Pitcher, Molly (1754?-1832), was the fictitious name given to a woman who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in the American Revolution (1775-1783). Her real first name was Mary. Her last name, which may have been Ludwig, is in dispute. Mary was born near Philadelphia, probably on Oct. 13, 1754. She went to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, as a servant at an early age. She married William Hays, a young barber who lived in the village. Her husband enlisted as a gunner in the First Pennsylvania Artillery in 1775 and spent the winter of 1777 and 1778 at Valley Forge. Like many other poor women of the time, Mary traveled with her husband. She received half-rations in the Continental Army in return for cooking, washing, sewing, and doing other work.
The Battle of Monmouth was fought on June 28, 1778, one of the hottest days of a hot summer. The great heat and the fighting made the soldiers very thirsty. According to legend, Mary carried water in a pitcher from a nearby spring to her husband’s artillery station. The water was used to swab out the cannon after each shot, and to quench the soldiers’ thirst. During the battle, Mary’s husband fell from a heatstroke. She took his place and helped his crew fire the cannon. From these actions, she gained the nickname Molly Pitcher, representative of all women who fought valiantly in the war.
After the war, she and her husband returned to Carlisle. Several years after Hays’ death in 1787, she married George McCauly (McCalla). He had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War and a friend of her first husband. In 1822, the Pennsylvania state legislature awarded Molly Pitcher a yearly pension of $40 in recognition of her military service. She died on Jan. 22, 1832.
See also Monmouth, Battle of .
