Over the next few weeks, I will be posting short biographies for the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. Naturally, I will be posting information on the larger-than-life legends of the revolution, but I will also try to give information on every-day patriots who we no less owe our respect and love for their help in giving birth to the free country we now take for granted. Today’s “Father” is actually a woman who loved the cause of liberty so much that she was more willing to fight for it than many of the men at the time. Her story is heart-rending and inspirational:
Margaret “Molly” Corbin
Margaret “Molly” Corbin was born Margaret Cochran near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania on November 12, 1751. When she was five years old her family was attacked in the course of an Indian raid, and thus she was orphaned and raised by relatives. At the age of 21 she married John Corbin. Four years later, John enlisted with the First Company of Pennsylvania Artillery as a matross, loading and firing cannon in defense of his newly-formed nation. Margaret volunteered as a camp follower, working with other soldiers’ wives to cook for the soldiers, wash their clothing, and attending to other general needs of the army as well as caring for sick and wounded soldiers.
But for Margaret Corbin, her dedication to the cause of freedom did not stop at just domestic duties. On November 16, 1776, while stationed inside Fort Washington in New York, the fort came under a fierce attack by British and Hessian troops. In the face of the onslaught of the notoriously brutal and ruthless Hessians, Margaret took it upon herself to assist her husband, John, in firing a cannon at the advancing forces. After her husband was killed in the course of the siege, Margaret, instead of surrendering, went about loading and firing the cannon by herself until her jaw, arm, and chest were torn and mangled by a round of grapeshot.
The British ultimately took the fort. When they found Margaret and observed her horrific wounds, they allowed her to be “paroled,” and she was taken to Philadelphia to recover, although her wounds never healed completely. Margaret Corbin’s story and situation came to the attention of the Continental Congress and on July 6, 1779, the Congress awarded her a monthly pension, making Margaret the first American woman to receive a military pension. She was also awarded $30 to cover the costs of her initial recovery as well as a new set of clothes. She remained on the Congressional pension until her death at the age of 48 on January 16, 1800 in Highland Falls, New York.
