How Did Women Contribute To The Revolutionary Movement

Women had many huge contributions to the Revolutionary Movement. Many women performed traditional jobs, as well as scandalous roles. There were jobs like nurses, cooks and maids, yet there were also roles such as secret soldiers and spies. All women who supported the patriot cause were known as The Daughter of Liberty. They were an actual society, located around New England. Women who contributed to the Movement were brave and selfless and they all helped achieve the final goal of Independence. One very important role in the Revolutionary War were nurses. Nurses started to become more crucial around 1777. Many nurses were originally wives, mothers, and daughters called camp followers, who pursued after the army looking for food, shelter, and protection. In 1777, George Washington allowed camp followers to assist surgeons and perform basic duties such as custodial work, bathing/feeding soldiers, emptying chamber pots, cleaning hospital areas, and sometimes cooking. Washington paid them for their service and gave them one full food ration. Nurses also helped provide better living situations for soldiers by developing ideas such as
Disguised as cooks and maids, they eavesdropped on conversations about troop movement, military plans, supplies, and deliveries. Because the war was fought on farms, streets, and yards, women spies were easily able to carry information to neighboring houses without suspicion. Though women spies were abundant, information about them, especially in Massachusetts were limited. A famous female spy, Hannah Blair, had a farm where she hid Patriots, supplied food, and provided medical help to soldiers hiding from loyalist. She also mended uniforms and carried secret messages. Loyalists discovered what she was doing and burned her house. Yet after the war, Congress rewarded her by issuing a pension for her service. Just like women soldiers, women spies risked the lives of themselves and their