and other dates pertaining to these persons and their life stories.