Betsy Doyle working the guns |
As an army wife, Betsy
worked as a laundress or nurse at Fort
Niagara . However, on
November 21, 1812, during an artillery duel between Fort
Niagara and Fort George ,
Betsy performed the duties of an artillerist when she carried hotshot to the
fort’s guns. Fort Niagara’s commanding officer, Colonel George McFeely,
witnessed the actions of Betsy Doyle and remarked that she acted “with the
fortitude of the Maid of Orleans,” a reference to Joan of Arc. Betsy’s story
spread quickly and officers visiting Fort
Niagara in 1813 were
eager to meet her. Upon seeing Betsy, one officer remarked that she was
disappointingly unattractive.
After the war, Betsy
continued to perform as a nurse for the army, a task she continued until her
death in 1819. Unfortunately, it appears that Betsy was not reunited with her
husband who was released in 1815. When Andrew returned to New York , he was unable to find Betsy and
concluded that she died. Andrew remarried in 1819 and began a new life on a
farm in Massachusetts
until his death in 1875 at the age of 87.
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