In 1782, She Bravely Disguised Herself As A Male Patriot In Order To Fight In The Revolutionary War, But After Being Shot, Her True Identity Was Revealed
The American Revolution and the Revolutionary War were two of the biggest and most defining events in early American history.
Many figures are now considered heroes for what they did during the revolution, and one of them was a brave woman who disguised herself as a male soldier to participate in battle.
It was Deborah Sampson, a Massachusetts woman who disguised herself as a male Patriot to fight with the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment in 1782.
Deborah was born in Plympton, Massachusetts, in 1760. She was one of seven children born to Jonathan Sampson Jr. and Deborah Bradford Sampson. Sadly, Deborah and her siblings were forced to live in different households growing up, as her family was quite impoverished.
She became an indentured servant to a farmer with a large family at only 10 years old. Unable to go to school, she was forced to give herself a proper education. When she turned 18, she left the farmer’s home and became a teacher. During the wintertime, she became a weaver.
When she turned 21, the Revolutionary War was in full swing, and she wanted to join the fight for America’s independence. So, in 1782, Deborah disguised herself as a male soldier named Robert Shurtleff and joined the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment.
Deborah marched to New York alongside other patriot soldiers and was assigned to Captain George Webb’s Company of Light Infantry at West Point, which was considered one of the most active troops in the Hudson Valley.
Deborah was in charge of scouting neutral territory to assess a buildup of British men and equipment in Manhattan. That June, she led around 30 infantrymen on an intense expedition and captured 15 Tories, also known as those who supported the British cause.
Whenever she wasn’t on missions with the Light Infantry Troops, Deborah served as a waiter to General John Paterson.
Victor Moussa – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Deborah fought and worked for the revolution for almost two years, going as far as removing a bullet from her own leg without being discovered as a woman. But then, during the summer of 1783, she fell unconscious with a high fever on a mission in Philadelphia.
As she was being treated at a hospital, a doctor discovered Deborah’s true identity, and she was honorably discharged from the war in October of 1783.
After the war, Deborah moved back to Massachusetts and married farmer Benjamin Gannett, whom she had four children with. A few years later, she decided to petition the Massachusetts State Legislature for financial compensation during her time in the war and received a military pension from the state.
Although she lived a fairly quiet life following the war, she continued to tell her story in lectures across the country, making her one of the first women ever to do so.
Deborah passed away in Massachusetts in 1827 at 66. She will forever be remembered as one of the first remarkable women to serve in the United States Military.
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