Lesser-Known Heroines Of The American Revolution

Lucy Flucker Knox, born in 1756, was one of many wives who followed the army when possible. She was the daughter of a British official, and her family expected her to marry someone in the gentry, according to American Heritage. Instead, she and her husband Henry Knox, a bookseller, married for love when she was 17.

A year later, Lucy and Henry (pictured) snuck away from their Boston home in the dead of night. Their destination? Patriot headquarters in Cambridge. Henry Knox was thought to be a rebel and was therefore not permitted to leave Boston, and Lucy carried her husband's sword, which had been secretly sewn into her cloak.

Over the next two years, the Knoxes were apart more than they were together. Henry was first working on artillery in Roxbury and left Lucy in Worcester with other army wives in the belief that it would be more secure. Lucy and Henry's letters from this time also provide an invaluable portrait of the Revolutionary War for married couples who were forced to separate, writes Mount Vernon.

Lucy Knox joined her husband, by then chief artillery officer, at Valley Forge in 1778 and proved to be very helpful to the soldiers simply by providing good hospitality. She also spent time with Martha Washington. Lucy's determination to join Henry at Valley Forge, as well as her letters, showed her spirit and determination to be more — as well as do more — than what was asked of her.