Margaret Cochran Corbin (November 12, 1751 – January 16, 1800) was a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

[1] On November 16, 1776, her husband, John Corbin, was one of 2800 American soldiers defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 8,000 attacking Hessian troops under British command.

[2] She later became the first woman in U.S. history to receive a pension from Congress for military service when she could no longer work due to injury, and was enlisted into the Corps of Invalids.

[9] When the war began, John enlisted in the First Company of Pennsylvania Artillery as a matross, an artilleryman who was one of the members of a cannon crew.

She acquired the nickname "Molly Pitcher" (as did many other women who served in the war) by bringing water during fighting, both for thirsty soldiers and to cool overheated cannons.

John Corbin was in charge of firing a small cannon at the top of a ridge, today known as Bennett Park.

The British ultimately won the Battle of Fort Washington, resulting in the surrender of Margaret and her comrades and the taking of the last American position in New York City.

On June 29, the Executive Council of Pennsylvania granted her $30 to cover her present needs, and passed her case on to Congress's Board of War.

On July 6, 1779, the Board, sympathetic to Margaret's injuries and impressed with her service and bravery, granted her half the monthly pay of a soldier in the Continental Army and a new set of clothes or its equivalent in cash.

[15] A memorial commemorating her heroism was erected in 1909 near the scene of her service on the C. K. G. Billings Estate, in what would later become New York City's Fort Tryon Park.