Delaware women contributed to the Revolutionary effort in well-documented ways. They nursed wounded soldiers and assisted with smallpox inoculations, work that carried real risk of contagion. They produced shirts and uniforms on a substantial scale for Delaware’s Clothier General in Philadelphia. At least a dozen women followed the Delaware Regiment performing essential services such as laundry, cooking, and medical care. They also marched south with the Maryland and Delaware Division during the Southern Campaign in 1780. Women who remained in Delaware managed farms and households and provided aid and supplies to the state. Widows of Delaware Regiment officers were entitled to half-pay, and the state went to considerable lengths to find them. In one case the governor personally intervened to locate a widow so she could receive what she was owed.
Interviewees
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Charles Fithian
- Delaware Archeologist, Delaware Historical Society
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Joseph Sullivan
- Welcome Center Supervisor, Delaware Public Archives
