Corbin, Margaret

Corbin, Margaret (kôr`bĭn), 1751–1800, American Revolutionary heroine, b. Franklin co., Pa. Upon the death of her husband in the attack on Fort Washington (Nov. 16, 1776), she commanded his cannon until she was seriously wounded. She was the first woman to be pensioned (1779) by the government. In 1916 her remains were moved from Highland Falls, N.Y., to West Point, where a monument was erected in her honor.

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Corbin, Margaret (b. Cochran) (1751–c. 1800) American Revolution heroine; born in Franklin County, Pa. When she was five, her father was killed in an Indian raid in which her mother was taken captive, and she was raised by an uncle. Her husband, John Corbin, enlisted in the American Revolution, and she accompanied him as cook, laundress, and nurse for the troops. During the battle of Harlem Heights in September 1776, John Corbin was mortally wounded; she took over his battle station and was wounded, suffering permanent loss of use of one arm. After the battle, she was accorded some of the benefits accorded to veterans (money, clothing, food, and alcohol rations), thereby becoming the first woman pensioner of the United States. She apparently remarried, but vanished from view about 1783. Years later she was mistakenly identified as the "Captain Molly Pitcher" who had fought at Monmouth (Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley).