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Early Life
Margaret Cochran was born on November 12, 1751. She was born near
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Her father’s name was Robert Cochran. The
family was Scotch-Irish.
In 1756 Native Americans kidnapped Mrs. Cochran and
killed Mr. Cochran. Margaret and her brother were not captured. Margaret
was five years old. She and John were orphans. An uncle took them home and
raised them.
Soldier’s Wife
Margaret grew up to be strong and tall. She was five feet, eight inches
tall. Margaret met a man from Virginia named John Corbin. She married him
around 1772. They lived in Franklin County. Four years later John Corbin joined a unit in the army.
He joined the Pennsylvania Artillery, Continental Line. He
went to fight in the Revolutionary War. Margaret went too. She became a
camp follower.
Camp followers were women, men, and children who
followed after a group of soldiers. They helped by carrying bundles,
cooking for the soldiers, mending and washing their clothes, and caring
for the sick and wounded. When there was a battle most camp followers
stayed in the camp. Some women were called half-soldiers. They went onto
the battlefield to help their husbands. Margaret was a half-soldier.
John Corbin was a matross. His job was to help in
sponging out and loading the cannon. On November 16, 1776 John’s division
was stationed at Fort Washington, New York. This was a very important fort
on Manhattan Island. John was stationed at a pair of cannons on Forest
Hill. The British army attacked the fort. For every American soldier,
there were three British and Hessian soldiers. Colonel Magaw, who
commanded the fort, was asked to surrender. He refused.
Hessian soldiers ran up the hill toward the fort
several times. Each time they were pushed back by fire from the cannons.
The gunner in charge of John’s cannon was shot and killed. John took over
the firing of the cannon, and Margaret took over the job of matross. When
John was killed, Margaret kept on firing the cannon by herself. She only
stopped when a round of grapeshot hit her. Margaret fell to the ground.
The Hessians took the hill. The Americans surrendered the fort.
In late afternoon a doctor was walking over the hill,
looking for survivors. He found Margaret. She was still alive. The
grapeshot had injured her jaw and her chest. Her left arm was almost torn
from her body. There was no hospital there. Margaret was put in a wagon
and sent to Philadelphia. She survived a rough journey of almost 100
miles. Margaret was treated. She returned to health, but her body was
badly damaged.
The Invalid Regiment
On June 20, 1777 the Continental Congress formed a regiment of disabled
soldiers. They were called the Invalid Regiment. They could not fight, but
they could do light jobs. Margaret was enrolled in the regiment, even
though she had never enlisted as a soldier. The regiment was assigned to
West Point. People called her “Captain Molly.”
Margaret was not able to earn a living on her own.
She could not use her left arm at all. On June 29, 1779 the Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania recognized that she had been a hero. They awarded her
$30.00. The State of Pennsylvania suggested that she be given a pension.
In 1780 the Board of War checked on Margaret. She was
living in very poor conditions. The Board knew that her wound came from
fighting in the army. They awarded her a set of clothes, and a pension.
Each month she would be given half the amount of money that a regular
soldier would be paid. This made Margaret the first woman to receive a
pension from the United States government.
Around 1782 Margaret married again. He husband was
also a disabled soldier. He may not have lived very long. In April 1783
the Invalid Regiment was disbanded. Margaret continued to live in the West
Point area. She had very little money. She applied for a rum ration. This
was a sort of allowance given to soldiers. It was never given to camp
followers. Margaret was given the rum ration, and was paid money for rum
rations in the past that she did not receive. With this small amount of
money, she survived.
Later Life
As the years passed Margaret Corbin was known in the area as an eccentric,
sharp-tongued person. Even though she was sometimes rude and not very well
dressed, people respected her and still called her “Captain Molly.”
Sometimes some of the local people cared for her. Margaret Corbin died in
1789. She was buried in the Highland Falls Cemetery in New York.
Fame After her Death
One hundred and fifty years after her death, Margaret’s remains were moved
from her humble grave. She was re-buried in a special place behind the Old
Cadet Chapel at West Point Military Academy.
Some people say that Margaret Corbin was Molly
Pitcher. She was not. Mary McCauley has that honor. Both of them were
brave women.
Where we see her name today
Margaret’s grave at West Point has a bronze and granite marker. The bronze
plate shows Margaret in battle.
There is a watercolor painting of Margaret in the
West Point Museum.
In Fort Tyron Park in New York City there is a bronze
marker honoring Margaret Corbin. It was put up in 1909.
There is a commemorative marker dedicated to Margaret
Corbin in Holy Rood Church, on Fort Washington Avenue and West 179th
Street in New York. |