Women were forbidden to serve in George Washington’s Continental Army.
But evidence shows that at least four women became part of the fighting force. Since boys as young as 14 joined the army, a woman wearing loose-fitting clothing could pass as a beardless boy. One woman from Maine enlisted with her brother in 1775 and served until the war ended in 1781. In 1776, an unidentified Cherokee woman was found dead on a battlefield. She wore face paint like male Cherokee warriors and carried a bow and arrows.
