Revolutionary Women

Reasons to Celebrate the 4th of July

If it seems difficult to celebrate the 4th of July this year, consider this:

In America, a mad king occupies the seat of power, and you are the revolutionary.

Break out the bunting, my sisters-in-arms, and woman the ramparts, cause that star-spangled banner yet waves, and this is still the land of the free and the home of the brave, so help me, Goddess.

Here are eight women who stood up to tyranny whose bravery will light up your 4th of July fete and inspire you to keep fighting for the country we deserve and can build, together as We The People.

And read to the end for a sweet treat - my mother’s recipe for a 4th of July dessert Tribute to General George Washington!

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Deborah Sampson

Deborah Sampson kicked Red Coat ass.

In 1782, Deborah disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Revolutionary Army under the name Robert Shurtliff. Serving for a year with the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, she gave as good as she got, fighting the Lobster Backs in numerous skirmishes in which she took a sword wound to the shoulder and a musket ball to the thigh. As a woman masquerading as a man, she couldn’t well go to the field doctor (perhaps for the best) and treated her injuries largely herself.

In 1783, her courageous ruse was discovered. But having distinguished herself as a soldier and brother in arms, the Continental Army discharged her honorably. After the Americans banished the British from their shores, Deborah petitioned Congress for a military pension, both for back pay and disability on account of the injuries she suffered. She was initially told no, but she persisted nonetheless, eventually winning her claim for a full military pension and setting a precedent for the recognition of women’s wartime service.

Years later, Deborah became one of the first American women to lecture publicly, touring the country to share her wartime experiences, inspiring a new generation to fight for liberty and, in her own way, contributing to America’s victory in the War of 1812, also known as the Second War of Independence.

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Mercy Otis Warren

Mercy Otis Warren’s pen was far sharper than any Lobster Back’s sword.

Born brilliant and self-educated, Warren married strategically, choosing a politically active classmate of her brother’s at Harvard, James Warren, who didn’t totally suck and encouraged her to pursue writing.

When James was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature in 1766, Warren began hosting salons for intellectuals, leaders, and politicians in their home, particularly those opposed to the British. John Adams attended several of these subversive soirees and the two struck up a lifelong, at times tumultuous, friendship, which included extensive letters on the nature of the new republic.

Even before the Revolution, Warren’s pen might as well have been dipped in the blood of tyrants, judging from the way she savaged the British in her satirical plays and pointed essays that were as funny as they were catalyzing.

Warren began chronicling the War of Independence from its outset, eventually publishing The History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution in 1805. Meanwhile, she maintained a prolific correspondence with Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abigail Adams, and John. Her letters, thoughts, and insights helped frame the Framers’ conception of what it means to be free and how to construct a system of government that could protect and grow that liberty.

Personally, I’m getting one of those altar candles with Warren’s portrait on it to put on my writing desk.

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Phillis Wheatley

At seven years old, Phillis Wheatley was seized by human traffickers from West Africa who transported her to the Boston docks. She, along with the other victims of human trafficking and slavery on the slave ship with her, had been deemed by their white enslavers as unsuited for murderous labor in the West Indian and Southern colonies, the first ports of call after the Atlantic crossing.

She, as a child, was forced onto the auction block naked and covered in dirt then sold as chattel to Susanna Wheatley “for a trifle,” as she put it because the captain of the slave ship believed her to be terminally ill and wanted to make at least a small profit before she died.

Yet while diminished by the horrendous ordeal she had endured, Phillis somehow retained her genius. And I mean genius. Discovering her talents, the Wheatleys began to teach her how to read and write. Within a few short months, she was reading Greek and Latin classics along with British literature. She was also a student of astronomy and geography, not to mention human nature.

In her early teens, Phillis began to write poetry and began to published her first poems. Her work “An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of the Celebrated Divine George Whitefield,” published in 1770 made her a literary star—and an anomaly that few white people could square with their racist attitudes. In 1773, the English Countess of Huntingdon paid for Phillis to travel to London, where she mingled with England’s upper echelons of society while still enslaved.

It was there that she also published her first book - and the first book published by an enslaved Black woman in America, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, that included a forward, signed by John Hancock and other Boston notables, as well as a portrait of Phillis, all designed to prove that a Black woman indeed wrote the work.

Her poems, words, and brilliance stood as a testament to the desire of all people for liberty and that all people deserve to be free. In the age of the American Revolution, Phillis Wheatley was a revolution unto herself.

Yet she would not see her revolution come to pass. Though she was emancipated shortly after the publication of her first book, the economic hardships of the war, compounded by the racist attitudes of colonial America, forced Phillis into abject poverty. She died penniless, ill, and largely forgotten. But her light, too bright to be extinguished entirely, still burns, illuminating what America might one day be.

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Molly “Pitcher” Ludwig Hay

Mary Ludwig Hays got the nickname “Pitcher” while carrying water to her husband and his fellow soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. British guns made no distinction between combatants and civilians like Mary, and her death-defying service would have earned her esteem enough amongst the Continental Army during the sweltering June day of the battle in New Jersey.

But Mary wasn’t even half finished.

When her husband was wounded and collapsed from exhaustion, Mary took over loading and firing his cannon. While the battle was a tactical draw, it was a strategic victory for the Americans, boosting morale while undermining the Red Coats’ claim to invincibility. Mary’s cannonballs certainly helped crack that false facade.

Some historians argue that Mary was a fiction. In contrast, others cite firsthand accounts and illustrations as evidence that Mary Pitcher was a real person, as well as the fact that Mary Hays received a pension from the Pennsylvania government in recognition of her service after the war. Regardless, there were scores women who risked their lives to win the day, whose bravery and sacrifice remain unrecorded by history. At the very least, Mary is a stand-in for their unsung valor.

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Sybil Ludington

Want to talk about a might girl? Consider Sybil Ludington, who at the age of just 16 undertook a midnight ride longer and more dangerous than Paul Revere’s to warn American forces of a British attack on Danbury, Connecticut.

On the night of April 26, 1777, she rode nearly 40 miles through the rain, rallying local militia to defend the town. The daughter of Colonel Henry Ludington, a commander in the New York militia, Sybil was intimately involved in the revolutionary cause. Although her feat was not widely recognized in her lifetime, she has since become a symbol of courage and the power of women to persevere in the most treacherous of times.

Her daring ride underscores the active roles young women played in supporting military efforts, from relaying intelligence to rallying troops. Today, monuments and commemorations honor her contribution to the war, reminding us that even the youngest patriots made a difference in the fight for American independence.

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Esther DeBerdt Reed

Esther DeBerdt Reed made the dough rise. Money that is.

Married to aide to George Washington Joseph Reed, Esther founded the Ladies Association of Philadelphia in 1780. Under her leadership, the group raised over $300,000 (in today’s money) to support the Continental Army. Rejecting the idea of giving cash, perhaps knowing some of it might be misallocated, the women instead purchased linen and sewed over 2,200 shirts for soldiers, each marked with the name of the woman who made it.

Don’t think shirts are that important? For a ragtag operation like the Continental Army, new shirts not only boosted morale but also saved soldiers from frostbite, sunburn, and other exposure to the elements.

Esther also penned “The Sentiments of an American Woman,” a widely circulated appeal urging women to contribute to the cause. Her efforts marked one of the earliest organized female-led civic actions in American history. Though she died at just 34, Reed’s work demonstrated the power of collective female action and helped redefine women’s role in public life during wartime.

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Abigail Adams

“Remember the ladies,” Abigail warned, or else. If you don’t know what I mean, read my essay, Determined To Foment A Rebellion.

Suffice it to say, Abigail played an enormous role in sculpting the thoughts of Framer John Adams. She did her best with Quincey, but a mother can only do so much.

A fierce advocate for education and women’s rights, Abigail challenged the notion that women were intellectually inferior and should be confined to the domestic sphere. Like many women during the Revolution, she also managed the family farm and finances during John’s long absences. Like the Rosie the Riveters who came after them, these women were essential, yet under-recognized by history.

Abigail’s letters remain a rich source of early American political thought and feminist philosophy, securing her place as one of the Revolution’s most influential female voices.

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Anna Strong

If you haven’t watched TURN on AMC, watch it now. My favorite character is, of course, Anna Strong, a real-life, real badass woman in the Culper Spy Ring, George Washington’s covert intelligence network operating in British-occupied Long Island during the American Revolution.

As a resident of Setauket, New York, and the wife of a known patriot, Anna used her position and property to pass coded messages between American spies. Her most ingenious method involved using a laundry line: she would hang a black petticoat to signal the presence of a message, followed by a specific number of white handkerchiefs to indicate where the information could be found. This seemingly innocent display enabled safe communication across British-controlled territory without raising suspicion.

Though little official documentation exists due to the secretive nature of espionage, historians widely acknowledge Anna Strong’s critical contribution to the success of the spy ring, which provided Washington with intelligence that shaped key battles, including the victory at Yorktown. Like many women of the Revolution, her courage operated quietly, behind the scenes, and without recognition during her lifetime. Today, Anna Strong stands as a symbol of the essential but often hidden roles women played in securing American independence.

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As promised, here’s my mom’s sweet Tribute to General George Washington.

1 Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream - George Washington’s favorite dessert.

⅛ cup Madeira Port - Madeira is said to have been the wine used by Washington to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence

Maraschino cherries - because, you know, the cherry tree.

Pour port into a bowl, scoop in the ice cream, top with cherries, and enjoy while thinking about dethroning all tyrants and despots.

Happy 4th Of July, Everyone.

LET’S GET REVOLUTIONARY!