Women of the American Revolution WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 11 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3344 Biographical Historical Fiction by Samantha Wilcoxson But One Life: The Story of Nathan Hale Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen: The Story of Elizabeth of York Faithful Traitor: The Story of Margaret Pole Queen of Martyrs: The Story of Mary I The Last Lancastrian: A Story of Margaret Beaufort (novella) Once of Queen: A Story of Elizabeth Woodville (novella) Prince of York: A Story of Reginald Pole (novella) WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 22 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3344 Women of the American Revolution Samantha Wilcoxson WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 33 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3344 First published in Great Britain in 2022 by Pen & Sword History An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd Yorkshire – Philadelphia Copyright © Samantha Wilcoxson 2022 ISBN 978 1 39900 100 7 CPI ANTONY ROWE FSC logos The right of Samantha Wilcoxson to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. Typeset by Mac Style Printed in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY. Pen & Sword Books Limited incorporates the imprints of Atlas, Archaeology, Aviation, Discovery, Family History, Fiction, History, Maritime, Military, Military Classics, Politics, Select, Transport, True Crime, Air World, Frontline Publishing, Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing, The Praetorian Press, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe Transport, Wharncliffe True Crime and White Owl. For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Or PEN AND SWORD BOOKS 1950 Lawrence Rd, Havertown, PA 19083, USA E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.penandswordbooks.com WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 44 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3355 ‘Remember the Ladies.’ – Abigail Adams, 1776 WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 55 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3355 WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 66 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3355 Contents Chapter 1 The American War for Independence 1 Chapter 2 Martha Dandridge Custis Washington 7 Chapter 3 Agent 355 29 Chapter 4 Sybil Ludington 36 Chapter 5 Mercy Otis Warren 44 Chapter 6 Margaret Shippen Arnold 62 Chapter 7 Deborah Sampson Gannett 83 Chapter 8 Abigail Smith Adams 92 Chapter 9 Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton 118 Chapter 10 Dolley Payne Todd Madison 140 Chapter 11 Revolutionary Women 159 Acknowledgements 161 Notes 162 Bibliography 180 Index 182 WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 77 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3355 WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 88 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3355 Chapter 1 The American War for Independence hen did the American Revolution begin? It cannot be simply Wdefined as the war that broke out when shots were fired at Lexington on 19 April 1775. Tempting as it may be to give the easy answer of 4 July 1776, that ignores the years of unified resistance that led to the Declaration of Independence. The American Revolution was more than the civil war that resulted in independence for a set of loosely united British colonies. The last decades of the eighteenth century saw a shift in a population of formerly loyal British colonists into passionately independent Americans. Those who had known only monarchy rejected the rule of a privileged few for the utopian promises of a republic. The war was a consequence of this shift in mindset – the final act in the revolution rather than the beginning. The colonists who first resisted the Stamp Act in 1765 did not necessarily believe that they were taking a step toward the creation of a new country. They were standing up for their rights as British subjects. However, the unification that occurred when colonists claimed these rights did create the fissure with their mother country that eventually led to war and independence. A failure to understand each other pushed the British subjects in the American colonies and the British parliament further apart as the eighteenth century progressed. Parliament saw taxes on the colonies as well within their authority and justified by the expenses of the Seven Years’ War, known as the French and Indian War in the United States. It seemed unfair for that war debt to be charged to those living in England, who were already suffering under a stiff tax burden. On the other hand, colonists bridled at taxation without representation within the parliament and felt that they were being treated as second-class British citizens. Actions to protest the Stamp Act began long before it was enacted, giving birth to the Sons of Liberty led by Samuel Adams in Boston, Massachusetts. These acts of resistance were successful. Parliament WWoommeenn ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann RReevvoolluuttiioonn..iinndddd 11 0022//0088//22002222 2200::3355