Women's History Month 2023 - Margaret Cochran Corbin

[Mrs. Smith]

Welcome to the Project Appleseed annual series in honor of Women's History Month.  Every week in March we showcase a different extraordinary woman in Revolutionary War history.  Thank you for joining us!

You can find earlier editions here, at https://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=60070.0

This week's submission comes from the pen of Florida's ProgressNotPerfection.  Huzzah!!!


Margaret Corbin: Wife, Soldier, Hero

Hardship fell upon Margaret Cochran very early on in her life. At the young age of 5, when she should have been thinking about playing with dolls or chasing her brother through the yard, young Margaret was orphaned. Her father was killed during an Indian raid and her mother was kidnapped never to be seen or heard from again. She and her brother were then adopted and raised by a maternal uncle.

At the age of 21, Margaret married a farmer from Virginia named John Corbin. Upon the start of the Revolutionary war, John enlisted in "Captain Thomas Proctor's 1st Company of Pennsylvania State Artillery" as a moltross in a cannon crew. Much like hundreds of other women in this timeframe, Margaret was now faced with a choice. She could either stay behind and live a life of difficulty alone, or go to war with her husband as a camp follower. Brave Margaret chose the latter and, unknown to her at the time, this choice is where her legacy would begin. Typically these camp followers would assist the troops with domestic duties, such as cooking, mending clothing, and washing uniforms. However, some of the women would assist their husbands with their duties, especially the artillery men like John. This is exactly what Margaret opted to do. You see, Margaret wasn't much of a "girlie girl," and therefore didn't get along with the other women of the camp very well. Many have been quoted in saying that she was "gruff, strong, and unfeminine" and so, she felt much more at home in the field with the men.



Her husband John was what's known as a moltross, which means he was responsible for loading the cannons.2 In 1776 the Corbins were at Fort Washington in New York. The British took control of New York City in September of 1776 making Fort Washington the only American stronghold remaining, and the Corbins and their fellow troops intended to keep that stronghold as long as they could. On the fateful day of November 16, 1776, their bravery was put to the test. Margaret dutifully followed John into battle, assisting with carrying water for the cannons and caring for the wounded. By 10am, there were over 3,000 Hessian troops attacking Fort Washington. With Margaret fighting right alongside him, John (and several of his comrades) were killed by enemy fire.

Margaret was now faced with the second most important choice in her life, retreat to safety or take John's place? Again, her bravery won out and, after helping to reload, she took up aiming the cannon. It was said that she was able to inflict such devastation upon the attacking Hessians that they shifted their focus all to her position. She still did not give up easily. It took those troops two hours before they were able to get one good (or lucky) shot in on Margaret. A blast of grapeshot hit her left shoulder, immobilizing (and nearly severing) her left arm, injuring her left breast, and wounding the left side of her jaw. The British did win the battle that day, and Margaret, along with several other prisoners of war, were paroled and released back to the care of the Revolutionary hospitals.  This marked the beginning of the end for our dear Margaret.



Due to the severity of her injuries, she was unable to work to support herself. And with no family to speak of, she was left without the "protections'' that society had come to expect young women
to have during that time. Furthermore, she was continually referred to as having a gruff demeanor. Margaret fell in the good graces of Captain William Price, Commissary of Ordinance and Military Stores at West Point, who attempted to aid her in getting what we would now refer to as in-home assisted care. However, Margaret's offensive nature proved too much for even the kindest of caregivers.

The soldiers that had fought with Margaret and survived did not forget the courage with which she fought that horrific day in November 1776. It was because of these soldiers, who pleaded her case to the Continental Congress, that Margaret was awarded a lifelong pension in recognition of her service on July 6, 1779. This was the first time the United States government officially recognized the military service of a woman. Margaret would eventually succumb to her wounds from that gruesome day, and pass on January 6, 1800 at the age of 48. In West Point, a granite memorial was erected by the DAR in Margaret's honor which states: "In Appreciation of her Deeds for the Cause of Liberty, and that her Heroism may not be forgotten, her dust was removed to this spot."



Margaret Corbin is a woman who knew what she was about. She was not going to just fold into the mold that society expected of her, but instead she chose to break that mold and follow alongside her husband into the treacherous battlefield of the war that would gain independence and liberty for all generations after her. She set an example to all women, to be brave, be courageous, and to fight for what you believe in. Let's make one of our Founding Mothers proud and follow in those footsteps of bravery!

Works Cited:
www.revolutionarywarjournal.com
wams.nyhistory.org
www.womenshistory.org
hsp.org/blogs/hidden-histories

[Mrs. Smith]

It's not too late to contribute to this series!!!

We would like two more submissions for this year.  Please send your material to ladyseed.appleseed@gmail.com along with some pictures, if you have some.

Please review the pinned post on this History board for Women's History month to see which ladies have already been featured.

Thank you!

Your Project Appleseed Ladyseed Team

[T. WOLF]

Huzzah! 

[JustKim]

Well Done!  thank you for submitting the story ProgressNotPerfection!

Like Mrs. Smith said, there is still time to submit your favorite story!!

[rambo granny]

Love the story! Thanks