Summary
At the defense of Fort Washington, Margaret Corbin takes her wounded husband's place at the cannon and keeps firing until she too is hit — becoming “Captain Molly,” one of the first women to fight and be wounded in the Revolution. Sarah and James see that the war's heroes were not only the men in the history books.
Viewer safety
Animated battle; a soldier is wounded. No graphic injury shown.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Margaret Corbin was later given a soldier's pension by Congress — the first woman in U.S. history to receive one. Women were not bystanders in the Revolution; many shared its dangers.
- What did Margaret Corbin do, and why was it unusual for a woman in 1776?
- Women's wartime roles were often left out of early histories. Why might that happen, and why does it matter to include them now?
- What evidence in the episode shows that women contributed to the war effort?
- Who in your community does important work that often goes unnoticed?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: cannon, pension, fort, contribution, recognition.
Try it: Find one woman from the American Revolution (Margaret Corbin, Sybil Ludington, Deborah Sampson, Phillis Wheatley, and others). Write three sentences: who she was, what she did, and why she deserves to be remembered.