Prudence "Pru" Cummings Wright (26 November 1740 – 2 December 1824) was a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

commander during the

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

Life

Born in

Dunstable, Massachusetts Dunstable ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,358 at the 2020 census. Etymology Dunstable was named after its sister town Dunstable, England. There are several theories concerning its modern n ...

, she was the daughter of Prudence and Samuel Cummings. She had two brothers who pledged allegiance to the crown (Samuel and Thomas) while her youngest brother Benjamin) was a Patriot; also two sisters (Mary and Sibbel). Her father was the town clerk. Prudence was a patriot, but many of her family members were loyal to the British crown. In 1761, she married David Wright, a private in the American militia, an ardent Whig, and strong believer in independence. The two had eleven children—David, Prudence, Cummings, Mary, Wilkes, Caroline, Liberty, Deverd, Liberty, Artemas, and Daniel. Mary and the first Liberty did not survive childhood. She joined the Congregationalist church in 1770. According to a legend printed in 1899, Wright was elected by the townsfolk to command a women's militia known as the Mrs. David Wright's Guard, based in

Pepperell, Massachusetts Pepperell is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,604 at the 2020 census. It includes the village of East Pepperell. Pepperell is home to the Pepperell Center Historic District, a covered bridge, and ...

. The group consisted of about 30 or 40 local Patriot women, whose husbands were mostly members of the regular militia ordered to march towards Boston after the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

. The women dressed in their husbands' clothes and carried "anything that would serve as a potential weapon", including

pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

s. Wright appointed Sarah Hartwell Shattuck of

Groton, Massachusetts Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. An affluent bedroom community roughly 45 miles from Boston, Groton has a ...

, as her lieutenant and began organizing patrols of the town and the surrounding area. The two directed the arrest of

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

spies (two of Wright's own brothers) at Jewett's Bridge over the

Nashua River The Nashua River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It ...

in April 1775. Wright and her group apprehended Captain Leonard Whiting of

Hollis, New Hampshire Hollis is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,342 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, having grown 9% from the 2010 population of 7,684. The town center village is listed ...

—a noted Loyalist—as he passed the bridge on horseback. He was held prisoner overnight in a Pepperell tavern before being moved to Groton where he was taken into custody. Based on a family legend, Wright's brother, Samuel Cummings, was with Whiting on the day of his capture, but he turned back once he sighted his sister in arms at the bridge. Although women were not to be paid for militia service, in 1777 the town convened a committee to compensate Mrs. David Wright's Guard (whom they called Leonard Whiting's Guard) for their actions. Leonard Whiting was a British Army officer and a friend of the two arrested spies. On March 19, 1777, Prudence Wright's guard was paid 7 pounds, 17 shillings, and sixpence by the Town of Pepperell's Committee of Estimation. The Town Meeting Minutes referred to her guard as Leonard Whiting's Guard because women could not overtly be paid for services performed during the revolution.

Life

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Further reading