She walked over 200 miles in the snow to feed starving army

Polly Cooper, an Oneida woman, walked 200 miles in the snow from Kanonwalohale to Valley Forge in April 1778 to deliver white corn to George Washington's starving Continental Army.

Cooper taught soldiers to cook the corn by making soup, bread, and mash, preventing deaths from raw corn consumption during the harsh winter.

She refused payment for her actions, only later accepting a shawl and bonnet as thanks.

Her contributions were preserved through Oneida oral tradition, not colonial records, until historians like Chief William Honyost Rockwell documented them.

Cooper is featured on the U.S. Mint's 2026 Sacagawea $1 coin.