Women of the American Revolution Volume III
Elizabeth F. Ellet [1817-1877]
We have often studied the adventures and exploits of the men who participated in our country's War for Independence. However, as Abigail Adams reminded us in a letter she wrote to her husband John, we should "...remember the ladies". Their contributions were as vital, and in many cases comparable to that of their male counterparts during the struggle for Colonial autonomy.
"The Women of the American Revolution - Volume III", published in 1850, is the last of three volumes penned by historian, poetess and author Elizabeth F. Ellet. In it she recounts the details of the lives and anecdotes of forty four American heroines who helped in the quest for American freedom. These women include Annis Stockton, Lucy Knox, Margaret Whetten, Mrs. Todd, Blandina Bruyn, Anne Fitzhugh, Katherine Steel, Mrs. Beard, Barbara McKenny, Nancy Green, Mrs. Motte, Esther Walker, Mrs. Gaston, Mary McClure, Jane Morrow, Isabella Ferguson, Mary Johnson, Jane Boyd, Mrs. Simpson, Jane Gaston, Mrs. Strong, Margaret Elliot, Mrs. Haynes, Sarah McCalla, Mary Adair, Mary Nixon, Mary Mills, Isabella Wylie, Rebecca Pickens, Sarah Buchanan, Nancy Van Alstine, Eleanor Wilson, Margaret Moncrieffe, Mary Murray, Mrs. Woodhull, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Rapalje, Mary Knight, Mrs. Osborn, Miss Susan Livingston, Lady Stirling, Experience Bozarth, Elizabeth Ferguson, Mercy Warren.
The years before the American Revolution were times of changing loyalties and internecine rivalries, and the women's perspective provided a fresh view for interpretation of the times. Drawing from a wealth of sources - personal interviews, diaries, letters, and manuscripts - she probed the details of their personal triumphs and tragedies, and presented them in a popular and engaging style that can still be appreciated and enjoyed by contemporary readers. With her unique perspective, she gave new life to this period of Colonial history. She not only presented women at the hearth - she followed them to the battlefield and beyond. Read these anecdotes of personal bravery, clever escapes, and valiant stands - the efforts of true American women who were heroes in their time. These stories are not dry historical accounts, but are meant to be read, enjoyed, and recalled for generations to come. An instant bestseller in its time, we are proud to bring this rare volume back into print for all to enjoy. The stories and deeds in "The Women of the American Revolution - Volume III" provide inspiration for us all, and should be on the shelves of all American libraries.
Specifications
Pages: 400
Originally Published: 1850
Reprinted: February 2007
Format: Perfect bound paperback 6" x 9"
ISBN 10: 0-9753667-5-0
ISBN 13: 978-0-9753667-5-2
Price: $19.95
About the Author
Born in western New York, Elizabeth Ellet attended the girls' school in Aurora, New York, where she studied French, German, and Italian, among other subjects. She began publishing translations of European literature as well as her own poetry in her teens and early twenties in the American Ladies' Magazine. A volume entitled Poems, Translated and Original appeared as her first printed collection in 1835.
She married chemistry professor William Henry Ellet in 1835 and continued to write prolifically, contributing to literary periodicals in both New York and Columbia, South Carolina, where Professor Ellet received teaching appointments. Resettling in New York City in 1845 while her husband remained in the South, Elizabeth Ellet began to compose flirtatious letters to Edgar Allan Poe, thus competing with poet Frances Osgood for his affections. She also spread rumors that Poe and Osgood, both of whom were married, were engaged in an illicit affair. Though her gossip-mongering came to an end when Osgood's husband threatened her with a libel suit and her own husband joined her in New York, she already had managed to incur permanent damage to Frances Osgood's reputation.
Interested in the roles and accomplishments of early American women, Elizabeth Ellet's most notable literary contributions were her popular historical accounts of women's participation in the American Revolution and in the settling of the western frontiers. Though these histories idealized a passive, politically unambitious image of Republican femininity, they were the very first to recognize the contributions of women to the formation of the United States.
Poetess - Historian - Authoress
The daughter of Dr. Willam N. Lummis, Elizabeth F. Lummis was educated at the female seminary in Aurora, New York. She married William H. Ellet "at an early age" and they moved to South Carolina, where she wrote several books of poetry and contributed articles on poetry and literature. Returning to New York, she wrote a three-volume book, "Women of the American Revolution" (1848), "derived from original sources," followed by many other books, including "Domestic History of the American Revolution" (1850), "Watching Spirits" (1851), "Pioneer Women of the West" (1852), "Queens of American Society" (1865), and "The Court Circles of the Republic, or the Beauties and Celebrities of the Nation" (1869).
See DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY by Francis S. Drake (Boston, 1872), p. 301.
For an extensive biography of Elizabeth F. Ellet, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_F._Ellet
This product was added to our catalog on Friday 02 December, 2011.
