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Secondary sourcePainting

The Heroine on Monmouth. Molly Pitcher

Currier & Ives

A 19th-century Currier & Ives lithograph showing a woman firing a cannon at the Battle of Monmouth, the legendary image linked to Mary Ludwig Hays.

This print made the figure, remembered as 'Molly Pitcher,' into a lasting patriotic symbol of the Revolutionary War.

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Black-and-white lithograph titled 'The Heroine of Monmouth' by Currier & Ives. A woman in a long skirt stands at a cannon, holding a long sponge staff. A soldier lies motionless on the ground in front of the cannon. A second gunner leans on the cannon, and an American flag flies behind.
Currier & Ives, The Heroine on Monmouth. Molly Pitcher, lithograph.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white lithograph made by the printmaking firm Currier & Ives, titled The Heroine on Monmouth. Molly Pitcher. It shows a woman at a cannon, with a fallen soldier on the ground nearby and an American flag flying behind.

Why it matters

By the 19th century, Currier & Ives produced popular prints sold widely across the United States. This image turned the woman remembered as 'Molly Pitcher' into a patriotic national symbol, long after the actual events of the Revolutionary War. It reveals more about how Americans wanted to remember their Revolution than about the exact facts of what happened at Monmouth.

Look closer

  • What does the woman's pose and clothing suggest about how the artist wanted viewers to feel?
  • Why might a commercial print company choose this subject to sell to the public?
  • What details are missing that might tell us more about who she really was?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Molly Pitcher (Mary Ludwig Hays) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Black-and-white engraving of a woman in a long dark skirt and fitted bodice, carrying a long rod or ramrod, standing beside a large cannon. Soldiers in tricorn hats are at the gun, one lying injured in the foreground, and a horse and rider are at left.Painting

Secondary source

Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth (Armytage engraving)

J. C. Armytage, after Alonzo Chappel · c. 1859

Bronze statue of a woman in a long skirt and bodice holding a rammer or staff across her body, mounted on a stone monument in a cemetery. A tall American flag flies to the left, a brass cannon sits at the base, and red brick buildings and a grassy lawn with gravestones surround it under a partly cloudy sky.Sculpture

Secondary source

Molly Pitcher Grave Monument, Carlisle

1876

Hand-colored lithograph titled 'The Women of '76: Molly Pitcher the Heroine of Monmouth.' A woman in a blue bodice and red skirt holds a long sponge staff beside a gold cannon on a wheeled carriage. A man in a blue shirt with a bandaged head stands behind the cannon. A fallen soldier in blue lies in the foreground beside an overturned bucket. Smoke and troops fill the background. Two lines of verse appear below.Painting

Secondary source

The Women of '76: Molly Pitcher the Heroine of Monmouth

Popular Graphic Arts

Color-tinted lithographic theatre poster titled Dalley's Magical Pain Extractor. A woman in a long dress and necklace stands at a cannon, holding a swab, while a soldier lies dead in the foreground beside an overturned barrel. A second soldier with a bandaged head peers from behind the gun. Smoke and troops fill the background. Text reads Molly Pitcher, the Heroine of Monmouth, Avenging her Husband's Death, J. Wright & Co., New York & New Orleans.Painting

Secondary source

Dalley's Magical Pain Extractor: Molly Pitcher, the Heroine of Monmouth

J. Wright & Co. · c. 1860

Black and white engraving titled 'Molly Pitcher'. A woman in a long skirt and bodice, with a flower in her hair, holds a long rammer or swab at a cannon. Several soldiers in tricorn hats with plumes stand near the cannon, one on horseback at left, and a fallen soldier lies on the ground in front.Painting

Secondary source

Molly Pitcher Loading Cannon at the Battle of Monmouth

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