Mary Ludwig Hays (October 13, 1754 – January 22, 1832) was a woman who fought in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

. The woman behind the

Molly Pitcher Molly Pitcher is a nickname given to a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War. She is most often identified as Mary Ludwig Hays, who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. Another possibility is Margaret Corbin, who helped ...

story is most often identified as Hays, but it is likely that the legend is an amalgam of more than one woman seen on the battlefield that day.

Life and military career

Mary Ludwig was born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, British America. There is some dispute over her birth date, but a marker in the cemetery where she is buried lists her birth date as October 13, 1754. She had a moderately sized family which included her older brother Johann Martin; their parents were Maria Margaretha and Johann George Ludwig, who was a butcher. It is likely that she never attended school or learned to read, as education was uncommon among girls at this time.Koestler-Grack, Rachel A. ''Molly Pitcher: Heroine of the War for Independence''. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2006. . Her father died in January 1769, and her mother married John Hays the following June. In early 1777, Mary married William Hays, a barber in

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census ...

. Continental Army records show that he was an artilleryman at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. Dr. William Irvine organized a boycott of British goods as a protest of the

Tea Act The Tea Act 1773 ( 13 Geo. 3. c. 44) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The principal objective was to reduce the massive amount of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to he ...

on July 12, 1774, in a meeting in the Presbyterian Church in Carlisle, and William Hays' name appears on a list of people who were charged with enforcing it.

Valley Forge

In 1777, William Hays enlisted in Proctor's 4th Pennsylvania Artillery, which became Proctor's 4th Artillery of the Continental Army. During the winter of 1777, Mary Hays joined her husband at the Continental Army's winter camp at

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

, Pennsylvania. She was one of a group of women, led by

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 Old Style, O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the ...

, who would wash clothes and blankets, and care for sick and dying soldiers. In early 1778, the Continental Army trained under Baron

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben ( , ; born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis Freiherr von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben, was a German-b ...

. Hays trained as an artilleryman, and Mary and other camp followers served as water carriers, carrying water to troops who were drilling on the field. Also, artillerymen needed a supply of water to soak the sponge used to clean sparks and gunpowder out of the barrel after each shot. It was during this time that Mary probably received her nickname, as troops would shout, "Molly! Pitcher!" whenever they needed her to bring fresh water.

Battle of Monmouth

At the

in June 1778, Mary Hays attended to the soldiers by giving them water. Just before the battle started, she found a spring to serve as her supply, and two places on the battlefield are now marked as the " Molly Pitcher Spring." She spent much of the early day carrying water to soldiers and artillerymen. The weather was very hot, and William Hays collapsed during the battle, either wounded or suffering from

heat exhaustion Heat exhaustion is a heat-related illness characterized by the body's inability to effectively cool itself, typically occurring in high ambient temperatures or during intense physical exertion. In heat exhaustion, core body temperature ranges from ...

. It has often been reported that he was killed in the battle, but it is known that he survived. As he was carried off the battlefield, Mary took his place at the cannon and continued to "swab and load" the cannon using her husband's ramrod. At one point, a British musket ball or cannonball flew between her legs and tore off the bottom of her skirt. She supposedly said something to the effect of, "Well, that could have been worse," and went back to loading the cannon.Rockwell, Anne ''They Called Her Molly Pitcher''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. .

Joseph Plumb Martin Joseph Plumb Martin (also spelled as Joseph Plum Martin; November 21, 1760 – May 2, 1850) was a soldier in the Connecticut Militia and Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and was mustered out as a 23-year-old Sergeant in ...

recalls an incident in his memoirs, writing that at the Battle of Monmouth, "A woman whose husband belonged to the artillery and who was then attached to a piece in the engagement, attended with her husband at the piece the whole time. While in the act of reaching a cartridge and having one of her feet as far before the other as she could step, a cannon shot from the enemy passed directly between her legs without doing any other damage than carrying away all the lower part of her petticoat. Looking at it with apparent unconcern, she observed that it was lucky it did not pass a little higher, for in that case it might have carried away something else, and continued her occupation." However, there is no mention of the woman Martin describes serving the gun crews with water, nor of her husband becoming a casualty. Later in the evening, the fighting was stopped due to gathering darkness. Although

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and his commanders expected the battle to continue the following day, the British forces retreated during the night and continued on to

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. After the battle, General Washington asked about the woman whom he had seen loading a cannon on the battlefield. In commemoration of her courage, he issued Mary Hays a warrant as a

non commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

. Afterward, she was known as "Sergeant Molly," a nickname that she used for the rest of her life.

Later life and death

Following the end of the war, Mary Hays and her husband William returned to

. During this time, Mary gave birth to a son named Johannes (or John). In late 1786, William Hays died. In 1793, Mary Hays married John McCauley, another Revolutionary War veteran and possibly a friend of William Hays. McCauley was a stone cutter for the local Carlisle prison. However, the marriage was reportedly not a happy one, as McCauley had a violent temper. It was McCauley who was the cause of Mary's financial downfall, causing Mary to sell of bounty land left to her by William Hays, for 30 dollars. Sometime between 1807 and 1810, McCauley disappeared, and it is not known what happened to him. Mary McCauley continued to live in Carlisle. She earned her living as a general servant for hire, cleaning and painting houses, washing windows and caring for children and sick people. "Sergeant Molly," as she was known, was often seen in the streets of Carlisle wearing a striped skirt, wool stockings, and a ruffled cap. She was well-liked by the people of Carlisle, even though she "often cursed like a soldier." On February 21, 1822, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania awarded Mary McCauley an annual pension of $40 () for her service. Mary died January 22, 1832, in Carlisle, at the approximate age of 87."Pitcher, Molly."
''

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''. 13 February 2007. She is buried in the Old Graveyard in Carlisle under the name "Molly McCauley". A statue of "Molly Pitcher," standing alongside a cannon, is also in the cemetery. But according to this same monument--unveiled July 4, 1876, long after Mary/"Molly"'s death--the year she died is marked "January 1833," not January 1832. And the monument also records she was only "Aged 70 years," which (probably erroneously) would place her birth year at 1763, instead of 1754 as noted here.

The Molly Pitcher story

Molly was a common nickname for women named Mary in the Revolutionary time period. Biographical information about Mary Hays has been gathered by historians, including her cultural heritage, given name, probable year of birth, marriages, progeny, and census and tax records, providing a reasonably reliable account of her life. Historian Emily Teipe notes that the deeds in the story of Molly Pitcher are generally attributed to Mary Ludwig Hays.Will the Real Molly Pitcher Please Stand Up?
Teipe, Emily J. However, she has also pointed out 'The historical record presents other candidates too numerous to mention' and contends that 'the name Molly Pitcher is a collective generic term', serving as a common label for the 'hundreds, perhaps thousands, of women (who) served not only as ammunition wives, manning and firing the guns, but also in the army and colonial militia'.

Commemorations

Mary Ludwig Hays is commemorated, and named as Molly Pitcher, on the Monmouth Battle Monument in Freehold, New Jersey, and on her grave in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Monmouth battlefield also has a stone marking the Molly Pitcher Spring. A rest stop or "service area" on the New Jersey Turnpike, in the town of Cranbury, NJ is named for Molly Pitcher. A mural depicting Mary in battle was painted in the Freehold post office as a WPA project. It was moved to the Monmouth County Library headquarters when the post office closed.

References

Bibliography

* Bilby, Joseph G., and Katherine Bilby Jenkins. ''Monmouth Court House: The Battle That Made the American Army''. Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2010. * Downey, Fairfax. 1956. "The Girls Behind the Guns". ''American Heritage''. 8, no. 1: 46-48. * Bohrer, Melissa Lukeman. ''Glory, Passion, and Principle: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution''. New York: Atria Books, 2003. . * Raphael, Ray. ''Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past''. New York: New Press, 2004. . Raphael regards "Molly Pitcher" as a myth that serves to obscure the actual (though less dramatic) contributions of women to the war effort. * ''The Real Pennsylvania Dutch American, "Molly Pitcher" – A Documented History''. .

External links

Pitcher Molly Pitcher Overprint on 2¢ Postage Stamp
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Mary 1754 births 1832 deaths Military personnel from Trenton, New Jersey People of New Jersey in the American Revolution Women in the American Revolution Women in the United States Army Colonial American women in warfare