Women served in many capacities during the American Revolution. Thousands of women traveled with their husbands when they served in the Continental Army. Known as "camp followers," they marched with the supply wagons, set up camps nearby, and cooked, did laundry, mended clothing, and assisted with medical treatment when necessary. Some women carried water to troops on the battlefield, both to drink and to cool the cannons.
According to legends popularized during the 19th century, a woman known as Molly Pitcher was bringing water to the troops during the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. When her husband was killed in the battle she immediately took his place firing the artillery piece or cannon. In one story, a cannon ball from the opposing side landed between her legs, missing her body by mere inches. Undaunted, she reportedly continued firing the cannon for the rest of the battle. A number of 19th century artists illustrated the dramatic story in paintings and engravings, including this one by English engraver James Charles Armytage that was published in Battles of America by Sea and Land (1861), by Robert Tomes.
Over time, several women have become associated with the story, which was not recounted during the war. One is Mary Hays McCauly, whose husband enlisted in the Continental Army in 1776 and died in 1786, not in battle during the war. After his death Mary applied for a pension from the state of Pennsylvania as the widow of a soldier. In 1822, Mary received an annual pension of $40 for “services rendered,” although the services were not specified and the amount was a standard widow's pension. Another woman is Margaret Corbin, who accompanied her husband to war. He was killed during the battle of Fort Washington in November 1776, whereupon she took up his gun and was wounded under fire. In 1779 the Continental Congress awarded her a lifetime pension and a suit of clothes for her actions on the battlefield.
It is unknown if the story of Molly Pitcher refers to one woman or whether Molly Pitcher is a composite figure of various women who served in a variety of roles during the war. The name “Molly" was a nickname for Mary, a common name during the time, and “Pitcher” described the task of fetching water. Whether or not "Molly Pitcher" herself existed, the legend reflects the bravery of the many women who participated in America's Revolutionary War.
Citation: Portrait, Molly Pitcher, engraving by J.C. Armytage. Harry C. Mann Photograph Collection, Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Related entry: Anna Maria Lane, Commendation and Pension
Preview Activity
Artistic Exploration: Look the drawing of Molly Pitcher at the cannon. Notice the posture and facial expressions of the soldiers around her. What can you conclude about her actions and role in the battle?
Post Activities
Artistic Exploration: Draw cartoons or images of Molly Pitcher taking on various roles that women might have during the Revolution.
Another Perspective: Write a diary entry for a day in the life of Molly Pitcher or a camp follower. What did you do? What challenges did you face?
Analyze: Look at the image and using your knowledge of the American Revolution, why were camp followers like Mary Hays important? How might have the actions of the women during the American Revolution be reflected in the many roles women play in the modern American military?
After the American Revolution, relations between the United States and Great Britain remained strained. In its long war with France, Britain imposed a blockade on neutral countries, including the United States, that disrupted shipping and trade. Additionally, the British seized sailors from American ships and impressed them into the British navy. In 1812, Congress approved a declaration of war, and the United States was soon fighting a war with the motto "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights."
The battles ranged throughout the United States and into Canada, with naval battles fought in the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. In Virginia, the British blockaded the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and raided coastal settlements. In August 1814, the British marched into Washington, D.C., and set fire to the Capitol and the White House. Days later, the city of Alexandria, which had no forces to defend it, surrendered to the British who promised not to destroy the town if the citizens surrendered all naval stores, shipping, and merchandise being exported. In September, the British attempted to capture Baltimore, Maryland, but were repulsed by the American troops at Fort McHenry. The war ended when the Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814.
These two engravings by Scottish-born artist William Charles (1776–1820) contrast the resistance—or lack thereof—to the British invasions of Alexandria and Baltimore. As their cities fell under attack, citizens were left with a difficult choice: fight the invaders and risk losing everything, or submit and hope for mercy. In the drawings, the Baltimore militia chooses resistance and surprises John Bull (the symbol of England) with their ability to defend their city. In the other drawing, John Bull forces the Alexandrians, who are depicted as cowards, to forfeit all their goods. The prints were likely intended to be sold together as companion pieces.
Citation: "Johnny Bull and the Alexandrians" and "John Bull and the Baltimoreans," lithographs by William Charles, 1814. Special Collections, Prints & Photographs, Library of Virginia.
Social Studies: GOVT.1 VUS.1
Art: 4.1, 5.1
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the caricatures. What do you immediately notice about them? Who do you think the Bull represents? Why?
Post Activities
Analyze: Read the transcriptions for the caricatures. Based on the information, what does the information provided reveal about the repercussions for the decisions made in Alexandria and Baltimore?The temperance movement was one of many reform efforts that built support in the decades before the Civil War. Temperance is defined as moderation in action, thought, or feeling, and is often used to describe the long campaign to decrease the consumption of alcohol by Americans that culminated in the national Prohibition Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in the 20th century. Since the European settlement of North America, alcohol consumption had been common and by early in the 19th century, many Americans believed that alcohol was to blame for a variety of societal problems, including unemployment, crime, poverty, and domestic abuse.
Supporters of the temperance movement blamed alcohol for family and social problems like poverty, domestic violence, child abuse, unemployment, and disease. People of all social classes, race, gender, and religious affiliations joined anti-liquor organizations and sought to use moral persuasion to curb alcohol consumption. Many women were involved, even though they did not have the right to vote. Instead, they sponsored public events, established rooms stacked with prohibition literature, and canvassed for the prohibition vote. Virginians joined such organizations as the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon League, and the Sons of Temperance, all of which carried the message of total abstinence from alcohol and encouraged political support for reform using pamphlets, novels, newspapers, music, sermons, lectures, and art.
The Bottle is a series of eight illustrated panels about the potential dangers of alcohol consumption. Originally published in England in 1847 by George Cruikshank, The Bottle became wildly popular, selling more than 100,000 copies in its first few days and inspiring plays in eight London theaters at the same time. The Bottle was exported to the United States, where, lacking a copyright, it was reproduced by several publishers. Plates 1 and 6 are shown here. The first plate shows a prosperous and happy family where “The Bottle is brought out for the first time: the husband induces his wife ‘Just to take a drop." The following plates show the deleterious effects of alcohol: the father loses his job, they sell their belongings, the baby dies, the children beg in the street. In plate 6 the same family is featured. They are in the same room as the first panel, but the drunken father is attacking his wife and his children try to restrain him as a concerned neighbor bursts into the room.
Inspired by images such as these and encouraged by the rise of anti-alcohol tracts and lectures, Americans jumped on the temperance bandwagon. The Civil War swept these concerns to the side, but by the 1880s the temperance movement had spread widely. Voters in many counties and states across the nation to vote to ban alcohol, including in Virginia, which enacted a statewide ban on alcohol in 1916, four years before national Prohibition was implemented.
RELATED DOCUMENTS: To see all eight panels, visit the Library of Virginia's UncommonWealth blog post on The Temperance Movement and the Road to Prohibition.
Citations:History: VS.8, VS.9, USI.8, USII.4, USII.6, CE.6, CE.10, VUS.8, VUS.10, GOVT.7, GOVT.9
Art: 4.1, 5.1
Preview Activity
Look at it: Look at the images. What do you think is the subject of the images?
Post Activities
Current Connections: How would you change or update these drawings to show the dangers of opiates or other potentially addictive substances?
Think About it: If you were a member of this family, what would, or could you have done to stop this chain of events?
Social Media Spin: Create a post in which you promote temperance for the 21st Century. Include information which might sway a person to seek treatment for alcohol or drug addiction.
Illustrated periodicals like Harper's Weekly were popular with Americans in the middle of the 19th century. After southern states formed the Confederate States of America, residents there could not easily receive newspapers and magazines printed in the northern states. The Southern Illustrated News was founded in 1862 in Richmond and remained in print, with some interruptions, until 1865. Illustrated periodicals often included political cartoons, which were popular and provided a visual way to express opinions and concerns. They are often satirical, using humor, exaggeration, irony, and ridicule to persuade a reader to think about current events from a particular point of view.
This political cartoon lampoons Lincoln’s revolving door of United States Army generals who had faced—and been defeated by—Confederate forces in Virginia. After General Winfield Scott retired at the beginning of the Civil War, several generals had been placed at the head of the Army of the Potomac or in charge of armies attempting to secure the Shenandoah Valley. In the cartoon, the “toys” have been stripped of their army general uniforms and located on a shelf with other former generals. Lincoln is shown holding the latest general puppet, Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker, who commanded the Army of the Potomac from January to June 1863.
The generals depicted are:
Winfield Scott, who was Commanding General of the United States Army until resigning in November 1861.
Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, who commanded the Army of Northeastern Virginia when it was defeated at the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in 1861.
Major General John C. Fremont, who commanded the Mountain Department and was unable to defeat Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign in 1862.
Major General Nathaniel Banks, who was also unable to defeat Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign in 1862.
Major General John Pope, who commanded the Army of Virginia at the time of its defeat at the Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in 1862.
Major General George B. McClellan, who commanded the Army of the Potomac during the failed Peninsula Campaign to capture Richmond in 1862.
Major General Ambrose Burnside, who succeeded McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac but was relieved of command after his costly defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862.
Major General Joseph Hooker, who took command of the Army of the Potomac in 1863, but was defeated at the Battle of Chancellorsville two months after this cartoon appeared and resigned his post.
Citation: “Master Abraham Lincoln Gets a New Toy,” Southern Illustrated News, 28 May 1863, Richmond, Va.: Ayres & Wade, 1862-1865. Special Collections, Library of Virginia.
Preview Activity
Take a Look: Look at the political cartoon, what do you notice about the image? What does it tell you about the subject of the image?
Post Activities
Analyze: Explain the imagery and title of the cartoon as a tool of criticism. How might this depiction have influenced readers of the paper?
Social Media Spin: Create a social media post in which you create a meme or political cartoon based on the same events for a modern audience.
Another perspective: Write a response to the political cartoon in which Lincoln’s struggle to retain generals is seen in a sympathetic light. Be sure to present your information in a way which would persuade others to support Lincoln.
As women participated in the movement to abolish slavery during the first half of the 19th century, some of them also began to advocate for women's rights. In July 1848, a group of women and men held a convention in Seneca Falls, New York. They signed a "Declaration of Sentiments," drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which called for women's equality and the right to vote, also known as suffrage. As the woman suffrage movement gained more support throughout the country, it also raised a great deal of public scrutiny. Many people, including women, questioned how women would be able to meet the demands of their domestic duties at home while participating in public activities, such as attending political rallies or making speeches. Since the colonial era, women in America had been considered a dependent class, under the responsibility of their fathers, husbands, or brothers. The growing women's rights movement challenged the prevailing social norms.
Political cartoons have often been used to express opinions and concerns. They are often satirical, using humor, exaggeration, irony, and ridicule to persuade a reader to think about current events from a particular point of view. In this Currier and Ives cartoon published in 1869, "Age of Brass: Or the Triumphs of Woman's Rights," the cartoonist depicted a scene of what might happen if women were given the right to vote. It shows a group of extravagantly dressed women lined up at the ballot box to vote for "The Celebrated Man Tamer: Susan Sharp-Tongue" and for "Miss Hangman" as sheriff. At the end of the line is a woman holding up her fist to a man carrying a baby, highlighting the potential effects of gender role reversal as women took on different roles in society. The women are wearing very elaborate and somewhat masculine-looking clothing and some are smoking cigars, none of which was considered respectable, feminine behavior at that time.
Citation: “The Age of Brass: Or the Triumphs of Woman's Rights.” lithograph. [New York]: Currier & Ives, 1869. Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia.
Preview Activity
Take a Look: Look at the policitcal cartoon. What do you notice about it? What do you think is the purpose? Pay attention to the appearances of the characters and the writing included in the image.
Post Activities
Current Connections: How would this lithograph be different if it were produced today for a women's-rights-related issue? How would the imagery and message change to suit modern times?
Think About It: Identify and list specific imagery in this lithograph that seeks to place women on a more equal playing field with men. To what extent are the images successful?
“The Age of Iron” was published by the New York printing firm of Currier and Ives in 1869. It satirized the woman suffrage movement that was gaining widespread support in America during that time.
The woman suffrage movement took root in 1848 at the first women's rights convention, which was held in Seneca Falls, New York, with the participants calling for political equality and the right to vote. As the movement gained more support throughout the country, it also brought about a great deal of public scrutiny. Many people, including some women, questioned how women would be able to complete their domestic duties in the private sphere while also participating in activities outside the home in the public sphere. Since colonial times in America, women had been classified as a dependent class under the responsibility of their fathers or husbands. In Virginia, for example, married women had no right to manage property that they owned until 1877.
Political cartoons were often used as a medium for expressing opinions and concerns. The message of “The Age of Iron: Man as He Expects to Be” illustrates the fears of some people that society would suffer if women gained the right to vote and participated in politics—that their behavior would change and they would leave their domestic duties behind.
“The Age of Iron” depicts two men, one sewing and the other doing laundry. At the same time a woman is shown leaving the house and approaching a carriage driven by another woman, with a third woman in the back. Not only does this speak to the fear among men that they would have to take care of domestic duties while women left the home, it also shows the concern that male servants would be replaced by women. Many men feared that their own status could change dramatically if women successfully challenged the idea of private and public spheres and gained political equality.
Citation: “The Age of Iron: Man As He Expects to Be.” lithograph. [New York]: Currier & Ives, 1869. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the depiction of the men and women in this lithographic image. How are women represented? Why do you think that the women are shown in this way?
Post Activity
Analyze: Read the caption under the image. What does it suggest about the ideologies of those opposed to the suffrage movement? How might women who supported the suffrage movement feel about this description?
Current Connections: Think about your own home and those of older generations. Are some things still considered “women’s work” and “men’s work”? For example, who is responsible for the cooking/laundry/yard work? Who is called first when a child is injured? How might culture play a role in the roles of men and women?
Artistic Exploration: Draw a version of this lithograph for today. In your drawing, show men in what might be considered traditional women’s roles. Write a caption which describes how society may view your image.
Preview Activity
Scan It: Scan the document. What might have been the purpose of the document?
Post Activity
Analyze: What can you learn from this award? How effective do you think it was as a form of advertising?
Current Connections: Compare and contrast current tobacco advertising with advertising from the late-19th and early-20th centuries. How has advertising for tobacco products changed?
By the 1870s, bicycles and tricycles using wire-spoked wheels were common, particularly in England. Albert A. Pope became the first American bicycle manufacturer under the trade name “Columbia” in Connecticut in 1878.
The popularity of bicycles in America increased rapidly in the 1890s with the advent of the safety bicycle with equal-sized wheels that allowed the rider's feet to reach the ground. Automobiles were expensive and not widely available, horses and carriages were expensive to maintain, and public transportation was not efficient. The bicycle met the need for inexpensive individual transportation and, as a result, the new industry expanded rapidly. The bicycle provided people with a means of affordable travel. As more people relied on bicycles, existing roads were improved and new roads were constructed.
Bicycles also contributed to social change in the United States as people were able more freely to move about, especially women. Clothing styles changed from corsets and long skirts to divided skirts and bloomers. Women enjoyed greater opportunities to leave their house without needing a chaperone. They could ride alone or with groups of other women. The independence bicycles offered inspired some women to take up the cause of the growing suffrage movement as more women could attend meetings and events. Susan B. Anthony reportedly claimed in 1896 that "the bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world."
Virginians embraced cycling and local newspapers included advertisements offering bicycles designed for female riders and women’s fashions for bicycling. National periodicals also published stories, articles, and cartoons about bicycling. Puck was one of the first successful humor magazines in the United States with its colorful, witty cartoons covering politics and social issues late in the 19th century. In this cartoon from an 1897 issue of Puck, the cartoonist shows a novice rider concentrating on her bicycle. Several of the advertisements on the page are for bicycles and accessories.
Citation: Puck Magazine, v. 41, no. 1046, Mar. 24, 1897, Rare Book Collection, Manuscripts & Special Collections, Library of Virginia.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the cartoon and the advertisements on this page. Who might be the target audience? Why?
Post Activities
Analyze: How did the use of the bicycle connect to the broader social or political messages in the 1890s? What other groups of people would have benefited from the inexpensive transportation offered by the bicycle?
Artistic Expression: Imagine that you must market this bicycle on behalf of the company. Create an advertisement or poster that would attract new customers.
Think About It: Write a journal entry as if you were living in a major U.S. city in the 1890s and how a bicycle would have affected your daily routine.
Cocoonry Building, Photograph, Prince William County, circa 1900
Silk has been produced and sold as a consumer good for thousands of years. The origin of silk production was in China and the earliest known examples date to 3000 B.C.E. For centuries, the trade routes known as the Silk Road stretched beween Europe and East Asia. The Chinese kept their manufacturing process a closely guarded secret, but eventually silkworm cocoons and seeds for mulberry trees (the food source for silkworms) were smuggled to other parts of Asia and to Europe, where manufacturers in areas of France and Italy became the leading producers of silk in Europe. Later, large groups of skilled Flemish and French weavers fled to England as a result of religious persecution, and an industrial complex for silk weaving developed in the 1620s at Spitalfields near London.
Producing silk is complex and requires specialized skills. The silkworm moth (Bombyx mori) has been domesticated for centuries. The result is a creature which is bred and raised on farms with wings too weak to fly and legs unable to crawl more than a foot or so. Silkworms are totally reliant on humans and are very labor-intensive, as they require specific dietary and habitat conditions to thrive. Silkworm larvae begin eating as soon as they emerge. They molt or shed their skin four times and become larger each time they molt. The larvae will grow up to 10,000 times their weight as they eat mulberry leaves almost continually soon after they hatch. Once the silkworms stop eating, their human caretakers build specially constructed frames which provide support and protection for the valuable cocoons. The cocoons are produced when the worm’s silk glands are fully developed, and they begin to secrete a sticky substance called sericin along with the silk threads. The silk threads harden in the air as the larva moves its head in a figure eight pattern. After the larva creates a support for a cocoon, it spins a cocoon from a single, continuous thread of silk which can be over a mile long. The process of spinning a cocoon can take two days to complete. The worm then enters its pupa stage, which, if allowed to continue, will result in an adult moth in about three weeks. Most of the insects, however, are killed with heat in the pupae stage, as they damage the cocoon when they emerge as adults and the heat does not damage the silk.
Given the popularity of silk in England and the development of silk production in Europe, King James I and others encouraged silk production in Virginia in the 17th century. The specialized labor force required, the limited diet of the silkworm (the larvae did not like the native mulberry trees), and the development of tobacco as a more successful cash crop ensured sericulture's failure in the colony. However, small scale silk manufacturing had a resurgence in the 19th century and early in the 20th century in Virginia. The cocoonry building seen in the photograph is an example of the silk industry in Prince William County. The building likely dates back to an earlier time period and was probably no longer used to raise silkworms when the photograph was taken. However, it is one of the few remaining structures attributed to the silk industry in Virginia. Today, most silk is produced in China, Japan, or Korea, with small quantities harvested in Russia and other countries.
Citation: Cocoonry, Mountain View, 1900, Virginia W.P.A Historical Inventory Project, Library of Virginia.
History: VS.1, VS.2 VS.3, VS.4, USI.1, USI.2, USI.3, USI.4, WHII.4, VUS.1, VUS.2, VUS.3
Science: 3.5, 4.5, BIO.7, BIO.8, ES.6, ES.8
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the photograph, what might the building have been used for? Why do you think this?
Post Activities
STEM STAT: English colonists at Jamestown attempted to raise silkworms but found the silkworms to be demanding as they required Asian mulberries and special living conditions to thrive. They also did not handle the heat and humidity of the Tidewater region well. How did the attempts at raising silkworms change the environment? Why might the environment and technological advancements in building design allowed for more success with silkworms in northern Virginia in the 19th century?
Think About It: Consider the challenges in raising silkworms and producing silk. Why do you think the English persisted in their quest to raise silkworms despite the odds?
Another Perspective: Silk was an expensive and popular material in England. Although there was a means to produce silk products in England and Europe, why would the English want to attempt to produce it in the New World? Consider the challenges of raising silkworms and the climate in England.
Second Baptist Church was built at the corner of Franklin and Adams Streets in 1906. The building was designed by Wiliam C. Noland, one of the best-known architects of the period and founder of the firm Noland and Baskervill (still operating in Richmond as Baskervill). Noland designed several other religious buildings on Franklin Street, including Beth Ahabah Synagogue and St. James Episcopal Church. Second Baptist Church is considered one of the best still-standing examples of a neoclassical style temple with a peristyle columned portico, a continuous line of columns around the building, and the use of simple geometric forms.
In 1977, Second Baptist became part of the Franklin Street City Old & Historic District. In 1987, the historic district was expanded to protect many important historic civic buildings and residences in the area. Second Baptist is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a federally run program administered by the National Park Service with the goal of identifying, preserving, and protecting historic sited throughout the country.
Second Street Baptist was sold in 1990 to the owners of The Jefferson Hotel, which is also located of Franklin Street. Less than two years later, the hotel owners sought permission from the city to demolish the historic sanctuary, as well as the education building next door to the church to create a parking lot. In 1992, the Richmond City Commission of Architectural Review prevented the demolition, but the Richmond City Council gave permission for the demolition to move forward. In the end, the sanctuary building was saved through a community effort which included preservationists and concerned residents. The education building was torn down and is now used as a surface parking lot for hotel guests.
The former church was used as a storage area for many years, and in 2021 the hotel owners requested permission to demolish the building as a result of structural probblems and a lack of economically viable uses for the building. The efforts to preserve Second Baptist Church are part of an ongoing effort in in the local community and national historic preservation communities.
Citation: Postcard of Second Baptist Church, Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
History: CE.1, CE.3, GOVT.1, GOVT.8, GOVT.9
Art: 5.14, 7.12, AI.3, AI.6
Science: PH.1, PH.4
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the image on the postcard. What makes this style building stand out? Why would the architect chosen to use this style when designing the building?
Post Activities
STEM STAT: You are working with historic preservationists to find alternative uses for the sanctuary of Second Baptist Church. What would you suggest based on the design and structure of the building? How would you go about redesigning the structure to accommodate 21st century needs? What resources would be needed to achieve the desired outcome?
Be the Journalist: You are writing an article about the issues surrounding Second Baptist Church. Create on outline for your article in which you describe who you would interview for your article, why you would interview these individuals, and what information you hope the potential interviewees will share.
Social Media Spin: Create a social media post in which describe the situation with Second Baptist Church. Be sure to include any information you feel is relevant to understanding the ongoing debate.