Valley Forge
In 1777, William Hays enlisted in Proctor's 4th Pennsylvania Artillery, which later became Proctor's 4th Artillery of the Continental Army. During the winter of 1777, Mary Hays joined her husband at the Continental Army's winter camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. She joined a group of camp followers led by Martha Washington who would bake and deliver food, wash clothes and blankets, and care for sick and dying soldiers.
In the spring of 1778, the Continental Army was retrained under Baron von Steuben. During this time, William Hays trained as an artilleryman. Mary Hays and other "camp followers" served as "water girls" during the training, carrying water to drilling infantry troops on hot days. Also, artillerymen needed a constant supply of fresh water to cool down the hot cannon barrel and to soak the rag tied to the end of the ramrod, the long pole with which they cleaned sparks and gunpowder out of the barrel after each shot.
It is likely that Mary Hays earned her famous nickname, Molly Pitcher, during this time. During training, artillery and infantry soldiers would shout "Molly! Pitcher!" whenever they needed Mary to bring water.
Read more about this topic: Molly Pitcher
Famous quotes containing the words valley and/or forge:
“I will frankly declare, that after passing a few weeks in this valley of the Marquesas, I formed a higher estimate of human nature than I had ever before entertained. But alas! since then I have been one of the crew of a man-of-war, and the pent-up wickedness of five hundred men has nearly overturned all my previous theories.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Wit’s forge and fire-blast, meaning’s press and screw.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)