The Women of the American Revolution, Vol. 1

Elizabeth Ellet was inspired to write this work by her mother, Sally Lummis, the daughter of a Revolutionary War officer. Ellet was a historian ahead of her time. She sought out primary sources like unpublished letters and diaries, and she interviewed descendants of Revolutionary women, which were not common research practices then. Ellet lamented the “manuscript destroying generation” which tore up letters that might have been of use to her. This volume, the first of three, features stories of women like Mary Washington (mother of George), Catherine Schuyler (wife of General Philip Schuyler and mother of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton), and Susan Bache, the only daughter of Benjamin Franklin, who wrote to her father about the war while he was in France. While many saw them only as "the women behind the men," they played significant roles in historical events that shaped our country.

Our copy of Volume 1, available for adoption, is a first edition published by Baker and Scribner in 1848, making it an important item in the American History Library. Our copy of Volume 2 is a fourth edition published in 1849. Ellet wrote a third volume based on the good reception for the first two volumes, which was published in 1850. You can view all three volumes in our Digital Library.