- Pitcher, Molly
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born с 1753died Jan. 22, 1832, Carlisle, Pa., U.S.U.S. patriot.Little is known of her early life, though she is thought to have been Irish. In the American Revolution she accompanied her husband, William Hays, a gunner, at the Battle of Monmouth (1778), where she carried pitchers of water to wounded American soldiers, earning the nickname "Molly Pitcher." According to legend, after her husband collapsed from the heat, she took his place at the cannon and served heroically through the battle. In 1822 she was recognized for her heroism with a state pension. Some historians attribute the act of replacing her husband at the cannon to Margaret Corbin (1751–1800) in the attack on Fort Washington in 1776.
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▪ American patriotbyname of Mary Ludwig Hays McCaulyborn 1754, near Trenton, N.J. [U.S.]died Jan. 22, 1832, Carlisle, Pa., U.S.heroine of the Battle of Monmouth Court House (Monmouth, Battle of) during the American Revolution.According to legend, at the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778), Mary Hays, wife of artilleryman William Hays, carried water to cool both the cannon and the soldiers in her husband's battery—hence the nickname “Molly Pitcher.” Legend also asserts that when William Hays collapsed or was wounded, she took her husband's place in the gun crew for the rest of the battle.Patriotic prints and literature depicting the alleged event initially referred to “Captain Molly.” The less martial and more nurturing “Molly Pitcher” did not appear as a cognomen until the mid-19th century. Neither image was identified with a specific person until 1876, when the citizens of Carlisle claimed a woman buried there was the literal heroine of Monmouth. Military records indicate that a William Hays did enlist in the artillery in 1776 and died about 1789. His wife Mary remarried and eventually applied for a pension as a soldier's widow. Instead, on Feb. 21, 1822, Pennsylvania awarded her an annual grant of $40 “for services she rendered.” The services were unspecified, though the wording of the pension bill suggests that she may have played some kind of direct role in the Revolution. Whether she was this particular woman or not, monuments near the Monmouth battle site and at Mary Hays's grave recognize Molly Pitcher's contribution to American independence.Dennis E. Showalter* * *
Universalium. 2010.
