Margaret Corbin
Margaret Cochran Corbin was a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War. On November 16, 1776, her husband John Corbin was one of 2,800 American soldiers defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 8,000 attacking Hessian troops under British command. She was too nervous to let her husband go into battle alone, so she went with him. She was a nurse and was therefore allowed to accompany him and attend injured soldiers.
John Corbin was on the crew of one of two cannons that the defenders deployed. He fell in action, so Margaret took his place and continued to work the cannon until she was seriously wounded. Her husband was a trained artilleryman, and she had learned by watching him; consequently, she was able to fire, clean, and aim the cannon with great speed. This impressed the other soldiers and was the beginning of her military career.
Corbin became the first woman in U.S. history to receive a pension from Congress for military service, when she could no longer work due to injury and was enlisted into the Corps of Invalids.
Early life
Margaret Cochran was born in Western Pennsylvania on November 12, 1751, in what is now Franklin County. The surname Cochran is of Irish origin anglicized from maccogaráin or Ó Cogaráin. Her parents were Robert Cochran, an Irish immigrant and his wife, Sarah. In 1756, when Margaret was five years old, her parents were attacked by Native Americans. Her father was killed, and her mother was kidnapped, never to be seen again — Margaret and her brother, John, escaped the raid because they were not at home. Margaret lived with her uncle for the rest of her childhood.In 1772, at the age of 21, Margaret married a Virginia farmer named John Corbin.
American Revolutionary War
When the war began, John enlisted in the First Company of Pennsylvania Artillery as a matross, an artilleryman who was one of the members of a cannon crew. Margaret became a camp follower, accompanying her husband during his enlistment. She joined many other wives in cooking, washing, and caring for the wounded soldiers. She acquired the nickname "Molly Pitcher" by bringing water during fighting, both for thirsty soldiers and to cool overheated cannons.Corbin's company was part of the garrison that was left behind at Fort Washington when General George Washington retreated with the Continental Army to White Plains, New York, and the British attacked the fort on November 16, 1776. Corbin was in charge of firing a small cannon at the top of a ridge, today known as Bennett Park. He was killed during an assault by the Hessians, leaving his cannon unmanned. Margaret had been with him on the battlefield the entire time, and she immediately took his place at the cannon, continuing to fire until her arm, chest, and jaw were hit by enemy fire. The British ultimately won the Battle of Fort Washington, and Corbin's company surrendered. As the equivalent of a wounded soldier, she was released by the British on parole.
After the Battle of Fort Washington
Corbin went to Philadelphia after the battle, completely disabled from her wounds. She never fully healed, and she received aid from the government in 1779. On June 29, the Executive Council of Pennsylvania granted her $30 to cover her immediate needs, and passed her case on to Congress's Board of War. Members of the board were sympathetic to her injuries and impressed with her service and bravery. They granted her half the monthly pay of a soldier in the Continental Army on July 6, 1779, as well as a new set of clothes or its equivalent in cash.Corbin was subsequently included on military rolls until the end of the war. She was enrolled in the Corps of Invalids, created by Congress for wounded soldiers. In 1781, the Corps of Invalids became part of the garrison at West Point, New York, and she was discharged from the Continental Army in 1783.
Later years
Corbin received financial support from the government after the war, the first woman to do so.Legacy
A memorial commemorating Corbin's heroism was erected in 1909 near the scene of her service on the C. K. G. Billings estate in New York City's Fort Tryon Park. "Margaret Corbin Circle" lies just outside the main entrance to the park, and "Margaret Corbin Drive" connects the circle through the park to the Henry Hudson Parkway. The Chamber of Commerce of Washington Heights placed a plaque in her honor in 1982 on one of the two stone plynths which mark the start of Margaret Corbin Drive. A large Art Deco mural depicting the Battle of Fort Washington decorates the lobby of a nearby apartment building at 720 Fort Washington Avenue. According to the New York Historical Association, Corbin was "honored as no woman of the revolution has ever been honored before".In 1926, the New York State chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution verified Corbin's records through the papers of General Henry Knox. Remains believed to be hers were exhumed and re-interred with full military honors at the cemetery of the United States Military Academy at West Point behind the Old Cadet Chapel in the West Point Cemetery. The DAR erected the Margaret Corbin Monument at the gravesite. However, a 2017 archeological study revealed that the remains that had been moved were not those of Corbin, but rather an unknown male. The location of Corbin's remains is unknown.
Every year, the DAR presents the Margaret Cochran Corbin Award to a woman in military service.
In June 2021, the Manhattan Campus of the New York Harbor Health Care System of the Department of Veterans Affairs was renamed the Margaret Cochran Corbin Campus, located on East 23rd Street in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan. It was the first such facility in the United States to be named after a woman veteran.