Timeline of women in warfare from 1750 until 1799 in America

1750s

*1754–1763:

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

leader Queen Alliquippa is a key ally of the British. *1755: Cherokee leader Nancy Ward fights side-by-side with her husband at the Battle of Taliwa. When her husband is killed, she picked up his rifle and led the Cherokee to victory.

1770s

*1770s: During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, women served on the battlefield as nurses, water bearers, cooks, launderers and saboteurs. *1770s: Cherokee woman Cuhtahlatah causes her people to rally in battle by attacking the enemy after her husband was killed. *1770s: Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, the mother of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, treats and nurses sick and wounded Continental soldiers in

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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

on British

prison ship A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nation ...

, dying of cholera as a result. *1775: On Dec. 11, 1775,

Jemima Warner Jemima Warner was a camp follower with the Continental Army in the early days of the American Revolutionary War and, according to the Women's Memorial in Washington D.C., she is the first American “military woman killed in action." Biography ...

was killed by an enemy bullet during the siege of Quebec. Mrs. Warner had originally accompanied her husband, PVT James Warner of

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

’s Pennsylvania Rifle Battalion, to Canada because she feared that he would become sick on the campaign trail and she wanted to nurse him. When PVT Warner eventually died in the wilderness en route to Quebec, Mrs. Warner buried him and stayed with the battalion as a cook. *1776 :

Anna Maria Lane Anna Maria Lane (about 1755–1810) was the first documented female soldier from Virginia to fight with the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. She dressed as a man and accompanied her husband on the battlefield, and was later award ...

, disguised as a man, joins the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

with her husband and fights four battles in the American Revolutionary War. She later receives a pension for her courage after she is wounded in the

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

. *November 16, 1776:

Margaret Corbin Margaret Cochran Corbin (November 12, 1751January 16, 1800) was a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War.James, Edward T., et al''Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary'' Vol. II, p. 385-86 (1971) () On Novembe ...

assists her husband in manning the cannons while fighting the British in battle in the American Revolutionary War. When her husband is killed, she mans the cannons alone. She later became the first woman to earn a military pension.Education & Resources – National Women's History Museum – NWHM
/ref> *April 26, 1777:

Sybil Ludington Sybil (or Sibbell) Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) is recognized as a heroine of the American Revolutionary War; the accuracy of these accounts is questioned by modern scholars. On April 26, 1777, the 16-year-old daughter of a c ...

is said to have warned colonists that the British were burning the city of

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

during the American Revolution; these accounts, originating from the

Ludington family The Ludington family was an American family active in the fields of business, banking, and politics. Members in the American Revolution were Henry Ludington and Sybil Ludington. Additionally, Lewis, James, Nelson, and Harrison Ludington were in ...

, are questioned by modern scholars. *1777: Mademoiselle Leverriére fights a duel with a man in France. *1778:

Molly Pitcher Molly Pitcher is a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War. She is most often identified as Mary Hays (American Revolutionary War), Mary Ludwig Hays, who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. Ano ...

(born Mary Ludwig in 1754) married John Hays in 1769. Her husband fought for the

at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

(New Jersey) on June 28, 1778. During the battle, she brought pitchers of water to her husband and fellow soldiers, thus earning the appellation Molly Pitcher. When her husband succumbed to exhaustion, she picked up his rifle and fought against the British.

1780s

*1781:

Kate Barry Catherine Moore Barry (October 1752 – September 1823) was a heroine of the American Revolutionary War. She was the daughter of Charles and Mary Moore, and the eldest of ten children. She married Andrew Barry in 1767 at the age of 15 and lived on ...

warns the American militia that the British were approaching before the Battle of Cowpens. Her warning gives the colonists enough time to prepare and win the battle. *1782–1783: Deborah Sampson serves in the American army during the

while disguised as a man. She is the first known American woman from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

to join the military, the first to fight in combat, and the first to receive a military pension. *1783: Kauwahine, wife of King Kahekili II of Maui, fought valiantly at his side and defeated the Oahuan army under King Kahahana at the Battle of Kaheiki Stream.

References

{{Reflist war colonial america Women in warfare in Colonial America Women in warfare in North America Women in 18th-century warfare Colonial American women History of women in the United States