Since various "Molly Pitcher" tales grew in the telling, some historians regard Molly Pitcher as folklore rather than history. In contrast, others suggest it may be a composite image inspired by the actions of a number of real women who carried water to men on the battlefield during the war. However, historical records and eye witness accounts identify the heroines of the Revolutionary War whose battlefield bravery marks them as genuine Molly Pitchers. They were Mary Ludwig Hays and Margaret Cochran Corbin. The Heroines of the Revolutionary War: Molly Pitcher Mary Ludwig, born in 1754, was the daughter of a New Jersey dairy farmer. At the age of 13, she went to work as a domestic servant, and that same year married a barber by the name of William Hays. When the Revolutionary War began, William enlisted in the Pennsylvania Artillery and became a gunner. Like hundreds of other wives of enlisted men, Mary followed her husband into battle and contributed actively by rendering such...
