Women Who Fought: Margaret Cochran Corbin
Margaret Cochran Corbin was married to a farmer named John Corbin. When Pennsylvania started recruiting soldiers for the Continental Army in 1775, John joined. This left Margaret with a difficult decision. She could stay behind, where she would have to care for herself and might fall victim to poverty, starvation, or attack by hostile British troops, or she could travel with John and endure the hardships and dangers of life in the army. Margaret chose to dress as a man and march with John.
On November 16, 1776, British ships attacked the Corbins’ regiment at Fort Washington in Manhattan, NY. John, who was responsible for loading a cannon, was killed. Rather than retreat to a safer location, Margaret took over firing the cannon. Her aim was so excellent that the British halted their advance to focus on trying to stop her. She was hit with three musket balls and grapeshot. Her left arm was nearly severed from her body, and she had terrible wounds in her jaw and chest. Her cannon was the last to fall silent before the fort was abandoned.
When the British took the fort, they found Margaret in critical condition by her cannon. British doctors saved her life, but her left arm was paralyzed. Her injuries meant that she could not work to support herself. Even simple tasks, such as dressing and feeding herself, were impossible. Her husband was dead and she had no other family she could live with, leaving her without the familial protection that colonial society expected women to have.
TAKE NOTES
Now that you've learned about women fighting in the American Revolution, add to your notes about their participation on the “Fighting” line.
