15. Molly Pitcher is likely folklore based on the deeds of several different women
Molly Pitcher is representative of women of the Continental Army taking their places alongside their husbands while engaged in battle. One such incident occurred in the Battle of Monmouth, on a day when heat exhaustion and sunstroke caused nearly as many casualties as British bullets. Mary Ludwig Hayes, whose husband served as an artilleryman, carried water to his attachment during the battle. Other thirsty troops called out to her, either by saying “Molly, pitcher”, or “Mary, pitcher”. When her husband fell wounded, she took his place alongside his cannon. An eyewitness to the event, Joseph Plumb Martin, recorded she carried the water in a bucket, and the call of “Molly, pitcher,” seems dubious. More likely the call would have been, “Molly, water”.
There were similar incidents in other battles, both before and after Monmouth, described in letters and reports of the army. In some, women were given pensions by the state whose units they served, including pensions for wounds. Molly Pitcher came to symbolize the dedication and courage of the women, most of the camp followers, to the Patriot’s cause during the Revolution. At least one historian has claimed the name is a generic term, long the lines of G. I. Joe during the Second World War. Hundreds, possibly thousands of women served in a similar manner during the Revolution, absorbing its defeats, and contributing to its ultimate victory.