A Splendid Assembly of Ladies
Molly Pitcher – from National Archives https://catalog.archives.gov/id/532935
In April 1783, as military troops and the Governor gathered in Somerset county to commemorate “the celebration of peace,” “a splendid assembly of ladies, attended on the joyful occasion.” In July 1784, New Brunswick residents made a toast to “the patriot Ladies of America—May their domestic felicity be never again interrupted by the alarms and distresses of war.”(1) Nearly a century later, during centennial celebrations held in Morristown on July 4, 1876, Joseph F. Tuttle recounted tales of New Jersey women who proudly produced homespun clothing, generously fed encamped soldiers, and bravely faced the hardships of war. “The men fought well for the country and so did the women!” As Tuttle noted: “So often has the story of the Morris County women been told that I fear any reference to it may seem tedious to you.”(2)
As we prepare for 250th anniversary events across the state, I hope we recognize that the history of New Jersey women is far from “tedious.” Compelling accounts highlighting how women experienced the “distresses of war” as well as the promises of peace are often hiding in plain sight, ready for further exploration and analysis. Evidence showcasing the strength, ingenuity, and patriotism of New Jersey women can be found in various accounts, including newspaper articles, local histories, and scholarly works. These sources and stories can help us to develop more comprehensive and inclusive frameworks for understanding this crucial time in our nation’s history.
New Jersey offers particularly fruitful avenues for in-depth explorations of women’s wartime activities. Across the state, spaces typically considered private, familial, and domestic became sites of public, military, and political significance. Locations such as Dey Mansion in Wayne and Ford Mansion in Morristown, which served as headquarters for General George Washington, underscore how war often came directly to women. The death of Hannah Ogden Caldwell in her Connecticut Farms (Union) home, along with the legendary story of “Molly Pitcher” at the Battle of Monmouth, remind us that New Jersey women often found themselves quite literally “at the crossroads” of the American Revolution.
Throughout the war, New Jersey women turned challenges into opportunities. Elite white women expanded their political activism by engaging in fundraising activities, such as the state-wide campaign organized by the Ladies of Trenton. Women serving as camp followers traversed across the region, providing laundry, meals, and other support to both American and British troops. Enslaved women such as Hester and Bet took advantage of wartime disruptions in New Jersey to seek their own freedom and independence.(3)
Through close, careful attention to the many spaces and stories featuring New Jersey women, we can expand and enhance our historical narratives about the American Revolution. Revisiting seemingly familiar spaces and stories with fresh eyes and new insights illustrates how “a splendid assembly of ladies” made history as revolutionary actors.
(1) New Jersey Gazette (Trenton), May 14, 1783, p. 3-4; and Political Intelligencer and New-Jersey Advertiser (New Brunswick) July 6, 1784, p. 3.
(2) Joseph Farrand Tuttle, “The Revolutionary Forefathers of Morris County,” in Annals of Morris County (1876), 32-39. This oration was delivered in Morristown on July 4, 1876.
(3) For notices of enslaved women who escaped slavery, see New Jersey Gazette, January 31, 1781, p. 4; and August 8, 1781, p. 4. The classic overview of New Jersey women during the American Revolution was published to commemorate the bicentennial. See DePauw, Linda Grant DePauw, Fortunes of War: New Jersey Women and the American Revolution (Trenton: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1975). For other informative overviews of women in the American Revolution, see Carol Berkin, Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for American Independence (New York: Knopf, 2005); and Barbara Oberg, ed., Women in the American Revolution: Gender, Politics, and the Domestic World (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2019).