Jemima Warner followed her husband into the Revolutionary War. When he could go no farther, she carried on without him—and eventually took up his rifle.
James Warner was an early member of the Continental Army’s 1st Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment. Its marksmen were known for their skill with a rifle, woodcraft and scouting, abilities many had developed while hunting beyond the Allegheny Mountains. In 1775, Col. Benedict Arnold brought the regiment along on his difficult expedition through the Maine wilderness toward Quebec.
James, believed to be no older than 25, made the journey with Jemima, his 17-year-old wife. She was one of a small number of women accompanying the force. These camp followers—wives, mothers, daughters and others—had an uneasy place in army life. Some officers thought they slowed the troops and used up scarce food. George Washington, however, acknowledged that soldiers might desert if they were forced to leave their families behind.
The women also performed useful work, washing clothes, cooking and caring for the sick. Some earned rations or a small payment. A few reportedly gathered intelligence while working near British camps.
By the time Jemima had marched hundreds of miles, the expedition had become a punishing ordeal. Freezing rain, swamps, snow and dangerous river crossings took a heavy toll. Food was scarce, and contaminated water added to the misery. For many soldiers, the wilderness proved more dangerous than the enemy.
Jemima found James sitting at the foot of a tree. He refused to go on, telling her he was “determined to die.” She persuaded him to continue for a few days, but he soon sat down again and could not be convinced to rise. Before leaving him, she placed the bread she had left and a canteen of water between his legs. Then she took his rifle and continued alone.
When Arnold’s surviving force reached Canada and joined other troops in the siege of Quebec, the soldiers were astonished to see Jemima arrive carrying James’s rifle, powder horn and pouch. She told them what had happened to her husband.
Earlier, the Americans had tried to deliver surrender terms to the British in Quebec under a flag of truce. The British answered by firing on the party. When the Americans made another demand in December 1775, they sent Jemima instead. She crossed the exposed ground and delivered the message to the British commander, who burned it in front of her.
Jemima made it back safely and remained with the army. On Dec. 11, 1775, however, British grapeshot struck and killed her during the siege. She is among the earliest documented American women killed in action.
