Cast Iron Chamomiles: Women of the RevolutionEmily Geiger

   

The Arrest of Emily Geiger

From the Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, by Benson J. Lossing,

copied from the original painting by Flagg

        Emily Geiger was the daughter of German-speaking Swiss farmers and Patriots who lived in the backcountry of South Carolina during the Revolutionary War.
       In June 1781, General Nathanael Greene and his forces, after retreating from British troops at Fort Ninety Six, camped about two miles from the Geiger home. Greene let it be known that he needed to get a message to General Thomas Sumter, about 100 miles away near the Wateree River.
        Eighteen-year-old Emily, who knew the route well, offered to take the message. Greene accepted her offer, penned the note, and had Emily memorize the message in case she had to destroy it along the way. Mounted sidesaddle on a strong, fast horse, Emily travelled the first leg of the journey without incident.
        But on day two, Lord Rawdon’s scouts stopped her. Although Emily told them she was travelling to her Uncle Jacob’s home, they took her to their encampment to question her. Left alone in a room, Emily, concerned about the note, decided to eat it. Minutes later, a Tory woman, Mrs. Hagabook, was brought to search Emily, but found nothing on her person. The British officer in charge apologized for the error and provided Emily an escort to her uncle’s home.
      The next day, she completed her journey to Sumter’s camp and relayed the following message: “Lord Rawdon has determined to abandon Fort Ninety-Six. Moving down the southern bank of the Edisto River to Orangeburg, then they will divide their forces.” Sumter began moving his forces within the hour.
        On October 18, 1789, Emily married South Carolina plantation owner, John Threwitts. As a wedding present, General Greene gave her a pair of earrings and brooches. At a ball in Charleston, SC, given in Lafayette’s honor, Emily was honored as a distinguished heroine of the Revolutionary War.

     To honor Emily and commemorate her heroic ride, the woman holding the laurel branch on the South Carolina State Seal is designated as Emily Geiger.

Feisty Women of the American Revolution Sarah Franklin Bache

         

This post is part of an A to Z blog hop. This week's letter is "F"

Sarah Franklin "Sally" Bache

         Many women made contributions to the Revolutionary War effort. American men, to their credit, recognized their value and the fact that American women tended to be feisty.

        Once, Lord Cornwallis said that the British weren’t fighting only farmers with pitchforks and sickles, but their wives as well. Samuel Adams reportedly said, “With ladies on our side, we can make every Tory tremble.”

        Sarah Franklin “Sally” Bache, born September 11, 1744, to Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read, was one of those feisty women.

        An ardent patriot during the Revolutionary War, she raised $300,000 for the Continental Army, the equivalent of $3 million today.

       Sarah also did extensive relief work. For example, as part of her involvement with the Ladies Association of Philadelphia, under her leadership the group made 2,200 shirts for soldiers at the Continental army’s winter quarters at Valley Forge in 1777.        
      Sarah loved music and was a skilled harpsichordist. She also loved reading. Those accomplishments, coupled with the fact that she grew up in an educated, opinionated household, equipped her to serve as the hostess for her father’s gatherings upon his return in 1775 from France.

I'm linking to Ms. Barbie's blog today as she talks about a fantastic event her community organzied "For the least of these."

 

Castiron Chamomiles Women of the Revolution

 

     Most everyone has heard of “steel magnolias,” southern woman who are strong and independent yet very feminine. Women who can rip another woman up one side and down the other and end it with “bless her heart.”


During the American Revolution,
the chamomile was known as the
"Rebel Flower," because the more
it was trod upon the stronger it
came back

     There’s another a group of women I call “cast iron chamomiles,” backcountry women who, when their husbands left to fight in the Revolutionary War, faced head on an enemy that rode up to their front porches, burned their homes, stole their food and livestock, and left them to fend for themselves and their families with sometimes only the clothes on their backs. Women who could not only “bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan,” but who could shoot the pig, haul it to the barn, and butcher it, making use of every single part, including the hair on its jowls.
     I discovered theses amazing ladies while researching for my historical fiction. Not surprisingly, I came across some familiar names, Dolley Madison, Betsy Ross, and Molly Pitcher, whom I had read about in my American history classes.
     But what about Nancy Hart? Martha Bell? Harriet Prudence Patterson Hall? Hannah Clark or Rosanna Farrow? And so many others I ran across. I gained a healthy respect for these courageous women who really should be, but sadly are not, in our history books.

     I’ll be posting about these women in future posts.