The work was stopped for the winter, but as soon as the mild weather
comes again the river front will once more swarm with an army of
workmen, and the busy little ants will tear down a lot of the work that
has been done and do it all over again. The mistake of the engineers
will make the new boulevard cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more
than it was expected, and New York will have to pay over two million
dollars for her new speedway before it is finished.
MOLLY PITCHER.
In all our school histories--that is, histories of the United
States--honorable mention is made of Molly Pitcher, who did good service
as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. None of these text-books gives us
any clew to Molly's origin, but nearly all of them tell us that the
brave woman lies in an unmarked grave, after having passed away without
the recognition of her ungrateful country. Sometimes she is buried on
the banks of the Hudson, but as a general thing the historians leave us
to infer that the location of her grave is entirely unknown. This is all
wrong, and I hope that the compiler of the next school history of our
country will read what is here told of the heroine, and after verifying
the facts, give in his book such attention to the true story of her life
as her services entitle her to.
Mary Ludwig was the daughter of Pennsylvania Dutch parents, industrious
people with a large family to support. In 1768, when about twenty years
old, Mary "hired out" as maid of all work in the family of William
Irvine of Carlisle, and on July 24th of the following year became the
wife of John Casper Hayes, the town barber. Seven years later, when the
war broke out, Hayes enlisted as a private in the First Pennsylvania
Artillery, but was afterward transferred to the Seventh Pennsylvania
Infantry, commanded by Colonel William Irvine, his wife's former
employer. When the artillery regiment was ordered to go to the front
Molly marched with it, having obtained the authority of the Colonel
(Thomas Proctor) to serve in her husband's battery as cook and
laundress. At the battle of Monmouth (Freehold), New Jersey, Hayes was
wounded while serving his gun; but his place was soon filled by his
wife, who rushed to the front when she heard of his fall, picked up the
rammer he had dropped, and till the battle ended did as good service in
loading the piece as could have been done by the best-drilled man in the
battery. When the fight was over, Molly busied herself in carrying water
for the wounded, and it was from this service she came by the pet name
"Molly Pitcher."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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