Sally Wister: A Young Quaker Girl's Struggle and Growth
Sally Wister's Journal (Philadelphia: Ferris and Leach, 1902), University of California Libraries; Xavier della Gatta, Battle of Germantown, 1782, Museum of American Revolution. Collage by Ella Brown.
Grace A. Fox
In September of 1777, a sixteen-year-old Quaker girl from Philadelphia, named Sally Wister began her journal of her experience during the American Revolution. She and her family had moved out of their home in the city to stay in the countryside as the fighting between the American and British armies drew near. For nine months, she detailed her thoughts and fears of war, and her experience of a new reality, one which contrasted greatly with her pacifist Quaker beliefs. Sally's journal is a story of a young Quaker girl whose life was disrupted by the Revolutionary War. It is a story of struggle, growth, and unfulfilled love.