Margaret Cochran Corbin
Greene Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Heroine of the Revolution; born Nov. 12, 1751, near Rocky Spring, 1 1/2 miles to NW. Accompanied her husband to war. Manned a cannon, Fort Washington, N.Y., Nov. 16, 1776, when he was killed. She was wounded, pensioned, and assigned to Invalid Regt. Died Jan. 16, 1800; buried at West Point, N.Y.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Born on the Pennsylvania frontier in 1751, Margaret Cochran Corbin followed her husband into the Continental Army and was beside him at the defense of Fort Washington in November 1776. When he was killed at his cannon, she took his place and kept firing until she too was gravely wounded. Congress later granted her a soldier's pension and a place in the Invalid Regiment, and she was buried with honor at West Point.
Why it matters
Corbin was among the first women to receive a military pension from the young United States, a rare official recognition that women shared the sacrifices of the Revolution.
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Related people
- · Margaret Cochran Corbin
Related events
- · Battle of Fort Washington
Themes & tags
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