Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley
Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley is often times hailed as being the original
“Molly Pitcher.” A “Molly Pitcher” was a general term used by Revolutionary troops for a woman who brought them water during battle. Hays often assisted her husband at his post as an artillery loader. During the Battle of
Monmouth, a witness described how
Hays took her husband’s place loading the cannon when an explosion near by rendered him unconscious. According to the witness, “Hays briefly looked after her husband until the call to load came. Whereupon she took his place and continued his occupation.”

James Forten
James Forten was born free in Philadelphia in 1766. At the age of 14, during the
Revolutionary War, Forten volunteered to serve on the privateer Royal Louis , commanded by Captain Stephen Decatur Sr.
Forten did this despite knowing that if the ship was taken, he was at risk of being enslaved. The ship was captured by British forces. The British Captain John Beazley, who had taken the privateer, was so impressed with the bravery of the boy, he secured his being treated as a regular prisoner of war. Forten spent seven month aboard a prison ship. Seeing prisoners dying from disease and starvation gave Forten a new love of freedom. After the war he spent the rest of his life and money in an effort to end slavery in America.

Patience Wright
During the Revolutionary War, women were a key part of General George
Washington’s “ring of spies.” The
American-born Patience Wright was probably the bravest of them all. Wright worked in London as a sculptor of wax likenesses. Historians believe that she coaxed military information out of her subjects as she sculpted them. Some of her subjects who would have had good information about the British plans were former Prime Minister William Pitt,
Admiral of the British Navy Richard Howe and even King George III. Then she would pass that information on to Patriot agents in London, despite knowing that if she were ever discovered she would be hanged as a spy.

Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley, the first African-American writer to achieve fame, was a poet who supported the Patriot cause. Purchased by the Wheatley family when she was eight years old, Phillis was one day caught trying to write letters in chalk on the wall. Instead of punishing her, the Wheatley family had their daughter tutor her on how to read and write. During the war, Washington invited her to his headquarters after she sent him a poem that ended in this verse: “Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side, Thy every action let the goddess guide. A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine, With gold unfading, Washington be thine.”

Haym Salomon
Haym Salomon, a Jew living in Poland, moved to New York before the Revolution in search of liberty. He soon became a successful merchant and a banker. Salmon was active during the was a spy for the Patriots. He assisted in the escape of numerous captives of the British and persuaded German soldiers who were fighting for Britain to desert. Arrested by the British twice for aiding the American cause, Salomon was never hanged because he spoke many languages. The British thought he could help them deal with foreign merchants, so they let him live. Salomon was paroled the first time and escaped the second. Salomon loaned the
American government $600,000 which was never repaid. Like many other Americans,
Salomon had sacrificed his health and fortune to help his country survive.