(Capt.) Margaret Corbin
American Patriot :she fired cannon at the British til she lost an arm
When Margaret joined her husband at Fort Washington in New York, she was just there as support originally. When the fort was attacked by the British and Hessians in 1776, her husband was mortally wounded. She took over his duties at the two cannon in the fort and (because she had been watching) aimed and reloaded the cannon herself all under heavy fire.
When a cannon shell exploded nearby, she nearly lost her entire arm. Wounded, she was taken prisoner by the British when the fort fell and eventually let go on parole. She had a difficult life until 1779 when she was awarded a pension by the United States government and enrolled in the Corps of Invalids and garrisoned at West Point. She died at age 48.
It was brave of Margaret to take over her husband's role in an age that discouraged it and fight till she couldn’t. Americans are not the descendants of cowards but of the Valorous.
