Polly Cooper

Polly Cooper was an Oneida woman from the New York colony who took part in an expedition to aid the starving Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

[6] On April 25, a group of forty-seven Oneida and Seneca men, along with Polly Cooper, left with Louis de Tousard, carrying bushels of corn and supplies 250 miles (400 km) to assist Washington at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

[10] Cooper taught the Continental Army soldiers how to make the native's hulled corn soup, mixed with nuts and fruits to improve its nutritional quality.

[12][b] The Continental Army tried to pay Polly Cooper for her valiant service, but she refused any recompense, stating that it was her duty to help her friends in their time of need.

[5] In 2001, Valley Forge was replacing the film it shows visitors with one that reflects the role Native Americans and black soldiers played in America's history.