[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 30 (Thursday, March 7, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1970-H1971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
``RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG, FAT IDIOT''
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Waldholtz). Under a previous order of
the House, the gentlewoman from Colorado [Mrs. Schroeder] is recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mrs. SCHROEDER. Madam Speaker, humorist Al Franken, in his book
``Rush Limbaugh Is a Big, Fat Idiot,'' I think was absolutely right. He
points out how Rush plays so fast and loose with the facts, and,
believe me, he did it again this week.
For those of you who saw his show, he took my comments on this floor
that I was talking about as we celebrate Woman's History Week, or
History Month this month, and he was saying that it was all a bunch of
poppycock.
Well, I am here to set the record straight, and I think it is time
every woman in America straightened her back and say enough of this
nonsense.
The first thing he took me to task for was saying that there was a
revolutionary soldier, who was a woman, who was buried in West Point.
Well, Rush has been chortling, ``Ho, ho, ho, Mrs. Schroeder is
absolutely wrong, that can't be true.''
Well, Rush you are wrong, and I am right. Let me tell you why.
We were both referring to a woman named Molly Corbin. Molly Corbin
indeed was in the Revolutionary War. She was a recipient of the first
female veterans pension in American history, and, yes, she was reburied
in West Point.
That is what he keeps saying, ``Oh, but she wasn't even buried there,
way after it, so it could not possibly have happened.'' But she was
buried there in 1926 at the request of the Daughters of the American
Revolution. Now, if he wants to pick a fight with them, go ahead, but I
think they are going to win.
I would like to put in the Record at this time, Madam Speaker, a
letter from the Department of the Army, the U.S. Military Academy at
West Point, verifying this fact.
The letter referred to is as follows:
Department of the Army,
U.S. Military Academy,
West Point, NY, November 8, 1989.
Mr. Daniel Buck,
Office of the Honorable Patricia Schroeder,
Rayburn Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Buck: The enclosed information may be helpful in
answering the question of Revolutionary War soldiers buried
at West Point.
A news release from the Information Office of the United
States Military Academy in 1968, mentions the relocation of
graves of soldiers to the cemetery during the 1800's. The
grave of Ensign Dominick Trant is identified as the oldest
grave in the cemetery.
A listing copied from a Walking Tour of the West Point
Cemetery identifies Trant as a member of the 9th
Massachusetts Regiment.
Molly Corbin's remains were disinterred from the Old
Cemetery at Highlands Falls in 1926, and reburied at the West
Point Cemetery.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Library if the
enclosed material does not sufficiently answer your question.
Sincerely,
Judith A. Sibley,
West Point Manuscript Librarian.
Madam Speaker, the next item that he took me to task for was the
issue about Martha Washington and the fact that George Washington had
asked to have her expenses reimbursed while she had spent all three
winters with the Revolutionary Army in winter camp.
You see, at that time, as commander in chief, he had no money, no
uniforms. Things were very, very tough. No one knew if they were going
to win or not, and Martha Washington came in holding the troops
together He felt that that was worth repayment and submitted this
following bill. I have a copy of the bill that George Washington
submitted to have Martha Washington reimbursed. It is for her expenses
from 1775 through 1782.
Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an article from the Washington
Post talking about Margaret Corbin and an article from the World Book
Encyclopedia talking about Margaret Corbin, who was the soldier in the
Revolutionary Army.
The articles referred to are as follows:
Remembering Margaret Corbin, Daughter of the American Revolution
(By Chadwick Allen Harp)
They may be barred by law from combat roles today, but
American women have a long tradition of fighting on the
battlefield that goes back to the Revolutionary War and a
young woman named Margaret Corbin.
On Nov. 16, 1776, Hessians under British command attacked
Fort Washington on Manhattan Island, but encountered such
vigorous resistance and such rapid artillery volleys that
some remarked the Americans seemed possessed by demons. A
ridge later known as Fort Tyron was defended by the First
Company of Pennsylvania Artillery, and among the artillerists
was a young private named John Corbin. Beside him, handling
ammunition to feed the hungry cannon, was his wife, Margaret,
the daughter of a Scotch-Irish pioneer.
Suddenly a Hessian ball or shell smashed into John Corbin,
fatally wounding him. But Margaret had no time to grieve; the
enemy's relentless siege continued, and the men of the
Pennsylvania company needed her help in the ranks more than
her wounded husband required her care and comfort. Margaret
immediately accepted the call to duty and stepped into John's
position at his cannon. Soldiers remarked later that Margaret
served ``with skill and vigor''--until Hessian grapeshot tore
into her, ripping away part of her breast and nearly severing
an arm.
After the battle her comrades took their ``Captain Molly''
across the Hudson River to Fort Lee, N.J., where she received
further medical care that ensured her recuperation. When she
finally was well enough to travel, Margaret relocated to the
Philadelphia area, continued her long-term recovery and
became one of the original members of the Invalid Regiment
created by Congress to care for disabled and crippled
soldiers.
On June 29, 1779, the Supreme Executive Council of
Pennsylvania, the decision-making body of the executive
branch, allocated Margaret a $30 stipend ``to relieve her
present necessities'' and recommended that the Board of War
give her a pension. Barely a week later, Congress received a
letter from the Board of War supporting the Executive
Council's recommendation. Congress immediately authorized
that Margaret receive, for life, one-half of the monthly pay
allotted soldiers and, as a one-time allocation, a complete
outfit of clothing. By this act Congress pensioned the first
female veteran in American history.
Margaret died near Hudson Highlands, N.Y., in 1800. In
1909, more than a century later, a tablet was put in place at
Fort Washington Avenue and Corbin Place in New York City
recognizing Margaret Corbin as the ``first woman to take a
soldier's part in the war for liberty.''
Many other American women have since seen hostilities--
among them Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley (``Molly Pitcher''), who
also stepped into her husband's position in the Revolutionary
War at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778; Civil War scout and
spy ``General'' Harriet Tubman; the more than 200 women
killed by enemy fire in World War II; the eight women whose
names are chiseled into the stone of the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial; and Capt. Linda Bray, who commanded a platoon of
military police in a 1989 Panama firefight.
In a sense, Margaret Corbin honors them all. On March 16,
1926, the Daughters of the American Revolution arranged to
have Corbin's remains removed from Highland Falls, N.Y., to
the post cemetery at the United States Military Academy at
West Point. Next to the grave stands a memorial to the only
Revolutionary War soldier buried on academy grounds--an
artillery gunner, a hero and a woman.
____
[From the World Book Encyclopedia]
Corbin, Margaret Cochran (1751-1800), became a heroine at
the Battle of Fort Washington in 1776, during the
Revolutionary War
[[Page H1971]]
in America (1775-1783). She was born in Franklin County,
Pennsylvania. In 1756, Indians killed her father and captured
her mother. An uncle raised her.
In 1775, Margaret's husband, John Corbin, enlisted in the
Continental Army, and he served as a gunner in the
Revolutionary War. Like many other soldiers' wives at the
time, Margaret joined her husband in camp to cook, wash, and
do other chores for the troops. At Fort Washington, on the
site of present-day New York City, John Corbin was killed.
Margaret replaced him at his cannon and fought until she was
seriously wounded.
Corbin's wounds left her disabled. In 1779, the Continental
Congress awarded her a military pension, making her one of
the first women in the United States to receive such aid.
Corbin is buried in the military cemetery at West Point, N.Y.
Madam Speaker, I also would like to refer Mr. Limbaugh to many other
things. First of all, the mini page which is in most newspapers in
America. The Mini Page came out last year and had a very, very
extensive thing about women in the military through the years. I am
very sorry he did not read this. I would hope he would try and get it
from the library. But it pointed out there have been American women in
the military, through today, the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.
He might find this interesting reading.
I would also point out that there is a 1996 calendar, as there have
been others, done by women veterans, and this is pointed out through
the years of all the different women throughout here. There is one for
each month. Again, this might be a very good thing for his office. It
might inform him that women did indeed contribute to this country.
Now, there are other things that I would like to recommend he look
at. There is a coloring book from the National Women's Hall of Fame,
and maybe this would be simple enough. It could be a beginning point
for him. He could start with this to find out that indeed there have
been some women who have done some things.
If he can get through that, then there is a little more detailed book
that lists all sorts of women, where they were from, when they were
born, what they accomplished, women scientists, women in the military,
women aviators, women everything. It would absolutely break his little
heart, and so I hope he works through that.
Now, if he really gets to the big time, there is a little bit bigger
book here that points out even more things about women in American
history that I think are terribly, terribly important.
I guess the real thing that we would like to point out to Mr.
Limbaugh, the gentleman that they have called the big, fat idiot, I
would like to quote to him from Clara Barton. Clara Barton said, ``From
the storm lashed decks of the Mayflower to the present hour women have
stood like a rock for the welfare of this country.''
They have, and it is time we recognize it, and that is what we are
trying to do. Rush Limbaugh, tune in.
____________________