Mary Draper

the American astronomer

Draper planned how she would feed men passing by their farm to the battle. Draper, her daughter Kate, and a servant named Molly prepared food from their granaries and dairy. The women continually kneaded and baked brown bread that day, night, and the next day. When she ran out of goods for cooking, her neighbors helped out. The Draper farm was alongside the Old Post Road between Providence, Rhode Island and Boston. Answering the Lexington Alarm, men from Connecticut and Rhode Island passed by her house on their way to the battlefields in Massachusetts. On the road, she set up a long station with bread, cheese, and apple cider. Aided by John, a disabled veteran of the French wars and a family member, and two boys, food was handed out to the hundreds of men marching to war. They served food for the men who passed her farm. When needed, she provided food for soldiers during the war, but the need was not as great or frequent as the initial days of the war. General George Washington asked citizens to deliver pewter or lead to headquarters to create ammunition for the ongoing Siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776). Draper used bullet molds to create ammunition from melted pewter from her large collection of dishes, platters, and pans. She is buried next to 17th century settlers James Draper and his wife Miriam at the small burial ground in West Roxbury. A chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in West Roxbury, Massachusetts was named after her in 1896. The wife of her descendant, Amos G. Draper, was a member of the chapter. Its motto is, "Our country, to be cherished in all our hearts, to be defended by all our hands.