Women Waging War in the American Revolution - by Holly A Mayer

About the Book

"These essays examine women's varying roles during the War for Independence"--

Book Synopsis

America's War for Independence dramatically affected the speed and nature of broader social, cultural, and political changes including those shaping the place and roles of women in society. Women fought the American Revolution in many ways, in a literal no less than a figurative sense. Whether Loyalist or Patriot, Indigenous or immigrant enslaved or slave-owning, going willingly into battle or responding when war came to their doorsteps, women participated in the conflict in complex and varied ways that reveal the critical distinctions and intersections of race, class, and allegiance that defined the era.

This collection examines the impact of Revolutionary-era women on the outcomes of the war and its subsequent narrative tradition, from popular perception to academic treatment. The contributors show how women navigated a country at war, directly affected the war's result, and influenced the foundational historical record left in its wake. Engaging directly with that record, this volume's authors demonstrate the ways that the Revolution transformed women's place in America as it offered new opportunities but also imposed new limitations in the brave new world they helped create.

Contributors: Jacqueline Beatty, York College * Carin Bloom, Historic Charleston Foundation * Todd W. Braisted, independent scholar * Benjamin L. Carp, Brooklyn College * Lauren Duval, University of Oklahoma * Steven Elliott, U.S. Army Center of Military History * Lorri Glover, Saint Louis University * Don N. Hagist, Journal of the American Revolution * Sean M. Heuvel, Christopher Newport University * Martha J. King, Papers of Thomas Jefferson * Barbara Alice Mann, University of Toledo * J. Patrick Mullins, Marquette University * Alisa Wade, California State University at Chico

Review Quotes

[A] brief overview cannot capture the depth of the research done by each author on their chosen topic, the detail that they put into their analyses, and the novelty of their conclusions. Each chapter deserves careful reading to fully appreciate one tiny facet of women's participation in the war effort.

-- "Journal of Southern History"

Makes a genuine contribution to women's history scholarship on the Revolution. All the essays break new ground in one way or another--addressing topics not previously discussed in the literature, uncovering new information about a subject previously broached but not thoroughly examined, or digging more deeply into the individual wartime experiences of notable women.

--Mary Beth Norton, Cornell University, author of Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800

This intriguing collection provides a richly diverse view of the myriad ways women waged war during the fight for American independence. The essays importantly take us into the lives of Black women, Native American women, White women of all classes, women of different regions, and women on all sides of the conflict. Notably, war meant not only sacrifice and hardship for women, but also violence. The homefront was not as safe a space as we tend to think. Just as women and gender historians have revealed how blurred the lines were between public and private, this volume does the same for battlefield and homefront, military and civilian.

--Charlene M. Boyer Lewis, Kalamazoo College, author of Ladies and Gentlemen on Display: Planter Society at the Virginia Springs, 1790-1860

About the Author

Holly A. Mayer, Professor Emerita of History at Duquesne University, is the author of Belonging to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American Revolution and Congress's Own: A Canadian Regiment, the Continental Army, and American Union.