such an offensive person

Margaret Corbin, Molly Pitcher and more

The infamous “Molly Pitcher” loading a cannon (image via the Library of Congress)

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On Nov. 16, 1776, 25-year-old Margaret Corbin followed her husband John into battle. At the time, wives often joined their husbands as “camp followers,” and because Margaret had been trained as a nurse, she was all the more valuable to American troops fighting the British. 

But on November 16, Margaret’s husband, a skilled artilleryman, died during the Battle of Fort Washington in northern Manhattan. Margaret immediately took up John’s post at the cannon and continued loading and firing until enemy fire gravely wounded her jaw, chest and arm. Her fellow soldiers dubbed her “Captain Molly” for her bravery, and many today consider Margaret’s story the basis for “Molly Pitcher,” the popular Revolutionary legend.