Revolutionary women and a 16-mile trek through the woods

DownEast.com’s trivia question for today proves Maine women are pretty tough.
Who was Hannah Weston?

Answer

Hannah Weston was a Revolutionary War heroine who carried ammunition sixteen miles through the woods to Machias to aid patriots who had captured the British ship Margaretta.

I cannot imagine carrying ammunition 16 yards let alone 16 miles through the woods, especially to Machias where the terrain is uneven and certainly brushy and swampy since is located on Maine’s rugged coastline.

The Daughters of the American Revolution chapter in Machias is named for Hannah Weston, who was 17 or so when she and another woman lugged powder to Machias, according to a recent Bangor Daily News story.

By the way, the battle to capture the HMS Margaretta is called by some the “Lexington of the Seas” because of its role in the American Revolutionary War. It was the first naval battle.

Here are links to Wikipedia pages on Machias, which has a line about Hannah, and the Battle of Machias.

Oh, and for full disclosure, I played soccer on the Ashland Community High School varsity team and occasionally we played Machias in early rounds of the state tournament. But I won’t hold that against the people of Machias or Hannah Weston.