A Tribute to One Woman on International Women’s Day

March 15, 2007, one week from today, will mark the 226th anniversary of Margaret Mitchell’s standoff with a British officer described in The Spring House: Most Important “House” in Family’s History. She was in her late sixties at the time, but she didn’t let her age or her situation as a widowed woman stop her from negotiating with Lord Cornwallis for the release of her son Adam, who had been captured by the British in the Battle for Guilford Courthouse, a “pivotal battle in the War for Independence.”

The following excerpt from the Afterword of Spring House: Book 1 in the Westward Sagas summarizes the importance of Margaret Mitchell to her family and to her country:

Adam’s mother Margaret, a pillar of strength to the Mitchell family, surely instilled the strong character traits Adam Mitchell was known for. Records show she negotiated with the British for the release of her son who was taken a prisoner of war at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Family documents record that she defied the British inside her spring house on the evening of the battle, preventing them from taking the Mitchells’ pewter ware and turning it into valuable ammunition to be used against the colonists. Although she remained devoted to the memory of her husband Robert and never remarried, she and Mr. Mac (John McMachen) enjoyed a close friendship until her death in 1788.

[tags]Battle for Guilford Courthouse, Margaret Mitchell, Adam Mitchell, Spring House, American Revolution, Westward Sagas[/tags]