During the Revolutionary War, the American militia consisted mainly of able-bodied American males who received only basic training. Women played a significant part in maintaining farms and businesses while men were away at war.
Pictured on the left, Molly Pitcher was not a single historical figure, but a composite folk hero inspired by the actions of many different people -- most of them women who carried water to troops, cooked, sewed, and even fought for the Patriot cause.