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Description
During the American Revolution, when a merchant was holding back a supply of sugar that should have gone to the Connecticut Line of the Continental Army, 20 women formed what was termed "an infantry," and stormed the merchant’s warehouse. They got the sugar with no interference from the law. Historian and publisher Dr. Katherine Hermes will present this and other fascinating histories of women in the Revolution during, “Working for the Revolution: Connecticut’s Patriot Women” at the New Haven Museum (NHM), on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at 6 p.m.
"Working for the Revolution: Patriot Women's Lives During the War" will explore how women contributed to the American Revolutionary effort politically, economically, intellectually, and even militarily. Using original sources including newspapers, court records, letters, and pension records, Hermes will show how Indigenous, Anglo-European, and African-descended women all helped to further the Patriot cause.
In illustrating her topic, Hermes will cite the example of Hannah Bunce Watson, who took over the Connecticut Courant (now the Hartford Courant) in 1777, becoming one of the first women publishers in the country. Shortly after she took command of the newspaper, a paper mill Watson co-owned burned to the ground. Watson suspected that Tory sympathizers or prisoners of war on parole set it on fire in protest of the Courant’s promotion of liberty in the colonies.
Other women’s lives that will be discussed include Judith Lines, a free Black woman, who accompanied her husband to the battlefield and served as a laundress. Legend has it that General Washington was so impressed with her work he invited her to come to Mt. Vernon, but she declined. Lines’s application for a widow's pension in 1836 details her life, which was long and full.
Hermes will also shed light on the life of Faith Trumbull Huntington, the daughter of Connecticut's governor, wife of an officer, Jedidiah Huntington, and sister to the renowned artist, John Trumbull, who captured the Revolution and the Declaration of Independence on canvas. Huntington’s letters indicate she believed strongly in the rights that revolutionaries were fighting for and championed the cause. To her regret, Huntington accompanied her husband to Bunker Hill, and witnessed the battle in which her father, brothers, and husband fought.
About Kathy Hermes
Katherine Hermes is the publisher and executive director of “Connecticut Explored” magazine, a non-profit history publication produced for readers interested in Connecticut’s past. She is professor emerita of history at Central Connecticut State University, where she taught early American history for 25 years. She has created and been involved with a number of digital public-history projects, including “Forgotten Voices of the Revolutionary War: People of Color and the Redding Encampment, 1778-1779.”
About NH250
This event is part of NH250, an ongoing series of programming developed by New Haven Museum to complement “America 250.” Culminating with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the series will highlight inclusive, local, and lesser-known stories, connecting past and present.
Date & Time
Wed, Mar 19, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Venue Details
New Haven Museum
114 Whitney AvenueNew Haven, Connecticut 06510
