Women's History Month
Celebrate Revolutionary women and unsung Revolutionaries throughout Women's History Month with the Museum this March. In the Museum’s galleries and online, experience a fuller and more inclusive history of the nation’s beginnings for all ages.
Plan your visit or become a member today!
Women's History Month at the Museum is sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
Women's History Month Events
Thanks for joining us for special events in March!
Witness to Revolution: The Unlikely Travels of Washington's Tent
The Museum's newest special exhibition is now open, just in time for the start of Women's History Month.
"... the crown jewel in the collection [...] oh, the stories it could tell."
Our newest special exhibition, Witness to Revolution: The Unlikely Travels of Washington’s Tent, greatly expands the story told in the Museum’s award-winning film and brings to life the stories of individuals from all walks of life who saved George Washington’s tent from being lost over the generations and who ultimately fashioned this relic into a symbol of the fragile American republic.
Throughout the exhibition, learn the diverse stories of the women who played critical roles in the tent's journey, including Martha Washington, Hannah Archer Till, Mary Custis Lee, and Selina Gray (right side of image).
Newly Discovered Eyewitness Sketch
This sketch is the first wartime depiction of North Carolina troops known to exist, and only the second-known depiction of female camp followers of the Continental Army done by an eyewitness.
Visualizes "the Joyous, the Difficult, and the Mundane"
This eyewitness sketch, drawn by Pierre Eugène du Simitiére (1737-1784), a Swiss artist and collector who lived in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War, shows soldiers and camp followers of the Continental Army’s North Carolina Brigade marching through Philadelphia on Aug. 25, 1777, on their way to join the rest of General George Washington’s army stationed south of Philadelphia. These troops would go on to fight at the battles of Brandywine (Sept. 11, 1777) and Germantown (Oct. 4, 1777). The inclusion of two female camp followers, including one holding an infant, shown riding in a wagon exemplifies a direct defiance of known regulations at the time about how women following the army could use wagons. The sketch was donated to the Museum in 2023.
When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story
Explore the little-known history of the nation’s first women voters and examine the political conflicts that led to their voting rights being stripped away.
When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807
Explore the Museum's When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807 online exhibit to learn the little-known history of the nation’s first women voters.
Poll List Interactive
Explore nine poll lists featuring 163 women voters who cast ballots across New Jersey from 1800 to 1807. The poll lists suggest women’s political significance and participation in local, state, and federal elections in early New Jersey.
"Meet Elizabeth Freeman" Performance
View a 25-minute film of a one-woman theatrical performance based on the life of Elizabeth Freeman (also known as "Mumbet"), a woman who sued for her freedom from enslavement and won.
"Meet Rebecca VanDike" Performance
View a 25-minute film of a one-woman theatrical performance based on the life of Rebecca VanDike, an early woman voter in New Jersey.
In-Museum Programs
These talks and activities were included in regular Museum admission to explore the stories and lives of women in the Revolutionary era during March 2024
In-Gallery Talk: Revolutionary Women
Join a Museum educator to learn about the lives and legacies of Revolutionary women in the Museum's galleries, including Phillis Wheatley, Abigail Adams, Deborah Sampson, the New Jersey women voters, and more.
Discovery Cart: Ona Judge
Join a Museum educator at a hands-on discovery cart to explore the story of Ona Judge through replica handling objects. Judge, who was enslaved by George and Martha Washington, escaped from the President’s House – located just a few blocks from the site of the Museum – while the Washingtons lived in Philadelphia.
In-Gallery Talk: Let Them Vote
Join a Museum educator for a 10-minute, in-gallery talk to learn about the little-known history of the nation’s first women voters who cast ballots across New Jersey from 1800 to 1807.
Additional Digital Resources
Finding Freedom
Explore the Museum's Finding Freedom online interactive, which examines the stories Eve and Deborah as well as additional people of African descent in Virginia who followed different paths to freedom during the Revolutionary War. Their stories are also available to explore in the Museum via a touchscreen kiosk.
Abigail & John Adams
Read the book Abigail & John, the story of one of America’s most celebrated historical couples exploring Abigail's unique role in the nation's founding, written by David Bruce Smith alongside original illustrations by his mother, Clarice Smith.
Virtual Museum Tour
Explore other personal, often-unfamiliar stories of women during the Revolutionary era and the roles they played in the war effort. Learn about Deborah Squash, who ran away from Mount Vernon and sought protection with the British Army; Tyonajanegen (Two Kettles Together), an Oneida woman who played a key role in their nation’s decision to ally themselves with the American Revolutionaries and participated in the violent Battle of Oriskany during the Saratoga Campaign; Baroness Frederika von Riedesel, who recorded her journey and war-time experiences on the Saratoga campaign and as a prisoner-of-war in a detailed personal journal; and more.
Washington's War Tents
Learn more about Selina Gray, an enslaved woman at Arlington House, the home of Martha Washington's granddaughter Mary Custis Lee and Confederate General Robert E. Lee who saved Washington family heirlooms, including George Washington's Revolutionary War tent, from possible destruction by the occupying Union army during the Civil War.
Ways to Save
See and do more for less with discounted ticket prices, Museum Membership, and special deals.
Online Exclusive Ticket Discounts
Available with online purchase onlyThe Museum is currently offering two ticket discounts available with online purchase only, including a Family Four-Pack (two adult GA tickets and two youth GA tickets) for $59 as well as Adult GA tickets for $23 ($25 if purchased at the Museum)
Become a Member
Learn more about becoming a Museum Member at the level that is perfect for you or your family to get unlimited Museum access for a full year, discounted tickets to lectures and special events, invitations to Member-exclusive events, and so much more.
Ticket Discount Offer with AAMP
Visitors can save up to $6 per person when they get tickets to both the Museum and the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP), with reduced parking at AAMP available upon request. Discounts can be redeemed by showing museum ticket stubs at the front desk.
From the Museum Shop
Shop these staff picks from the Museum Shop for Women's History Month.
Abigail Adams "Remember the Ladies" Mug
$23This ceramic mug features Abigail Adams' famous "Remember the Ladies" — "Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors" — quote from her March 31, 1776 letter to her husband John.
"Created Equal" T-Shirt
$28Don the Revolutionary words declared in the Declaration of Independence with this comfortable, lightweight navy blue t-shirt.
Forster Flag Tote Bag
$30Named after the family through which the original flag descended, the Forster flag is very likely one of the first efforts to depict the united colonies and later United States with stripes. This tote bag features the same color and pattern as the original on display at the Museum.
Women's History Month at the Museum is sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
