NY Lawmakers Seek To Honor Woman Who Fought In 1776 Battle

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic members of New York's congressional delegation want to rename a Veterans Affairs hospital after a woman who fought alongside American troops during the Revolutionary War.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, the Senate minority leader, and Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Nydia Velázquez, Jerrold Nadler and Adriano Espaillat introduced legislation Wednesday to rename the Manhattan campus of the VA New York Harbor Health Care System after Margaret Corbin.

Corbin suffered serious wounds after taking her husband's place when he was killed in the battle at Fort Washington in Manhattan in November 1776.

Known as Captain Molly, she was the first woman to receive a military pension from the United States.

The Daughters of the American Revolution has launched a search for her gravesite, believed to be near West Point, New York.