John Corbin was in charge of firing a small cannon at the top of a ridge, today known as Fort Tryon Park. During an assault by the Hessians, John was killed, leaving his cannon unmanned. Margaret Corbin had been with her husband on the battlefield the entire time, and, after witnessing his death, she immediately took his place at the cannon, continuing to fire until she was wounded in her arm, chest, and jaw, thereby becoming the first known woman combatant in the American Revolution.