| Show 0 M E A bpi A W 0 tr T r r 1011 W 7 4 0 chiban bridget the flace by ELMO SCOTT WATSON TED aiu echo of a civil war mystery was heard recently when gen M it II mclean cLenn JM adjutant general of the kansas national guard received an inquiry from a nebraska woman wild who was seeking reeking to learn the name of a woman who served two years in the first kansas regiment and whose secret was not discovered until her death in a a hospital accompanying the inquiry was a copy of a tetter letter written home by a soldier of the first MInne minnesota rota battery batter at C camp 1 p neal lake providence iowa on april 0 6 e 3 which said eald in part ono one of the members of the first kansas regi dent died in the hospital yesterday after death the somewhat startling discovery wua wits made by those these who were veto preparing the body for burial that their companion beside whom they hall had marched and fought for nearly two years was a woman you can imagine their astonishment the regiment to Is camped near us und I 1 went to the hospital and saw hor her sho she wits largo large tor for a woman with rather masculine features site she must have been very shrewd shield to liae have kept her secret so BO long when site she was surrounded by several hundred mert men the first kansas was one of the first regiments that entered ent preil the service two years ago this girl enlisted utter after it went to missouri to nothing was known anona of tier her early history she doubtless served under an assumed natine name she bad always sustained an excellent reputation in id the regiment slie site was brave as a lion in battle and never flinched front from the severest fatigues or hardest duties she had been lit in more than it a down battles and skirmishes she was a ser ienn nj when chett she able died the inen in the company all speak of her in the terms of respect and affection slie she would have been promoted to a lieutenant in a few days lind had she lived although such cases are comparatively rare the kansas woman was nas not unique in donning mens clothes and march in arching fing away to the wars A mas alas anchus etts girl set the style stile for that away back in the days day of the american revolution if you visit beautiful rock ridge ometery cemetery neur near lake you will ind find a quaint old gravestone upon the front of which Is this inscription deborah wife of benjamin Benji gannett died april 1 0 1827 aged OS 68 years out but it la Is not un until tilyou you look upon the back of the monument that you get a hint of the story of this first tomboy in american Ili story for there you will read deborah sampson gannett koben Shur iett the female soldier service 1781 1783 11 deborah sampson was born at mass in 1760 1700 A great of isaac sampson one of the first settlers of plympton titon and on her mothers mo therB side aide a direct descendant of william bradford she he was of more than average intellect end and was wac tall for her sex As a girl she ta taught u school chool a short abort time at middleboro Midd leboro four cor cornera but was filled died with the desire to actively engligh in the cause of the colonies arraying Array lne herself in mate malo attire site she set forth to enlist at Ux udbridge uxbridge bridge she agreed to ako the place of an Ux udbridge uxbridge bridge man and wua wits enlisted at worcester by muster master torp of dedham was marched to west polut with other recruits where she became a member of capt george webbs company lit in the regiment erit commanded by colonel shepard of westfield West neld end later by col henry jackson of hoston boston the fourth massachusetts during a tight between her regiment and a party of tory raiders deborah was twice wounded in the head and in the thigh A surgeon white while bind bandaging aging the hend head wound was with the apparent weakness of his patient ills rt at tempt to investigate the cause of blood in one boot was repulsed by his patient not until later did the surgeon iniss a silver probe which had been purloined by his patient deborah sampson known on the muster roll rolls sand und to her companions tn in arms as robert kobert Shur letL with the th instrument she had bud stolen she later removed removed from her groin a bullet bullek and thus preserved pren ened tor for a time the secret of tier sex sex recovering weeks later from the effects of her wound she rejoined tier her company was again wounded this time IQ in one shoulder but once again managed to keep the secret of her sex frota from becoming army knowledge later when with her regiment in in philadelphia she was stricken so ul III that she ahe became unconscious and was wa given up ap for dead A physician discovered her secret feie ot stripped tIpped off the handa e she ehe had worn wore tightly over ever hex her breast and removed her to ils hla own home where she was nas nursed back to health and her secret ecret kept federal records of the peris pension lort olace coffle raveal that the she april 1781 walli tn in the state house at boston the uma of her ti carlisle pa g Q TEMA k ladig t X D ha X arax aa manjares Man jaret t coit ai est p of debo de debyah bo enlistment as may ITS 1782 stio site wits was honorably discharged in november 1783 was granted a pension of 48 it year from january 1 I 1803 of from froia april 1810 and of 00 from september 1813 1818 slie she married lit in april 1784 beniamin gannett oan a farmer of 0 Sh sharon arbit cud and lived to become the mother of a soai eon capt earl D B gannett Oan nett and two daughters many widows have hae applied for pensions from froin the government because of the war service of thele husbands but the only case on record of a widower applying for such a pension bemuse of the war service or of ills his wife la Is the case of gannett several years titter after the first general pension law was passed by congress in ISM 1811 tor for the benefit of veterans of the revolution lie he applied for a pension on oil the basis of deborah sampsons Samp sons service in the continental annj ile he did not live 11 e to collect it but tier her children did almost as interesting us its the women soldiers who mho served in our wars warn in mens garb curb are those amazons who fought shoulder to shoulder with their hus bunda or brothers not oa as tuen men but as romeu sortie some of them hove have become of our national tradition certainly such Is the case with the celebrated molly pitcher of the battle of monmouth furne fume during the years senra since hince her heroic dal there to much legend has gathered about molly that it Is to be sure of all the facts about tier her life part iari of this is due to the fact that she Is often confused with another molly of revolutionary war fame faine but from froin the best evidence available it seems that molly real name was mary ludwig and that she ehe was born in mercer county new jersey near trenton october 13 1754 when site was waa about fourteen years old airs its william milliant WIlli ant irvine wife of a phy physician steinn in carlisle Is IH happened to visit lilt the vicinity and took mary buck with her as a hired girl eliere she met jolin john copper flays a barber and they were married la in 1709 at the outbreak of the It evolution huys flays enlisted lit bpi dpi francis proctors froc tors independent artillery coni party and his mafe marched away to wr ar with him film ills expired 1 IT 1771 M and it Is saed that stary mary flays urged him to re enlist which lie he did this tiros chiae it in the ser anth lenns hanla of the line com aiu banded by her for former titer employer doctor irvine irvane again his fishe seems to lime have been a ad dialon to the troops for or she not only oali cared tor for her husbands clothes und and cooked for him hut but she also performed similar illar henkes viLes fur his comrades on a blazing july day in 1778 the battle of monmouth was fought it wits so att that many of the on both sides dropped dead from the heat beat all during the battle hary alary flays was busy carrying water to the soldiers lu 16 her husbands regiment the well wel where ithe filled her pitcher still be seen near tennant N J and her services that day won for her from the thirsty soldiers the sobriquet of molly teller 11 but she proved to lie be more than just it 11 water carrier her bus ausband band although an because of his previous service in the artillery yas was called upon to sone serve one of the puns guns during the battle when he fell wounded she dire directed eted the soldiers to carry him away then the she sprang to the gun and began to fire are and load with almost as much still luil as that shown by her husband it la Is this incident tor for which she ahe Is famous and which 1 Ls preserved in stone in rl two monument one over hir her grave at carlisle ra pa and the tha other on the monmouth bilt at freehold frit hold K X J after the revolution molly lived for some years in an old guard house built by hessians taken prisoner at the battle of trenton then site she moved back to carlisle and tier husband having died tilie she married another veteran of the revolution george mccolly Alc Kolly or both names are recorded on the birli cai lisle ia monument as are her two previous named ludwig ludwig and flays the date of her death as Is the case with tho the date d ite of tier lier birth Is in dispute one account says she died la in january 1833 but the carlisle Carl lalo monument which gives her birth ns no october 13 1744 instead of 1704 1754 as the atie new jersey tradition lins ims it gives the date of her death as january 22 1831 1 the other famous scully of the revolution was margaret corbin who followed follow pd tier husband john corbin to the war an and stood tit nt lila its side when lie he was killed while serving lila his crin clintion tion ut the lie battle 0 of fort washington on november Nove niber tg 10 1770 she immediately leaned over oer took the r ramrod from his dead hand band and continued to serve sene the gun until she was severely wounded when a charge of grapeshot tore away part of tier lier breast and almost severed lier her arm Sli she ewas was prisoner by tho the british when fort washl fell then the n paroled to general greene lit at port fort lee will anil later wits was sent on oil to philadelphia hla with the wounded mounded undaunted to hy this captain mollie its as site she was now known by the soldiers in ili the continental army enlisted lit in nn an invalid regiment was sent to west biant aint unit and renial remained ned with tier her unit there until mustered out of service in n april 1783 it if you visit the cemetery of the united states military at academy at west today you will find there a monument which bears the following inscription in ili memory ut of mit t gare t corbin liln a gerolde lie rohne of the it evolution known I 1 ap aa Cant aln mollie 1751 1731 1800 who at the battle of fort washington new york city when lier her husband tius bund john corbin corban wits nus killed kept his field piece in action until le eer verely cly wounded and thereafter by ait act of congress received halt half the pay and allowance 0 of f A soldier in the lie service she lived alvel died und and was vias burled buried oil the hudson river batik bank near the vil village litie now cat aed If Ighland falls in appreciation of her deelii deeda for the cause of liberty und end that tier her he heroism molly may not be forgotten her dust dun wits was roofed moved to this spot and the metti memorial ortal erected by the national society ot of the daughters of the american revolution lit in new york state 1020 no less a person efian mury alary A 1 famous for lier her coan it loii wi etli ti the ho rind and relief worl work of the sanitary commission during ali the civil war er Is authority for the statement tant the number of women soldiers in service lu in that war ar was nna little less than four faur hundred I 1 cannot vouch for the corn of this estimate hut but I 1 am convinced ned that a larger number of women disguised thein stIves and unlisted enlisted in the service for or one cause or another than was as dreamed of one of the most fuest famous of these was ag bridget derns known as s michigan bridget she went with the first arst michigan car cavalry alry in which tier her husband aws tt 4 private palate pr late when a soldier fell ell she sha took his fighting in his stead with courage says ulsa livermore sometimes site she rallied retreating troops sometimes ahe she brought orf wounded from the bield always fearless earless earleas sad ind daring aldaya dolne doing good service RS 89 r soldier her fler love of 1 I army life sitter after the th war ended and with her husband the alie joined t of the regular army stationed on ta U ja A by VM WB now o am axa odla |
