Mary Ludwig Hayes McCauley - "Molly Pitcher" - Carlisle, Pennsylvania - American Revolution Patriot Graves on Waymarking.com

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Molly was called Molly Pitcher for the Pitcher she carried to the soldiers on the battlefield.

During the battle of Monmouth, June 28th, 1778, lasting through "one of the hottest days ever known" when soldiers were dying of heat and thirst, the wife of John Hays, a sergeant of artillery, was carrying water in a pitcher to the thirsty soldiers, who called her familiarly, by reason of this grateful service, Molly Pitcher. Her husband during the battle was struck down insensible, but not killed as is frequently stated, and the piece was ordered to be withdrawn. She at once stepped to the front, seized the rammer and continued to assist in serving the piece effectively till the close of the battle.

General Washington complemented her and made her a sergeant on the spot and the soldiers thereafter called her sergeant or Major Molly. At all events her husband recovered and she continued with him in the army, nursing the sick and wounded and making herself generally useful.

Patriot Name: Molly Pitcher Type of Service Provided: Nursing the sick Cemetery Name: Old Graveyard - Carlisle - Cumberland County - Pennsylvania Text of the Grave Marker: Molly Pitcher Mary Mckolly Mccauley Mary Hayes neee Mary Ludwig Born October 13, 1744 Died January 22, 1822 Grave Marker Type: Memorial with statue Historical Background: Revolutionary War Heroine. Born Mary Ludwig near Trenton, New Jersey, she was sent to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at a young age to become a servant in the home of Colonel William Irvine. In 1769, she married John Casper Hays, a young barber who lived in the village. In 1775, her husband enlisted in the First Pennsylvania Artillery as a gunner. He spent the winter of 1777 and 1778 at Valley Forge. As with many other soldier wives, Molly joined her husband in the camp, and helped by cooking, washing, sewing, and doing other work around the camp. On Sunday, June 28, 1778, the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey began during one of the hottest days of that summer. To help the soldiers, Molly carried water from a nearby spring to the thirsty soldiers, soon gaining the name Molly Pitcher. During the battle, her husband fell from heat stroke while firing his cannon, and Molly promptly took his place, loading and firing the gun for her fallen husband. After the war, she and her husband returned to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they continued to live happily together until her husband’s death in 1789. After that, she married George McCauley, who had also been a soldier in the Revolutionary War and a friend of her husband. In 1822, the Pennsylvania legislature awarded Molly a yearly pension of $40. There is also a Molly Pitcher rest area along the New Jersey Turnpike, named in her honor for her service to her country. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)

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