Bearing Burdens, Taking Up Arms: Women with the Continental Army - Holly Mayer
At the April 2024 Meeting of the American Philosophical Society, Holly Mayer, Professor Emeritus, Duquesne University, gave the talk, "Bearing Burdens, Taking Up Arms: Women with the Continental Army."
About the speaker:
Holly A. Mayer is Professor Emerita of History at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and currently serves as the 2021-2022 Charles Boal Ewing Chair in Military History at the United States Military Academy, West Point. In 2016-2017, she was the Harold K. Johnson Chair of Military History at the U.S. Army War College. Her interest in the social, cultural, and military histories of late 18th-century North America inform her latest book, Congress’s Own: A Canadian Regiment, the Continental Army, and American Union (University of Oklahoma Press, 2021), as well as her earlier book, Belonging to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American Revolution (University of South Carolina Press, 1996). In addition to authoring various journal and anthology essays, Mayer was co-editor (with David E. Shi) of For the Record: A Documentary History of America (W.W. Norton & Company, multiple editions). She is currently wrapping up work as editor of the anthology Women Waging War in the American Revolution, which is under contract with the University of Virginia Press.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction: Women’s Roles in the Revolutionary War
01:06 - Camp Followers and Their Contributions
03:08 - Dispelling Myths: Women’s Presence in the Army Camps
05:26 - Three Notable Women Warriors: Corbin, Hays, and Lane
08:10 - Margaret Corbin’s Bravery at Fort Washington
11:22 - Molly Pitcher and the Battle of Monmouth
15:11 - Anna Maria Lane: A Soldier in the Battle of Germantown
18:00 - Post-War Struggles and Recognition
19:50 - Women’s Sacrifices and Legacy in American History
22:08 - Expanding Women’s Stories in Revolutionary War History
About the American Philosophical Society:
The American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the United States, was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge.” In the 21st century we sustain this mission in three principal ways. We honor and engage leading scholars, scientists, and professionals through elected membership and opportunities for interdisciplinary, intellectual fellowship, particularly in our semi-annual Meetings. We support research and discovery through grants and fellowships, lectures, publications, prizes, exhibitions, and public education. We serve scholars through a research library of manuscripts and other collections internationally recognized for their enduring historic value. The American Philosophical Society’s current activities reflect the founder’s spirit of inquiry, provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas, and convey our conviction that intellectual inquiry and critical thought are inherently in the best interest of the public.
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