Women's Heritage Trail

— Monmouth Battlefield State Park —

Mary Hays, nicknamed "Molly," joined her husband as many wives of the time did, while he was serving in the artillery during the American Revolution. Her husband was a gunner in Captain Francis Proctor's company of the Pennsylvania Artillery Regiment. She traveled with the troops helping with laundering, cooking or nursing the soldiers in exchange for rations. At the Battle of Monmouth—during a 3-hour cannonade-she helped her husband's gun crew by running cartridges from the ammunition box to the loader.

After the war, Mary Hays retired to her home in Carlisle, PA, where she outlived two husbands. Her actions as "Molly Pitcher" became immortalized in the stories that represent all the women who tended to the injured, and supported the troops in the heat of battle during the Revolutionary War.

One of the largest battles of the American Revolution took place here in the fields and forest that now make up Monmouth Battlefield State Park.

"She often told this deponent and her girl friends the story of her army life...'You girls should have been with me at the Battle of Monmouth and learned hew to load a cannon."Mrs. Susan Heckendorn, 1895.

(Inscription under the image in the lower left) Mott's Artillery on Perrine's Hill, photo: Gary Wheeler Stone.

(Inscription in the two boxes on the right) Upper box-By carrying pitchers of clear spring water to the parched soldiers and gunmen who needed it to cool their hot artillery, Mary Hays managed to earn the title of "Molly Pitcher". By hoisting wounded soldiers on her own slender back and spiriting them from the blood battlefields she earned the men's respect. What earned her their adoration, however, was act of active participation in the fighting. Because of her bravery she is on the New Jersey Women's Heritage Trail.

Lower box-The New Jersey Women's Heritage Trail highlights a collection of historic sites located around the state that represent the significant contributions women made to the history of our state. The Heritage Trail brings to life the vital role of women in New Jersey's past and present.

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Show me all markers in:  Manalapan Township, NJ  |  Monmouth County  |  07726  |  New Jersey  |  United States of America

General von Steuben
D'Annae: A French, Swedish-Style 4-pounder
Monmouth Battlefield
Molly Pitcher
Combs Hill Cannonade
Monmouth Battlefield State Park
Battle at the Parsonage
Hold the Hedgerow!
The British Rush the Hedgerow
The British Grenadiers

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