EDITOR’S NOTE: Emerging Revolutionary War has been pleased to co-sponsor a series of Monday-evening programs to commemorate the America 250th at St. Bonaventure University, where contributor Chris Mackowski teaches. In March, the line-up of programs featured a student research panel. We are pleased to present today the work of one of the “emerging scholars” from that panel, Kayla Krupski.
Kayla is a junior history major from Hamburg, NY, with a minor in classics. Her talk was titled “Maintaining the Chaos: The Complexities of Domestic Life for Loyalist and Patriot Women Amidst the American Revolution, 1752–1789.” We invited Kayla to share a synopsis of her research here.
The American Revolution is most often remembered through the voices of those who primarily wrote its history—men. Because women were not marching miles to face a redcoat with a musket, their courageousness was often overshadowed by active battle. However, women of the 18th century faced constant battles and fear within their domestic lives. Regardless of their allegiance, women embodied a quiet strength in maintaining their households.
Anna Rawle, a young loyalist woman living in Philadelphia, wrote in 1781, “It was the most alarming scene I ever remember.”[1] This quote comes shortly after the American victory at the Battle of Yorktown, when a Patriot mob harassed her home. These uneasy, fearful words that came from a young Loyalist woman reflected how her home, family, and life was threatened because of the Patriot victory.
The resilience and challenges of female roles during the Revolution showed how certain hardships did not solely lean toward one political side. Whether one was a Loyalist or a Patriot, it did not deem that one group of people were harassed more for their beliefs than others. Understanding this allows the unbiased mind to look past the political allegiances and recognize that, through their self-determination, women were not going to let the chaos of the war keep them from continuing to live their domestic lives.
By looking at three women of different ages and political and religious backgrounds, we can connect how the American Revolution affected all women who shared the common emotion of fear. Sally Wister, Anna Rawle, and Abigail Adams had a swift transition from calmness to chaos in their daily lives.
Sally Wister
As a fifteen-year-old Quaker girl from a family of immigrants residing in Philadelphia, Sally Wister leaned towards the patriot ideals despite her pacifist beliefs. She kept a yearlong journal of her experiences when her family relocated to Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, further outside the city, as her father anticipated the British troops occupation of Philadelphia.[2] The main catalyst that brough fear, discomfort, and change into Sally’s life was soldiers. Many of her experiences with them were positive, but she also had interactions that negatively impacted her life.
The first instance is when a troop of Philadelphia militia came up to the Wister home after her family had recently received warning that the British had crossed the Schuylkill River, preparing to head into the city. The Patriot men stomped up to the door, frightening her and her mother, who became hesitant to answer for fear they would become violent. Nonetheless, they granted the requests of the adamant soldiers begging for food and water.
The second entry I looked at was when Sally witnessed four American soldiers negotiating with her father for his horses. Mr. Wister refused, and Sally was worried the soldiers might become violent due to her last encounter with American soldiers. When the general did not argue, Sally’s spirits lightened as she was able to see how there were groups of soldiers that could be respectful of those who remained at home. Yet, in the back of her mind she still knew the British were in the midst of occupying Philadelphia, and her life was reaching the point of being engrossed in war and constant chaos.
Sally’s third encounter was somewhat of a continuation of the second. Two of the men who were talking to her father ended up quartering in the Wister home. Major Amos Stodard and General William Smallwood of the Continental Army grew close to her family. Sally herself grew quite fond of the men, their manners, and eventually their duty to the Continental Army.
Although it is not a physical encounter, Sally’s last mention of soldiers relates to British troops. She received news of the British exiting the city of Philadelphia in 1781 and marching onwards towards her home, giving her an uneasy feeling. After experiencing the horrors of the aftermath of the Battle of Germantown and her growing fear for what was to come next in her life, overall, she constantly prays for peace “May heaven’s guardian arm protect my absent friends, From danger guard them, and from want defend,” she wrote.[3]
Anna Rawle
As a twenty-four-year-old woman born into a prominent Loyalist Quaker family in Philadelphia, Anna Rawle was labeled as the enemy to colonists. On top of that, the constant back and forth of a male presence within her household—her father and uncle both coming and going—made that an especially tumultuous time and instituted significant change and fear in her domestic life. At the time, the war was coming to a close, and Anna had followed after her mother by upping her household duties in her father’s absence. Regardless of this change, as well as the constant fear she lived with, Anna did not stray from her loyalty to the crown even in her struggle for peace.
The most significant shift Anna felt followed the British defeat at the battle of Yorktown. Her instincts told her that she should fear what may come for her family. For about four days, she stopped completing her housework, reading, or, quite frankly, doing anything. Then, on October 25, 1781, Anna and her mother experienced a traumatic event that forever changed her hope for peace. They were home alone when a mob attacked their house. An aggressive group of Patriots filled with hatred for anyone who called themselves “different” than their views went around harming homes. This came as part of a larger trend of frequent violent attacks on innocent Loyalist homes.
Without warning, Anna’s house had stones thrown at it. Nasty screams followed. As the group began to climb the Rawles’s front fence, out of a fight-or-flight instinct Anna and her mother ran into their back yard for safety. The outcome traumatized the young woman simply because differences could not be set aside. Although the war was essentially over, the incident demonstrated that, regardless of their beliefs, women’s domestic lives changed during and after active battle, both physically and emotionally.
Abigail Adams
Wife of political figure John Adams, Abigial was also a mother of four. She took on the role of “head of household” while her husband was away at the Continental Congress on his political endeavors. Their correspondence gives significant insight into how Abigail managed their farm, household, children, and wartime threats as the primary figure in their home.
Amidst the chaos and stress of her homelife, through a series of letters with her husband, Abigail urged him, as his colleagues created the country’s foundation, to remember the importance of women in men’s lives and not ignore their status. The last thing the founders would want after fighting the British was another rebellion by their wives and daughters for not considering their roles, she suggested. “If perticular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebelion,” she wrote.[4]
In November 1775, Abigail grew very ill, yet her own ailments were the least of her worries. A bad span of winter weather came, disrupting their farm’s operations. Their children fell ill. Yet Abigail was also fearful of the decisions John was making for the future of the country, showing her perseverance through a time with so many other troubles.
In July of 1776, Abigail had become so exhausted from the numerous chores and duties she took on while two of her children suffered from eye infections.[5] This instance only backs up the idea that, while women stayed in the household, their responsibilities significantly grew. On top of this main factor, the fear and chaos that ensued around their homes presumably consumed their minds. Abigail’s aunt and uncle invited her and the kids to come to stay with them in their house in Boston after they took part in the vaccinations against smallpox. Based on her reaction to this offer, Abigail seemed eager and grateful for the invitation. This example does not suggest that Abigail, or any other woman, was incapable of managing her own household especially after a significant choice she made for her and her children. Rather, she was grateful for any opportunity she had for extra aid and protection.
The American Revolution was a tumultuous event that altered the domestic lives of colonial women of the 18th century, regardless of their political or religious beliefs. The comfortable daily routines of women in their household transformed into an environment of fear and uncertainty. Sally Wister, Anna Rawle, and Abigail Adams all demonstrate the different experiences of women during the war, highlighting the idea that domestic life should not be overlooked just because men were the ones on the front lines. Women are too often written out of the main narrative of the American Revolution. These women, regardless of the role they played, should not be forgotten. Their courageousness and self-determination allowed them to battle in their domestic sphere.
[1] Anna Rawle, The Diary of Anna Rawle, 1781. America in Class
[2] Sally Wister, Sally Wister’s Journal (1777-1778)
[3] Sally Wister, Sally Wister’s Journal (1777-1778)
[4] Abigail Adams, Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776.
[5] Abigail Adams, Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 13–14 July 1776.
Emerging Revolutionary War Era 