Susan Casey - Women Heroes of the American Revolution. 20 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Defiance, and Rescue

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To the courageous women of the American Revolution and to the memory of Paula Ogren, a fellow history lover, who was both an inspiration and a mother to me

Copyright 2015 by Susan Casey

All rights reserved

Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-61374-583-0

Cover and interior design: Sarah Olson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Casey, Susan (Susan Mary)

Women heroes of the American Revolution : 20 stories of espionage, sabotage, defiance, and rescue / Susan Casey.

pages cm (Women of action)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-61374-583-0 (hardback)

1. United States--HistoryRevolution, 17751783Participation, FemaleJuvenile literature. 2. United StatesHistoryRevolution, 17751783WomenJuvenile literature. 3. WomenUnited StatesHistory18th centuryJuvenile literature. I. Title.

E276.C37 2015

973.308dc23

2014032760

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

Women of every age and economic level participated in the American Revolution. The war engulfed their lives as it did the lives of their grandfathers, fathers, husbands, and sons. Some women supported the Revolution. Others eschewed it. Loyalties were split in families, in cities and towns.

When men enlisted to fight, some women went with them. Others stayed home to care for their children and family members, to defend their homes, or to run their family farms or businesses.

Many women, like their male counterparts, were disgruntled when the policies of the British government began to change, and protested when what they felt were unfair taxes were imposed. Some melted pewter dishes to mold bullets, and some made cartridges. Others spun and wove cloth in support of the boycott of British goods, and drank alternatives to British tea.

In the eight long years of the American Revolution, many different battles took place on sea and land in different colonies, on farms and in fields, in cities and towns, in the form of formal battles, small conflicts, or individual incidents between neighbors. In many cases, women didnt have to rush to war. The war surrounded them, engulfed their lives. Some women stepped up in battles, rescued and nursed soldiers, cooked and presented food, or provided clothing. For some women, their own homes were the battlefields. They acted to protect their children or possessions. Other women fought by acting as couriers, speaking their minds, using their pens as weapons, or printing the news. Still others deviously delayed or defied enemy troops.

Some women left diaries and letters detailing their experiences. Stories of others who could neither read nor write will never be told. Yet other stories of brave women have been passed down by word of mouth in families or preserved in journals and letters or in accounts by soldiers, writers of the time, or historians. A few of those stories are in the pages that follow.

While doing research about the stories, I was alternately awed, shocked, surprised, saddened, and intrigued by the heroic women who took action during the American Revolution. Yet I was also stymied when reading varying accounts of the same stories and events that were incomplete, different, or even conflicting. The challenge in writing about women of the American Revolution, and doing them justice, has been to align the conflicting stories and to separate fact from fiction or exaggeration.

What was it like for women to live through the American Revolution? In what ways were they heroic? Read on. I hope their stories will give you a glimpse.