Heroines of 1776

The Founding Fathers signed their names. These women risked everything else.Heroines of 1776 brings to life extraordinary women whose courage, brilliance, and sacrifice were essential to the birth of the United States, yet whose stories have been overlooked for generations. From the literary salons of Philadelphia to the frozen camps of Valley Forge, from the cannon smoke of Monmouth to the burning streets of Washington, these women were present at every turning point of the American story.Meet Sybil Ludington, the sixteen-year-old who rode twice as far as Paul Revere to save her father’s militia. Discover Mary Katharine Goddard, the printer who put her own name on the first official copy of the Declaration of Independence. Follow Elizabeth Freeman, an enslaved woman who used the words of the Constitution to win her freedom in court, and in doing so ended slavery in Massachusetts forever.Their stories are thrilling, heartbreaking, and deeply American. They are the stories of women who did not wait for permission, who acted when action was needed, and who never sought the recognition they so richly deserved.Told in lyrical, emotionally resonant prose and illustrated in a rich, painterly style that evokes the drama and beauty of the era, Heroines of 1776 is a landmark work of American historical storytelling, equally at home in classrooms, family libraries, and the collections of anyone who believes that the full story of America is worth telling.