For George Washington's birthday, I thought I'd post some images from an old hardbound children's book in my collection called, "Molly The Drummer Boy." The book was written by Harriet T. Comstock with illustrations by Curtis Wager-Smith. Copyright is listed as 1900.
The story is about a girl named Debby who disguises herself as a boy, renames herself Molly and joins the Revolutionary army as a drummer. The author claims the story is based on historical fact, but Comstock doesn't mention where she first encountered records of the story.
The caption to this illustration reads, "For a moment Washington eyed the boy."
Washington's Brave Drummer, Molly
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Why would a girl disguising herself as a boy name herself Molly? Was Molly a boy's name back then? There are a lot of names we think of as female names that are male names in England, like Evelyn, Ashley, Carol, Beverly, Hilary, Meredith, Shirley, Shannon, Vivian - all guys' names. But Molly?
Not enough, Poo. Wanted more. Maybe the author said it was historical but it wasn't and it's all made up? Copyright was 1900. Maybe back then you could get away with fabricating or making stuff up. I am going to google and see about this Molly drummer boy.
I'm not sure, but I think the name Molly might be a reference to the word "Mollycoddle," which was a term used for gay men. The name might be a way to suggest that Molly is Debby underneath the masculine outfit, or a way to suggest that Debby was a lesbian.
There is a preface to the book that makes me think that the author did not consult historical sources but heard the story and assumed it to be a true oral history. It's possible that it may have been based on a true story since women have disguised themselves to go to war in many times and in many cultures although the written account was probably fictionalized.