Femme Fatale: An Examination of the Role of Women in Combat and the Policy Implications for Future American Military Operations

Women have always participated in armed conflict, most often as active supporters of the armies they have followed. Some women, usually the wives of soldiers, served as nurses, laundresses, cooks, and seamstresses. Other women chose active participation in battle, including the famed Molly Pitcher. Mary Hays McCauly earned this moniker during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778 when she provided pitchers of water and medical care to members of the Continental Army fighting the British. After shrapnel struck her husband, McCauly took up his position as a cannoneer so that the artillery crew could continue to fight. Gen George Washington rewarded her bravery by making her a noncommissioned officer.* The story of Molly Pitcher symbolizes the realities of women and war. War has always affected women to some capacity despite civilized society’s best attempts to protect the gentler sex from war’s brutality. Yet, despite Molly Pitcher’s successes on the battlefield, which included picking up an injured soldier to save him from charging British soldiers, American culture has traditionally deprecated female participation in war. In most cultures, even today, a woman engaged in combat operations represented an anathema, such as the reactions to Jeanne d'Arc by political and religious leaders.