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Mary Hays, nicknamed "Molly Pitcher" for her service to thirsty soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was one of the many women who fought for the patriot cause during the Revolutionary War. She actually did take over her husband's position in battle when he was wounded. On June 29, 1778, the day after the battle, she was presented to General George Washington, who commissioned her a sergeant in the Continental Army. Her husband eventually recovered from his wound and, after the war, she and her family moved back to their home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. On February 21, 1822, she was awarded a pension by the state of Pennsylvania for her service during the war. When she dies in 1832, she was buried with full military honors. She is buried in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in the Old Graveyard, at which there are two monuments to her memory.
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