Ann Cooper Whitall

Ann Cooper Whitall lived in a brick home on the banks of the Delaware River with her husband, James, and their children. On October 22, 1777, when British ships occupied the river and residents of nearby towns were urged to flee, she refused to leave even at her family’s urging. A devout Quaker, she placed her trust in God and continued working at her spinning wheel as battle raged around her. When a cannonball burst into the room where she sat, she carried her spinning wheel to the basement and kept working. Later that evening, after an American victory, she ministered to wounded and dying Hessian soldiers, earning the nickname “the Heroine of Red Bank.” Her diaries centered on two subjects, her faith and her family.

National Park, New Jersey · United States