After the capture of her husband, Betsy Doyle was left to fend for herself at Fort Niagara. Like many women, she supported herself and her family by laundering soldiers' clothing.
When the cannons began to roar on November 22, 1812, Betsy abandoned her washtub and offered her services to the gun crew from her husband's regiment.
During the ensuing barrage she carried red-hot cannon balls from the furnace to the cannon which was then fired at Fort George, 1,300 yards away. Fort Niagara's commandant noted that Betsy "showed fortitude equal to the Maid of Orleans (Joan of Arc)."
The participation of women in America's wars is recorded in many scattered sources -- order books, letters, journals, and official records for all of America's early wars, and these sources are well represented in the University of Michigan Clements Library.
--Brock-Perry
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