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Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object name |
Painting |
Title |
Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth |
Artist or maker |
Dennis Malone Carter (1827-1881) |
Date |
1854 |
Place of origin |
Unites States |
Materials and techniques |
oil on canvas |
Physical description |
Battle scene depicting "Molly Pitcher" at the Battle of Monmouth. She stands in the center of the painting manning a cannon next to a shirtless man igniting it. A flag bearer stands behind Molly. Two dead men lie in the foreground with several others also fallen in the background. In the left corner of the painting, the British redcoats fall back as the Patriots point their weapons and charge at them. |
Historical context |
Debate exists amongst historians about whether "Molly Pitcher" was a real woman or simply a monicker symbolic of women in general who supported the Revolutionary cause. There are multiple contenders for the real Molly Pitcher, but the three most agreed upon are Mary Ludwig Hays, Margaret Corbin, and Deborah Sampson. Eyewitness accounts from soldiers who were present at the battle further indicate that there was a woman present at the battle who fired a cannon, but there are still conflicting claims about which woman was present at the battle of Monmouth. All three women, Mary Ludwig Hays, Margaret Corbin, and Deborah Simpson, received a federal pension for miltary service during the Revolutionary War, which further complicates the debate. Source:https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1999/summer/pitcher.html |
Past exhibit |
Valuable |
Current exhibit |
Path to Liberty: The War Reimagined |
Gallery label |
"Molly Pitcher" was the common nickname for women who carried water to the troops during American Revolutionary War. During the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey on June 28, 1778, Mary Ludwig Hayes, the wife of a Pennsylvania artilleryman, was carrying water and saw her husband collapse. She heard the order to retire the cannon he had been operating as there were no longer enough gunners to man it. She stepped forward saying she could serve the gun. She kept it firing and was later presented to Washington who, in recognition of her service, made her a non-commissioned officer. Another artillery wife, Margaret Corbin, performed the same service in November 1776 at the Battle of Fort Washington and was wounded. Corbin received a half-pension from the Army and is buried at West Point. These two women were recognized for their actions, and were therefore recorded in history; many more unknown, unrecognized, and un-pensioned women served the cause during the American Revolution. |
Catalogue number |
1913.09.001 |
Collection name |
Paintings and Sculpture |
Credit line |
Gift of Herbert P. Whitlock, 1913 |
People |
Pitcher, Molly Carter, Dennis Malone |
Subjects and places |
Monmouth New Jersey |