Margaret Cochran Corbin (November 12, 1751 – January 16, 1800) was one of the first recognized women who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Margaret Cochran was born in Western Pennsylvania, now part of Franklin County. Her father, Robert Cochran, was an Irish immigrant, and her mother was Sarah Cochran. In 1756, when Margaret was just five years old, her family suffered a tragic attack by Native Americans. Her father was killed, and her mother was kidnapped, disappearing without a trace. Margaret and her brother John were fortunate to escape the raid because they were not at home at the time. Following these events, Margaret spent the remainder of her childhood living with her uncle.
In 1772, at the age of 21, Margaret married John Corbin, a farmer from Virginia.
On November 16, 1776, her husband, John Corbin, was among the 2,800 American soldiers fighting the Battle of Fort Washington on Manhattan Island against 8,000 Hessian troops under British command. Unable to bear the thought of her husband facing the battle alone, Margaret decided she would accompany him. She dressed as a man and joined her husband. There, she helped him load his cannon, and when he was killed, she heroically took over firing the cannon against the British. She too was hit by enemy fire, which nearly severed her left arm and severely wounded her.
The soldiers she fought with remembered her courage and stories about her actions that day made their way to the Continental Congress. On July 6, 1779, Congress awarded her a lifelong pension in recognition of her service. It was the first time the new government officially recognized the military service of a woman; however, she was awarded only half of what a man received.
Margaret Cochran Corbin became the first woman to receive a pension from Congress for her injuries due to her military service in the Revolutionary War. “The first American woman to take a soldiers part in the war for liberty” is etched on her gravestone.
She died on January 16, 1800, at the age of 48, in Highland Falls, New York.
Source: Margaret Cochran Corbin | National Women’s History Museum (womenshistory.org)
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