Friday Mieography

This one is short, but sweet.
Molly Pitcher. Ever heard of her? Me neither. (Or, good for you!)
Many think that Molly was folklore, a story. Many think she is a composite of many real women. I will leave you to decide what you want to, but tell you what I learned.

Sources generally identify "Molly Pitcher" as Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley. She was born to a German family in Pennsylvania, in approx. 1754.
In 1778, she went with her husband, William Hays, who was an artilleryman in the Pennsylvania artillery unit, to the Battle of Monmouth, in what is now New Jersey. William fell, wounded. So she took his post, at his cannon. After the battle, General George Washington issued her a warrant as a non-commissioned officer, and she was known after that as "Sergeant Molly". Also, it is storied that what she did was carry water to the men on the battlefield during the revolutionary war. The water was not for drinking, but for swabbing the cannons. Thus, the name "Molly Pitcher."
Mary remarried, but her second husband died young, as well. After that, she became a nurse, and a housekeeper. In 1822, the state of Pennsylvania awarded her an annual pension of $40.00 for her heroism during the Revolutionary War. She died in 1832 in Carlisle, Pa.
In 1928, Molly Pitcher was a U.S. Postage Stamp. She was also further honored during WW II, with the U.S.S. Molly Pitcher. Unfortunately, the ship was launched, AND torpedoed, in 1943.
There is also a hotel in New Jersey, near the Monmouth battle sight called the "Molly Pitcher Inn". And in Pa, at the Pa-Maryland state line, there is a stretch known as "Molly Pitcher Highway"