Vital to Every Side

Unsung Heroes

Women were not allowed to fight by the British or the rebels during the American Revolution, though a few did anyway, and several in North Carolina fought back when their homes were attacked. Native Americans were more tolerant of female warriors, and some Cherokee women participated in open battle. Many women, on all sides, showed extraordinary courage in the face of opposing forces. This included passing information to their own. For instance, Sallie Salter spied for Patriot militia, leading to victory at the Battle of Elizabethtown.

Both Loyalist and Patriot women accompanied armies, providing not only domestic services but caring for horses and livestock, repairing uniforms and equipment, and nursing wounded soldiers. (See the “Camp Followers” tab on our Army Camps page.) Neutral Moravian women withstood abuses from both sides with dignity, while feeding and nursing all who needed it. Quaker women took care of hundred